The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is pushing ahead with its national convention even as another set of three governors on the party’s platform are set to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, will officially defect to the APC on Tuesday, while his Taraba State counterpart, Agbu Kefas, is said to have move to the ruling party in November.
Also, the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, is preparing to dump the PDP for the APC anytime soon.
Recall that the governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori and his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Umo Eno, had earlier in the year, dumped the PDP for the APC.
The defection of the governors of Enugu, Taraba and Bayelsa will raise the number of PDP governors that would be defecting to the APC to five.
But the PDP said the gale of defections would not stand in the way of its elective national convention scheduled to hold in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on November 15-16.
The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, affirmed the party’s determination to forge ahead with the convention, describing it as a “moving train.”
According to him, “The train has moved and whoever is trying to stand in the way of a moving train is probably also trying to commit suicide.
“So, my advice is, please, no matter how highly placed, no matter what has transpired in the past, we don’t want to see anyone dead. So, please don’t commit suicide.”
Makinde, who spoke on Monday in Abuja, said preparations for the convention were in top gear and that himself and other stakeholders are set to bring the PDP back on track.
Rueing the dwindling fortunes of the PDP in recent times, Governor Makinde said nothing is permanent in power dynamics, stressing that challenges will always come and go.
“We have gone through those challenges of governing this country. We have people with experience that have led or occupied positions of leadership in this country. And we got to the bottom of it when we lost power in 2015, and we have been in opposition since then.
“So, challenges will come and go, but for us as leaders, no matter what situation we find ourselves in, we will organise the party. It’s not the end in itself.
“The end is for Nigerians to have democracy, and for Nigerians to have a party that they can relate to. So, if you are saying somebody is defecting, so our house is not in order, democracy is about conflict, conflict resolution, and also resilience.
“In fact, we must be happy that we have a party that has refused to be distracted. A party that has stayed focused on what the Nigerian people would like to see.
“Do we want a one-party state in Nigeria? From the last time I checked, the answer is no. Nigerian people want a multi-party democracy. They want people to come up with ideas, and that is exactly what we are doing in PDP. So we are not distracted,” the governor said.
Makinde said the PDP would not lose sleep over the defection of the governors, because the ultimate decider of the 2027 election here will be the Nigerian people.
“We are not concerned, and we are not bothered, because the “The only time I would be concerned, the only time that we will be concerned as a party, is when we see hunger defect from the ordinary people on the street and join the APC, then that’s the time we will be concerned.
“But in all of this, the question is, where are the Nigerian people? And what are their expectations, which we have to meet? I think that is the most important thing,” he declared.
The Oyo governor, who chairs the Transportation Committee of the Convention, assured that the November convention would throw up committed and accountable party leaders.
