THE Senator representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District Hassan Mohammed Gusau on Tuesday announced the resignation of his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a letter he wrote to the Senate, Gusau said he left the PDP due to the collapse of internal democracy and factionalisation of the party from ward levels in Zamfara State.
The letter which was read during plenary by Senate President Ahmad Lawan failed to identify the Senator’s new party.
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Gusau, however, stated that he would announce his new political party to colleagues, soon.
Recently, some prominent members of the PDP have decamped from the party. Reasons given for the resignations include injustices done to the South-East zone by the party and infighting.
Last week, the Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District Peter Nwaoboshi was rumoured to have concluded arrangements to join the APC.
Nwaoboshi has neither denied the rumours nor confirmed them.
Governor of Zamfara State Bello Matawalle had also disclosed his intentions to defect to the All Progressives Party (APC) and is expected to formally make his declaration on Tuesday, June 29.
Meanwhile, the PDP has warned Matawalle and lawmakers elected under the party’s platform in the National Assembly and state assemblies against defecting from the party.
In a statement released on Monday, PDP National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan said Matawalle’s plan to leave the party translates to a decision to vacate office.
“A combined reading of Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution as the pronouncements of the Supreme Court in Faleke v. INEC (2016) is clear in holding that it is the political party that stands for election, that votes scored in election belong to the political party and that the candidate nominated to contest at an election by his party acts only as the agent of his party.
“The PDP also cautions members of the National Assembly as well as members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly not to allow themselves to be pushed into losing their seats as the provisions of the constitution is very clear in barring lawmakers from cross carpeting, except in a situation of a division in the political party upon which platform they were elected,” the statement issued by the PDP said.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.