The last-ditch effort by politicians sympathetic to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to halt another round of defections failed on Thursday as Tunde Adeniran, a former minister, and Professor Jerry Gana, a member of the PDP board of trustees, BOT, defected to the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Inside sources said the move was just the beginning of massive defections expected from both PDP and APC to SDP in the days ahead.
Though report broke earlier that a reception ceremony to receive heavyweight PDP members was at the offing at the Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, DAILY INDEPENDENT exclusively scooped that some politicians from the PDP or still sympathetic to the party had tried to dissuade them from doing so.
As gathered, former Senate deputy president, Ibrahim Mantu, tried to woo the defecting politicians from their planned move early in the day.
By evening, however, it appeared that the mission embarked on by Mantu had failed.
DAILY INDEPENDENT confirmed Gana and Adeniran’s presence at the Ladi Kwali Hall venue of the defection programme.
Defeated chairmanship candidate at the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, had disowned the Fresh PDP.
It was reported on Thursday that a group made up of about five men ‘opened’ a parallel secretariat for the PDP in Abuja.
As also learnt, yesterday’s activities were a culmination of wide consultations with diverse political interests across the country. According to an officer of the SDP, “What people will see in the days ahead is the third force emergence.
“It is going to be a coalition of interest groups from PDP and APC.
“You have seen with your eyes two members of the PDP who are here today.
“This is just a tip of the iceberg as there are bigger PDP members who will be coming to SDP.”
During their rapprochement with various interest groups, the party claimed to have reached an understanding with the groups on which way the country would go.
In a document titled, ‘Towards a New Political Order’ which is a MoU between SDP and the political interest groups tagged as Movement For A New Political Order’, an arrangement has been worked towards true federalism, democracy, sustainable economy just and fair country among other desirable conditions for citizens.
The Mou also spelt out core values of the party as justice, transparency, accountability, zero tolerance for corruption, respect for human life, international cooperation for common humanity.
But other political observers at the place raised concerns over the motive of the defections at this time.
According to Aminu Ibrahim, a delegate from Nasarawa, these defectors are aggrieved members of PDP who lost out somehow.He may well have a point.
Adeniran contested for the chairmanship position of the PDP but lost heavily to Uche Secondus.
Shortly after, some members of the party opened a parallel secretariat calling themselves Fresh PDP.
There were speculations that Adeniran was the brain behind the move.
Prince Obi Nwosu, Alhaji Hassan Adamu, Chief Olusola Akindele, Chief Godwin Duru and Franklyne Edede made up the group.
But the former minister debunked the report. Speaking through the Director of his Campaign Organization at the time, Shehu Garban, in Abuja, Adeniran stated that anybody who had genuine grievances was free to express them but cautioned that his principal should not be linked to the group.
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