By Bashir Adefaka
The long expected defection of Speaker of the Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, may have finally come to effect as he has reportedly been confirmed to have picked his Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Dogara was said to have picked the forms, on Wednesday, to enable him return to the lower legislative chamber if elected at the February 2019 national assembly election.
Although no public statement has been made by the chief of the green chamber, the development by which he went ahead and picked a form from opposition party that is his former party, it was learned, is an indication that the he has defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP.
The Speaker, until his defection, was the last man standing among members of the suddenly resurfaced New PDP believed to have given the ruling Party tough time over grievances that continued to defy resolutions until they started leaving one after another.
A media report quoted a member of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) as saying: “Yes, he (Dogara) had picked our forms, but don’t quote me, he has joined us.”
The speaker is expected to formally announce his defection when the lawmakers return from recess later this month.
It will be recalled that Dogara had been widely reported to have been confused when it became clear to him that defections of his earlier defected members in the House did not translate to majority to give him easy jump-out.
In search of network for new political destination of choice earlier before the first batch of defectors moved, it would also be recalled that Yakubu Dogara, in line with direction laid out by the Senate President Bukola Saraki, co-formed a rebellion group against their party and named it the New APC with hope, our investigations revealed, that it would give the face of fraction in the ruling APC to justify their defection but failed when that also did not fly.
It was suspected that both Saraki and Dogara had planned not to announce their defections to protect their positions but work underground against the APC, its government and even impeach President Muhammadu Buhari, until it became no longer possible for Saraki to stay due to sudden heat that came from beneath him from Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who commenced the “Saraki Must Go” project leading to the dissolution of Balogun Fulani-led Kwara State APC Executive Committee and replaced it with Moshood Bolarinwa-led Executive Committee in the state.
