Defection: No South-East Governor Has Told Us He Is Joining APC – PDP

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Monday said it has exhausted all its mechanisms to persuade Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle to remain in its fold and resist the overtures of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

It, however, said the ultimate choice on which side of the divide to belong ultimately rests with the governor as he alone can decide the political future he wants to chart for himself.

Matawalle will be formally received into the APC on Tuesday by the party leaders led by Governor Mai Mala Buni, who is the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, also disclosed yesterday that Matawalle has agreed to join the APC.

He wrote on his official social media handles “So Zamfara is back home. Welcome, Matawalle”.

When contacted, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary who had earlier said that the party will ensure all it can to make Matawalle see reason to remain in its fold, however said having done all they can, the ultimate decision lies with the governor to make.

”As far as we are concerned, every organ of the party have spoken with on the need to remain in the PDP on whose platform he became governor of Zamfara state but the final decision is for him to make.

”You will recall that the governors went to see him, party leaders have spoken with him, the National Working Committee also met and spoke with him. So, we have played our part, he has the final decision to make.”

Speaking earlier, a top PDP chieftain in the state who asked not to be named had said the governor is ‘already technically in APC but waiting for formal declaration to join the fold’.
“I can tell you that His Excellency Governor Matawalle is 80 percent in APC as we speak. If you look at the events that have played out in the past few weeks and you are a good political analyst, you will know that he is physically in PDP but his mind and body are in APC.

“Recently, like his counterpart in Cross Rivers who defected to APC few days ago, Governor Matawalle has not attended any PDP meeting in the last couple of days. He has only been sending representatives. Also, if you look at the dissolution of the cabinet carried out by the governor and few other actions taken by him, then it is safe to assume that his defection to APC is fait accompli”.