Members of the Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC) have concluded plans to move as a group from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Daily Sun has learnt.
Former secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Buba Galadima had last week announced a new faction, the R-APC, in Abuja.
As part of the plans for their eventual exit, the group is already putting finishing touch to its side of the bargain and it is expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the main opposition party soon.
A source close to the group told Daily Sun that the PDP was willing to enter into the MoU.
According to the source, the issue of the MoU arose because of what members of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) suffered in the APC.
“It is to ensure that what happened to majority of our members while in the APC does not repeat itself in the PDP. When we moved to the APC in 2013, there were discussions, but mostly there was no collective bargain. For instance, (President of the Senate, Bukola) Saraki had hinted Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu) about his senate presidency ambition before the election, Asiwaju did not show any sign of opposition to it. However, after winning the election, they began singing a different tune. So, we want to avoid that kind of scenario.
“Good enough, PDP has so far demonstrated sincerity in all our dealings. All that is remaining is to perfect the details of the MoU and we sign it,” the source added.
Asked what constitute details of the MoU, the source said: “I will be unfair to both our group and the PDP to start discussing that in the open. More so, the opposition could turn it against us and may create fresh crisis for us and the party we are moving into. The APC will be doing all they can to want to frustrate this marriage. We won’t give them the opportunity and I think they can never succeed because we are far gone now to look back.”
Reacting to the development, the PDP through spokesman, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, told Daily Sun, yesterday, that “our party is open to all Nigerians. Our party has been rebranded and repositioned to take in as many Nigerians as we can in our bid to rescue the country’s sinking ship under the APC in next year’s election.
“As a party, we have cast our net into the river, waiting to catch the big fish.”
Asked what the details of the MoU would look like, Ologbondiyan said the party’s Contact and Integration Committee has not reported back to the party.
However, Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, said the party was not bothered by what he termed “antics of some of the former members.”
He told newsmen, after a meeting with the House of Representatives caucus, that the APC had opened talks with genuine party leaders and was unbothered about Renegades. He also noted that if members of the R-APC choose not to be happy, that was their business
“There is no break-up. If one Galadima is not happy, that is fine. He has a right not to be happy. If he chooses to call himself whatever he wants to call himself, I will not lose my sleep over that. We know those who are in the system. Those who are seeking break-up, that is their problem. We are engaging real stakeholders in the Executive and the two arms of the National Assembly.” (Daily Sun)
