Breaking News
PDP AND THE APC NATIONAL CONVENTION
Looking at the faces of many members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the disappointment in their minds is easily decoded. They are disappointed that last Saturday, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) successfully held its national convention and constituted its National Working Committee (NWC). Many of them have hoped and prayed for an APC convention laden with crisis.
This was evidenced in the fact that many of the PDP members showed interest, on a minute by minute basis, in the progress of the convention. They not only monitored the democratic event, but also reported it, especially on the social media. They reported what happened and what did not happen to help themselves meet their desire even if in self illusion.
And when it became too clear that the convention was already a success, with a National Working Committee headed by Sen. Abdullahi Adamu constituted, they resorted to the comic that the APC cannot blame the PDP for the inflictions the latter caused Nigeria between 1999 and 2015. This, some PDP members say, is because the new APC national chairman and many other members of his party were former members of the PDP.
But they have quickly forgotten that the APC is a merger party that has several blocs in it. The CPC, ACN, a faction of the defunct ANPP, a faction of APGA and nPDP formed the mega party that is APC. Therefore, there is nothing to raise dust about if a former PDP member is now a heavyweight in the APC. Besides, in Nigeria, virtually all the politicians in the country have travelled from one party to another with the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar holding the award for the “Most travelled politician in Nigeria.”
For instance, the current PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu was at a time in the Action Congress (AC), which later transformed into Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) before merging with other parties to form the APC. Thus, in our politics, it may not be a good thing to try to point an accusing finger on anyone for political nomadism. After all, the political parties were formed based on interests other than ideologies and principles.
Mukhtar Jarmajo,
