Five All Progressives Congress, (APC) legislators on Tuesday, defected to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The five lawmakers are from Kano, Zamfara and Sokoto States.
The lawmakers that defected are Reps Lawal Shehu Bichi ,Kano, Abdulsalam Adamu ,Kano, Sani Umar ,Zamfara, Ibrahim Shehu Gusau ,Zamfara, and Umar Bature ,Sokoto.
Bature was one of the 37 PDP lawmakers who had defected to the APC on December 18 last year, but he decided to rejoin the PDP along with the other four lawmakers.
However, a PDP lawmaker from Kaduna State Rep Isa Mohammed Ashiru moved to the APC.
Following announcement of the defection by Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the floor of the House was thrown into a rowdy session for some minutes with some PDP lawmakers shouting “PDP, power! APC, shame!
At a point, minority leader Femi Gbajabiamila stood up to talk, but he was shouted down by PDP lawmakers.
This development further widens the margin between the PDP and the APC. The ruling party which hitherto had 174 lawmakers in the House now has 178, while APC’s initial 172 has been reduced to 168.
The two lawmakers from Kano who defected to the PDP are believed to be loyalists of former governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, who had defected to the PDP a fortnight ago, following leadership tussle between him and the current governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
They were part of the 11 members from the legacy parties in Kano State that merged to form the APC. They had addressed a press conference, distancing themselves from Shekarau’s defection.
But sources told Vanguard that they had to reconsider their earlier stand based on their belief in Shekarau.
Rep Gusau’s defection to the PDP, a source said, was part of plans to realize his ambition of becoming Zamfara State governor come 2015 following his fall out with the state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, and the political godfather in the state, Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima.