By Gabriel Atumeyi
The Senator representing Adamawa North, Elisha Abbo, has explained that he left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) in order to pursue his 2023 governorship ambition.
Abbo, whose letter of defection was read on the floor of the Senate by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday, however insisted at a news conference after plenary, that there is a major crisis in the party in Adamawa State.
The senator also said he was not ready to resign as was demanded by the PDP.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, while reacting to Abbo’s defection, said, “Senator Abbo is fully aware of the constitutional implication of his decision to defect to another party; which is that, he cannot continue to occupy the seat of the PDP in the Senate.
“The place of any Senator who changed parties except on the grounds provided by the Constitution is very clear and the PDP will not allow Senator Abbo to run away with our mandate.”
In response, Abbo queried, “Did they ask (Governor Dave) Umahi to resign? Go and ask them (PDP). Governor Umahi just defected from PDP to APC as a sitting governor of Ebonyi State. Did they ask him to resign?
“There is a crisis in the (PDP) party in my state. That is the truth. I believe internal democracy in the party has suffered in the last one year when the governor assumed office.
“As you all know, it is only in Adamawa State that we have reformed PDP. There is a crisis in the party in Adamawa State and the governor is the cause of the crisis.”
The Senator also said he moved to the ruling party to join the “President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, to build the Nigeria of our dreams.”
365Daily gathered that with his defection, the APC now has 60 senators, while PDP has 42. There are currently six vacant Senate seats.