Niger PDP : We are Not Moved By the Defection of Ibeto, Others to APC

Laleye Dipo in Minna

The Niger State Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met for the first time in Minna  on Thursday  after the 2023 general elections where it resolved that the defection of the former Deputy Governor of the state Alhaji Ahmed Musa Ibeto and a former House of Representatives member Ibrahim Ebbo to the APC “is a non issue.”

Chairman of the party, Mr Tanko Beji, in a statement described the defectors  “political nomads” who have no electoral value.

Beji, who spoke to newsmen after the meeting that lasted over  three  hours, said the former PDP big wigs have no bus stop as they have moved several times from the PDP to the APC and vice versa adding that “people no longer want to remain in the same party with them.”

According to him, immediately Ibeto left for the APC not less than 10 members of the APC defected to the PDP from his (Ibeto)Magama Local Government Area, adding that they will be unveiled soon he said.

“ We lost three , but more than 10 came in because some people have vowed that, they can’t stay in the same party  with him even at Magama where he hails from, that is the beauty of party politics,” Beji said.

He said the meeting x-rayed  the performance of the party in the election and gave itself a pass mark for winning six  House of Assembly and four National Assembly including a senatorial seats despite being in the opposition since 2019.

“We had a good outing bearing  in mind that we had  a disastrous outing in the 2019 election”

Beji disclosed that an expanded State Working Committee meeting of the party made up of three members out of which one must be a woman from each of the 25 local government areas of the state has been fixed for next Thursday.

The meeting he said will review the party’s activities plan for the future and also examine the various court cases that involved the party after the general election.

He said the meeting will also review some committees report and look at some white papers of reports already submitted to the State Executive and plan reception for those that recently joined the party.