SARAKI'S LIKELY RETURN TO PDP CAUSES TENSION IN KWARA STATE

Available information reveals that the ruling party in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress, APC led by President Muhammadu Buhari will likely experience a heavy loss of notable members in its fold, following what some describe as dissatisfaction in the way the affairs of the country is being managed.



Signs of the ominous danger became more clearer following a letter written to President Buhari by former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo penultimate week.

The weighty allegations by Obasanjo has however, not being wholeheartedly denied by Presidency aides and this has further, bolstered insinuations of a po loss of confidence in the ability of the leadership of the APC to hold its own.

With Obasanjo's letter came the emergence of a new political group, the Coalition of Nigeria Movement which is most likely to metamorphosize into a political force to unseat the APC from power and forever, seal the hopes f a likely return of the PDP back to reckoning.

Another sign that the APC is running down a steep slope at an alarming speed, is the possible return of the nation's Number 3 citizen, the Distinguished President of the Senate Dr. Bukola Saraki to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This new development which many say is a move aimed at actualizing his presidential ambition, come 2019, has further placed members of the PDP into frenzy of activities.

Kwara state which is the home state of Saraki has placed his party faithful and supporters in a quagmire considering reports that their leader might make another move to return back  his old party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDPwhich he had dumped in 2014, for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Insider sources revealed that the idea to return back to the PDP will enable him pick the ticket to contest the 2019 presidential ticket of the PDP. This, sources say, has seen his foot soldiers putting structures in place to take over the political structures of PDP in Kwara state.

To buttress this claim, Chairman of the Kwara state chapter of the PDP, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, reportedly on Wednesday, led some political bigwigs from the state to the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, where they met with the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus and pleaded with him not to allow Saraki to hijack the party.

Oyedeo, while addressing newsmen after the meeting, said it was wrong for the party to allow Saraki to “have his way” on grounds that he left the party when he was expected to help in building and strengthening it.

“We are apprehensive of what the national leadership can do to welcome somebody who had gone away from the party and is being given a royal welcome into the party".

“It is not Saraki’s coming that creates any fear, it is whatever the national leadership can do to encourage him to seize the party’s structure from established people of Kwara State", he said.

“Whoever is returning must respect the structure of our party and cooperate with us appropriately. We will welcome Saraki with open hands if he comes to be part of the party. We can’t say somebody should not join our party", Oyedepo stated.

“In plain language, the executive that is on ground was constitutionally elected for four years and parties are always in anticipation of new people joining them. You cannot dismantle the structure of a party because someone is joining the party", emphasized Oyedepo.

Additional reports from Daily Trust