APC woos PDP reps with automatic tickets

About 23 members of the House of Representatives under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) are set to dump the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

It was gathered that the soon to be defectors were uncomfortable with alleged manipulations by their state governors to “anoint new candidates” in place of the incumbent “seasoned legislators.”

States said to be affected by the planned defection include Ekiti, Anambra, Cross River, Gombe, Benue, Kogi, Enugu, and others whose lawmakers are at loggerheads with their governors.

The planned mass defection, it was gathered, is indication that all is not well with the PDP, meetings of committees saddled with the responsibility of ensuring a smooth consensus primary election across the states were deadlocked last week without any reasonable outcome.

The source further disclosed that the APC is already dangling automatic tickets to lure the aggrieved lawmakers into their fold, should they perfect their plans to cross over to the ruling party.

“We want to leave not because it is our wish but the governors have pushed us to the wall.

“We have fought physically and mentally to defend the PDP and democracy. Despite our commitment to the party, see what the governors are doing to us,” the source said rather emotionally.

To perfect their plans, the affected lawmakers are said to be currently pushing for an earlier resumption from the ongoing annual recess of the National Assembly, as against the already speculated date of October 9.

It will however be recalled that 36 members of the House of Representatives dumped the All Progressives Congress, APC in July.