APC troubles may multiply as Gov Ahmed hints at also dumping party

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is at the verge of recording a second governor dumping the party ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The development is coming as Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed on Thursday announced that he may be dumping the ruling party over its failures to meet the expectations of the people of Kwara State.

A statement released by Kwara State government quoted the governor as making his intention to leave APC on Thursday at a State Banquet Hall, in Ilorin while reacting to the requests of various stakeholders in Kwara Central Senatorial District, who prevailed on him and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki to with no further delay dump the APC.

Ahmed’s defection may not be anything of surprise to followers of recent political events in Nigeria, especially as a good number of the National Assembly members who recently left the APC are from Kwara State.

Although, Senate President Saraki has not officially left the party, many political observers believe that it is only a question of time before he joined the bandwagon of defection rocking the ruling party.

The statement on Ahmed’s possible defection read in part, “Following calls from various stakeholders in Kwara State, the state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, has hinted that he might be quitting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The governor insisted that the party has not met the expectations of the people of Kwara State. The governor recalled how key stakeholders in the ruling APC in the state built the party in 2014 alongside other notable Nigerians with high expectations but were disappointed about the failure of the government at national level to address insecurity, economy and unemployment challenges confronting the nation.”

He added, “We formed APC together in 2014 with the hope to meet the needs and aspirations of the people in critical areas of our national life”.

He said that the leadership of the APC had failed to intervene on critical issues affecting the party and its members, pointing out that injustice within the party is unbearable.

Governor Ahmed who thanked the people of the state for their support assured the stakeholders that he would consider their pleas and make public the new platform that would meet the aspirations of the people of the state. He also promised that the administration would continue to run an all-inclusive process that would take care of all interests.

READ ALSO: Timi Frank exposes fresh plot to arrest Saraki

This development is coming as the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement on Thursday, appreciated members of the APC in Kwara for their unflinching support despite the defections of many national lawmakers from the state from APC.

“Against the backdrop of the recent events at the National Assembly, I want to most sincerely thank all APC members and supporters in Kwara State for their unflinching commitment to ensuring that the party emerges stronger than ever in the state

“That commitment has been reflected in the overwhelming support and solidarity that we have received, not just from our party members but also from other parties and stakeholders across the state, since the melodrama at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

“In particular, there has been an expression of overwhelming love and support for President Muhammadu Buhari from across Kwara, in the wake of the defections by federal legislators from Kwara, I call on all our members and supporters in Kwara to remain calm, because there is no cause for alarm,” Mohammed said.

 

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