PDP Governors will Not Join APC, Suswam Insists

PDP Governors will Not Join APC, Suswam Insists

15 Oct 2014

Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam

*Aliyu: I don’t intend to defect
*It will be difficult for APC to retain Lagos, says Mimiko
Jaiyeola Andrews in  Abuja with agency report

Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, yesterday insisted that no Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor will defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as claimed by Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Suswam’s position was corroborated by the Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, who yesterday refuted newspaper reports that he and his Jigawa State counterpart, Sule Lamido, were planning to leave the PDP for the APC.

Kwakwanso was quoted in a report that  two PDP governors would soon defect to APC.
Suswam stated this when he fielded questions from State House correspondents shortly after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.

“It looks like the APC people do not have confidence in themselves, that on their own they can make progress. So they keep speculating that PDP was going to join them.

“That shows clearly that APC is not a party that Nigerians can go to. If I am sure of myself, I won’t be asking for additional troop from the enemy camp to come.

“They are not sure, they know they will not win until the PDP joins them even now with the strength they have. Kwankwaso was in PDP, he had added value so to say. They now discovered lately that in spite of that, they can’t make any progress.

“They are now speculating and hoping against hope. No PDP governor will go to APC, rather, we are having people who started PDP who are very strong like the Iroko coming back to join the family that they left.

“No governor is leaving PDP. We are going to defeat them roundly. They are scared. Nobody is going to join them from the PDP, not even a councillor,” Suswam said.

Meanwhile, Aliyu reiterated his resolve to remain in the PDP and urged Nigerians to discountenance insinuations that he intended to leave the party. This was contained in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Israel Ebije.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ebije said: “Aliyu led the G-7 to advocate for sanity in the PDP,” adding that “what they fought for was patriotism and now the ruling party is set for a victorious outing in the next general election.

“Every social existence must have crisis, which must be resolved, PDP has indeed overcome its challenges.”

On his part, Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, said with the acceptance of PDP in the South-west, APC would find it difficult to retain Lagos State.

Mimiko who recently defected to the PDP from the Labour Party (LP), told journalists that APC was losing ground, while PDP was gaining ground in the South -west.

He enthused with confidence that APC will find it as an uphill task to retain Lagos State.