Speaker Tajudeen Abbas made the announcement during plenary on Wednesday, October 2, sparking cheers from APC lawmakers. However, Deputy Minority Leader Aliyu Madaki protested, citing Section 68 of the Constitution, which requires a party crisis for defection.
The Cable reported that Abbas overruled, stating there was a PDP faction, and appointed Nkwonta chair of the South East Development Commission committee.
This is amid the leadership crisis rocking the PDP, which is fueled by factions between former vice president Atiku Abubakar and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike, and the crisis between the party’s governors.
Recently, the faction of the former vice president has been calling for the sack of the acting national chairman, Umar Damagun, over the national working committee’s refusal to initiate disciplinary action against those who worked against the party during the 2023 presidential election.
Former Senator Dino Melaye has publicly called for the sack of Damagum, saying that the party is dead as long as acting remained at the helm of the party’s affairs.
On the other hand, the party crisis escalated when the governors announced a plan to take over the PDP’s leadership structure in Rivers state from Wike and hand it over to Governor Siminalay Fubara, who had been at loggerheads with the minister soon after he resumed office.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, has faulted the ruling APC for the internal crisis in PDP and other opposition parties in Nigeria.
The PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election accused the APC of manipulating the internal process and called on Nigerians to rescue the country’s democracy.
Atiku then called for unity among Nigerians, adding that the Independence Day celebration worth celebrating for Nigerians.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
