Immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has explained why he left the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
MDB reported Dogara’s defection on Friday after which he met with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Read Also: Breaking: Former Speaker Yakubu Dogara Dumps PDP, Returns To APC
In a letter of resignation addressed to the Bogoro ‘C’ Ward Chairman of the PDP dated July 24, 2020, Dogara mentioned a breakdown of governance in his native state of Bauchi under the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed whom he said he helped install as a governor in 2019.
The former speaker said he cannot successfully ask questions about those issues without being accused of disloyalty if he were to remain in the PDP.
He argued that if he abdicates this responsibility of telling the truth to power in Bauchi State, having done same under the administrations of former Governors Isa Yuguda and Mohammed Abubakar, he will be the most irresponsible and unprincipled politician in the State.
The explanation contained in the letter by Dogara’s spokesperson, Turaki Hassan.
Dogara was elected speaker on the APC platform in 2015. He decamped, alongside dozens of other lawmakers, to the PDP in the build-up to the 2019 general election.
He won his re-election as a lawmaker on the PDP platform but did not contest the speaker’s position as the APC won majority seats in the parliament.
After his meeting with President Buhari on Friday, the head of APC’s interim management, Mala Buni, who also attended the meeting, said Buhari was pleased with the defection.
Buni stated;
He (Buhari) welcomed him. He’s happy with the development. That’s what he’s looking for. We are rebuilding the party and these are the steps we are taking towards rebuilding the party.
Read Dogara’s full letter of resignation below;
LETTER OF RESIGNATION OF MY MEMBERSHIP OF THE PDP
Above subject matter refers.
I write to intimate you of my decision to resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
This became necessary because the same reasons why we fought hard in 2019 to effect changes in the Governance of our dear state are festering now.
I intend to bring these issues to the front burners once again as the fight to install decent and egalitarian government in our dear state continues.
Specifically, I intend to ask questions about the following:
a. What has happened to LGA allocations since May 2019?
b. What happened to our campaign promise to conduct LGA elections within six months of the PDP government?
c. What happened to the N4.6 billion loan taken from a bank and paid directly into an private company’s account?
d. Why are we segmenting salaries and why is payment of salaries of state workers outsourced to a private firm as consultants?
e. Why are contracts inflated, awarded and payment of mobilisation done in violation of extant rules on procurement?
f. Why are our highly revered Traditional Rulers and Elders treated with odium contrary to the guarantee we gave during the campaign that such will not happen under a PDP government?
Mr. Chairman, you will agree with me that I cannot raise these issues and many more questions without a charge of disloyalty levelled against me if I were to remain a member of the PDP.
I cannot also fail to raise these questions now, having raised similar ones during the administrations of Governors Isa Yuguda and Mohammed A. Abubakar. If I abdicate this responsibility on the altar of partisan loyalty, I will be the most irresponsible and unprincipled politician in Bauchi State.
Thus, by this letter, I have resigned my membership of the PDP to enable me keep faith with my principle of fighting for good governance in our Dear State.
He resigned for his own selfish gain. Very unprincipled and greedy. I wonder how these kind of men get to be in power in the first place.