The Lagos State Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Mr. Moshood Salvador, has dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress, warning that his exit marks the end of PDP in the state.
Another chieftain of PDP in the state, Bode George, however said Salvador was an adult and that he was competent enough to make decisions for himself.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Salvador announced his defection on Monday while addressing his supporters in Lagos.
He said he took the decision because all his efforts to move the PDP in the state forward had been frustrated by some elements in the party.
Salvador alleged that a former deputy national of the party, Bode George, had done everything possible to undermine the progress of the party in the state.
He said he could no longer labour in vain, adding that the national leadership of the party had done nothing to support or appreciate his efforts as PDP chairman.
“When you have people or leadership that cannot give you encouragement to carry out your vision, you take it to another place where it will be appreciated.
“I am not happy that I am abandoning what I laboured for, but I have to move on with my supporters because I cannot continue to labour in vain.
“Today, the chairman of PDP Board of Trustees called me on the defection and I told him to allow me consult with my people before feedback.
“The PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, also called me for the first time since my travails.
“He never called since I was put in jail on a cooked-up murder charge; he called me today to ask why I wanted to defect.
“And I told him it is not possible for me to be in the same party with Bode George because he undermined all my efforts to re-position the party.
“He was doing all these things and the national leadership was allowing him, saying he is an elder.
“He also cooked up things to put me in jail in the murder case of late Aborishade.
“Enough is enough. I am leaving the party with my supporters and I am taking them to APC where they would be recognised and appreciated,” Salvador said.
The politician said he had since handed over the PDP structure to his deputy who would continue the affairs of the party.
He said his exit meant that the PDP was dead in Lagos, as he was moving with about 15,000 supporters, including party executive members at council and ward levels.
Salvador insisted that he was innocent in the murder case of Aborishade, saying all the things said about his involvement were all lies.
He said he would stage a “show of strength” rally on Monday to show his former party that he was going to the APC with thousands of his followers.
Hours before Salvador announced his defection, Bode George said Salvador had the right to leave the party if he wished to.
George made the statement in Lagos while inaugurating a trust fund for the family of the late Adeniyi Aborishade, a PDP chieftain killed at a meeting of the party in Eti-Osa on July 21.
George was reacting to media reports that Salvador and some others had concluded plans to defect to the APC.
George said Salvador could not be stopped from leaving as he is an adult and competent enough to make decisions for himself.
He, however, questioned why the erstwhile PDP chairman wanted to leave the party now, especially as Aborishade’s murder case, to which he was earlier linked, had not been resolved.
“You see, whether he is going to APC or wherever, we cannot stop him; he is an adult, not a young man. So, he can decide for himself. But we have a question to ask: Why now?
“I am a deep-rooted politician and as a master mariner, I know you do not jump ship when you are in a stormy weather.
“Or do you swim against the tide? No, you will drown. Now, who is drawing Salvador to come to APC? To get cover or what? No, that will not stop justice for Aborishade,” he said.
On allegations that he was responsible for the friction in the party, George said it was wrong for Salvador to have made the allegations.
He said the PDP Chairman was actually the one running the party like his private estate, causing rancour and unnecessary wrangling in the party..
George said Salvador failed to honour agreements reached on executive offices after the Supreme Court verdict affirming Senator Ahmed Makarfi as National Chairman.
He said then that the party had agreed that 65 per cent of the offices should go to Makarfi’s followers in the state, while 35 per cent should be given to followers of ousted Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff.
“Rather than follow the agreement, he was imposing people as party executives, taking decisions that did not go down with members. He was running the party as if it was his personal estate,” George said.
George said PDP was based on strong democratic foundations and that impunity and indiscipline could not be allowed to reign in the party.
He condemned the violence in which Aborishade was killed, saying the party was saddened by the incident.
George said the party was not satisfied with the handling of the case by the Police in Lagos and called on the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to set up a special panel to probe the incident.
He said the party would not accept anything other than justice for the slain chieftain and that the party would continue to pursue the case.
George said he was launching the trust fund to raise money for the deceased’s family to support them.
He urged party members to contribute to the fund to identify with the family at this trying period.
(NAN)
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