The camp of a serving governor on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently engulfed in a dilemma over reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has imposed strident conditions on him to guarantee his defection to the ruling party.
The serving governor, who is believed to be perfecting his defection plans, was said to have recently initiated contacts with the leadership of the ruling party in Abuja.
Investigations revealed that while the leaders of the APC in Abuja were willing to discuss with the governor, the home-based members of the ruling party believed that they could take over the state in the next election, with or without the governor in the saddle.
Instead of being allowed the usual courtesy of becoming the party leader once he defects, it was gathered that some tough conditions were handed down to the particular governor, leaving him bewildered as to what would become of his followers.
According to sources, the governor, in a series of his talks with the top echelons of the APC, has been made to understand that he would not be considered the leader of the APC upon his defection to the ruling party.
Another condition, according to sources, was that the governor would not be in a position to handpick a successor. A source stated that the governor was told that he would have to work with stakeholders in the APC upon his arrival in the party to determine the likely successor.
It was also gathered that his supporters would not get special considerations for any elective positions in the 2027 election primaries, due to kick off in April.
It was gathered that when the governor got back to base, his supporters were downcast due to the tough conditions, even though they supported his defection bid.
Said a source in the know: “The governor and all of his supporters are in a serious dilemma right now. The confusion is palpable, and it is because of the confused state of things that things look dicey. If we agree that he should take the sole senatorial ticket on offer, that means that the governor would be the only one to contest in 2027, all his supporters would have to sit back as cheer leaders for APC aborigines.”
Investigations further revealed that a defiant section of the governor’s camp has, however, declared that the defection bid be reversed to enable the PDP leaders perfect their way to victory in the state.
It was gathered that the state in question has a history of switching party loyalty after each transition, and that the handwriting has been on the wall that the APC governorship hopefuls are knocking on the door ahead of the next general election.
Sources said that the governor is still pressing it on the leadership of the APC in Abuja that he has a lot to offer, contrary to the claims by the home-based APC leaders who were said to have polluted the minds of the Abuja leadership to give him the tough conditions.
If the governor eventually finds a way into the APC, the PDP might be going into the next general election with only one governor, having held on to 13 states at the end of the 2023 elections. Of the 13, Edo State was lost to the APC following the off-season election, while the governors of Zamfara, Plateau, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Taraba, and Enugu had defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress; the governor of Osun State defected to the Accord Party due to the crisis rocking the former ruling party.
DAILY POST
