Three Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators from Kebbi State, who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), have given reasons for their action.
The senators – Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South), announced their defections at plenary on Tuesday.
The trio, in separate letters to the President of the Senate, said that they decided to leave PDP because it had become disconnected from the aspirations of the Nigerians it seeks to lead.
The letters were read by the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary.
Aliero said in his letter that he decided to quit PDP after a deep reflection, extensive consultations and a careful assessment of the current political and socio-economic realities of the country and his constituency.
“I have decided to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party and rejoin the All Progressive Party (APC) of which I was a founding member.
“This decision was not made lightly. I’ve been a proud member of the PDP, a party under whose platform I was elected to serve.
“However, politics must never be about personal loyalty to a platform; it will always be about service, solutions and results.
“Today, I made this move in response to a simple question that every responsible leader must ask himself or herself: what is best for the people I serve?
“Over the past month, that has become increasingly, I mean firstly, clear to me, that PDP, as it currently stands, has become disconnected from the aspirations of the very Nigerians it seeks to lead.
“Internal divisions, lack of ideological clarity and inability to provide a credible forward-looking agenda have made it difficult for leaders like me to pursue the reform and development agenda that our people deserve,” he said.
Aliero further stated that APC, on the other hand, had shown signs of transformation, especially under its renewed hope agenda.
He said that his defection was not borne out of personal gains but because of the belief that APC offered a more viable platform through which he could effectively serve his constituents and advocate for progressive policies.
“Nigeria must move forward and today, I move forward with the people for the people and in the interest of our shared future,” the former governor said.