The Peoples Democratic Party has said it will not miss any of the seven rebel governors, especially five of them, who have already defected to the All Progressives Congress.
The party, therefore, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to have no fear as the party’s future is bright.
National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur made this known yesterday when the executive members of the Sokoto State chapter of the party paid him and members of the PDP National Working Committee a solidarity visit at the party’s Wadata Plaza national secretariat in Abuja.
Tukur, who was in China when governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); and Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano) defected to APC, had earlier expressed shock at their decision but had also said he would not stop anyone from leaving the party.
Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Babangida Aliyu (Niger), who were originally thought to be in cahoots with the five PDP governors that defected, however, resolved to remain in the ruling party despite their running battles with its national leadership and President Jonathan.
Tukur said, “Goodluck Jonathan, no fear. Sokoto is behind you. When the Caliphate is behind you, believe me no fear. No fear, no shaking, PDP is our party, it’s a party of choice.
“People can defect, it’s their right, but soon they will found out that it is not cool in the place they are going. They will soon come to the embrace of the PDP.
“Sometimes when people have eaten and are satisfied, you know what they will do? They will tell themselves let’s try another place to see whether there is a better food.
“We experienced it before, it’s not new. Many of them left PDP before, it’s not new, but my advice is that people should not forget that no matter what they do, if they want to sit, they should learn to sit on their bottom.
“They know that there is no other way, PDP is the party, if they go… they have done so before and we saw them coming back.
“If they believe they want to go they will not be missed, we cannot miss them. They enter a wrong party and when they take the wrong party, they will end up in wrong places”.
In his speech, the leader of the delegation, who was a former Minister of Communications, Alhaji Arzika Tambuwal, urged the NWC members to immediately constitute a caretaker committee to organise congresses for the election of new party executives at all levels in Sokoto State.
Mr. Arzika also added that Sokoto had been a PDP state since 1998 because of the party’s broad based nature and inclusiveness just as he hailed the steadfastness of the party since 1998.
“Five parties were initially registered, but within three years they increased to over fifty, some were registered, de- registered, changed names, logos, slogans, but PDP remained PDP,” he said.
The former minister also carpeted Governor Wammako for betraying the PDP which came to his aide by providing him with a platform to run for office and described his exit as ‘good riddance’.
“In 2006 Wammako resigned as Deputy Governor to avoid impeachment, PDP welcomed him into its fold in 2007, and gave him the governorship ticket. The party was successful in the election and he became the governor, but in the last six years he victimised most loyal members he met in the party, managed the party like a one-man sole proprietorship and looked upon the national party headquarters with disdain. His recent defection is therefore not surprising; his defection is good riddance,” Mr. Arzika stated.