The All Progressives Congress has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu or the ruling party is enticing opposition governors to defect, insisting that recent defections are voluntary decisions taken by political leaders seeking to align with the administration’s agenda.
The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, stated this on Monday while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid growing controversy surrounding the defection of Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, and other political heavyweights to the party.
Asked how the APC succeeded in baiting opposition governors to abandon their existing platforms, Morka refuted the allegation.
Asked how the APC succeeded in baiting opposition governors to abandon their existing platforms, Morka refuted the allegation.
He said, “Nobody is baiting anyone. These eminent leaders in our country who are joining our party do so of their own volition. No one is baiting anyone.
“So I can’t tell you where the baits are because that’s not happening. Look, Kano is one of Nigeria’s most important states. So, for a governor in Kano to decide to join our party, you can’t speak of bait. He made that decision on his own, voluntarily.”
Morka argued that the defections reflect confidence in the Tinubu administration and the APC’s political direction rather than inducement.
“There’s something the governors who are joining our party are seeing. They want to identify with this president. They want to be part of the success story of Mr President and the promise of a resurgent Nigeria. That is what is going on.
“So I don’t think we should conclude by suggesting that anyone is being baited. How do you bait the governor of Kano or my state, Delta? These are incredibly massive states in all ramifications, in terms of resources, population and everything. So you don’t bait them.
“These are men who, on their own, have decided to come over to our party because they want to be part of its great story,” he noted.
