Wamakko, who is out of the country, was quoted by his associate to have denied endorsing the defection.
“I called him and he said he remains a member of PDP, not APC. He said he is waiting to be part of the meeting with the president,” the associate, a politician friend of the governor, said.
It was, however, not clear whether the governor would also issue a statement like his Niger and Jigawa state counterparts.
THE PDP has described the defection as an exercise of democratic rights, declaring that after 2015 victory of the party, the defectors would be welcomed back into the party.
Speaking on behalf of the party, its national secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo, said the PDP was not worried or disturbed by the defection, adding that those who did not deliver their states for the president at the 2011 election could not now determine the fate of the PDP and the president in 2015.
“Multi-party democracy is now entrenched in our nation and everyone is free to take advantage of this and move to any political party where he believes his political interest would best be served.
“We had always believed that there is more to this orchestrated conflict within our party than meets the eyes. As for APC, it is still exercising its freedom of association that the PDP government had entrenched in the country in past 14 years,” he said.
The PDP scribe congratulated President Jonathan for ensuring that basic political freedom was guaranteed to all Nigerians, irrespective of their status.
He maintained that the allegiance between the splinter group and APC would not last, adding that the defectors would return to the PDP before long.
“I assure you that come May 29, 2015, when the good people of this country would have given us authority again to continue in the transformation agenda till 2019, many of these people will come knocking again,” he said.
The party also lauded Governors Lamido and Aliyu for dissociating themselves from the reported defection, adding that President Jonathan would hold peace talks with aggrieved members of the party on Sunday.
Addressing newsmen on Tuesday, the national publicity secretary of the party, Chief Olisah Metuh, said “we wish to commend the wise decision of some of the aggrieved governors to dissociate themselves from the action of some of their colleagues.
“We assure all Nigerians that PDP will continue to grow from strength to strength and will definitely emerge stronger from this event.
“We wish to state categorically that PDP remains unperturbed as we are now rid of detractors and distractions. We urge all our members nationwide to remain focused and close ranks, now that agents of distraction have finally left our ranks.
“We wish to remind our members that from the rulings of the court, there are no faction whatsoever in PDP. In the eyes of the law, the PDP remains one and an indivisible entity, under the leadership of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.”
Meanwhile, PDP is to commence legal moves to declare seats of any of its governors who defected to APC vacant.
Leaders of the party, who had monitored the body language of the aggrieved governors, were said to have recommended to the presidency to give its nod to the move to seek legal redress against any of the governors who defected to the APC.
The legal tango would, according to sources, be based on the constitutional provisions which forbade anyone elected on the platform of a party from defecting to another, except there is division in the party that originally elected him.
Leaders of the PDP were said to have examined Section 68(Ig) of the 1999 Constitution and discovered that the law was not in favor of defection.
It was gathered that a team of lawyers was already working on the legal technicalities, to ensure any governor who defected had his seat declared vacant.
It was also gathered on Tuesday that President Jonathan and the leader of PDP Governors Forum, Governor Godswill Akpabio, met at the Presidential Villa, to dissect the defection of the five governors.
Presidency not worried by defection report —Gulak
The presidency, on Tuesday, said it was neither surprised nor threatened by the governors’ action.
Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, told State House correspondents that the defected governors had had their hearts outside PDP for a long time.
Noting that Governors Aliyu (Niger) and Lamido (Jigawa) had already disassociated themselves from the merger move, Gulak remarked that it was a good thing that the five governors had told the world where they truly belonged.
According to him, the development would now allow PDP to be focused and not be distracted.
“A lot of people in the APC, ACN, ANPP have contacted me severally that they want to come back to PDP, that they were just waiting for what happened today to happen. And to us, it is a good development,” he said.
He added that the presidency did not feel threatened by the defection ahead of the 2015 general election.
“The presidency does not feel threatened, the PDP does not feel threatened. PDP is the party to beat. We have had it before. Even people who have occupied higher offices left the party and came back. Outside there, there is nothing. It is empty. PDP is the only party,” he said.
On whether there was any hope of reconciliation, the presidential aide was of the opinion that the party would continue with peace efforts, saying “we are talking about peace. Reconciliation is an ongoing process.”
Meanwhile, moments after the former PDP governors announced their decision to join APC, Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, was in the Presidential Villa, where he was thought to have met with President Jonathan.
Oshiomhole declined comments when he was approached by State House correspendents as he emerged from the president’s office.
We’re still in PDP —Kwara New PDP members
Leadership of the factionalised PDP in Kwara State has said it was in the dark on what the political development holds for its members.
The report of the defection, which was received with mixed feelings among supporters of the two affected parties, got them apprehensive.
It was also gathered that men of the police were at the party secretariat to ensure security and prevent likely breakdown of law and order.
Nigerian Tribune investigations gathered that some people at the secretariat of the New PDP, located on Nupe Road, GRA, Ilorin, had pulled down the flag of PDP and covered the name of the party on its billboard, early in the morning, after the merger report was announced.
However, the leadership of the party later directed some members of staff of the secretariat to replace the removed flags and clean the paint on the billboard.
Speaking with journalists, the state chairman of the New PDP, Alhaji Isola Balogun-Fulani, said his people were still in PDP.
“We are still in PDP. We have not been told otherwise. We expect our leader to formally give us directive on the development in the party. You know, we cannot just do anything based on media report. So, we are still in PDP,” he said
Also speaking, former chairman of CPC in the state, Alhaji Sulaiman Buhari, said issues at hand would be settled as they unfolded.
Source: Tribune
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