Lai Mohammed, minister of
information and culture, says he “gladly welcomes” the anticipated defection of
Godswill Akpabio to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The senate minority leader on
Sunday met with President Muhammadu Buhari in London, UK, amid talks of an
imminent departure from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“I welcome it (defection of
Akpabio) because all politics is local. All those who have left us did that for
purely personal reasons,” Mohammed said during a chat with journalists in
Lagos.
“Since they say politics is a
game of number, of course we welcome gladly the defection of the minority
leader. Like they say, it is one-one goalless draw.”
On whether Akpabio was being
positioned for the position of the senate president, Mohammed said, “that I
don’t know”.
Mohammed said the recent
defection of some governors, state and federal lawmakers to the PDP was nothing
to worry about.
He said: “There have been so much
hype about this defection, and to me it’s nothing but a storm in a teacup. We
must appreciate the fact that at the end of the day, all politics is local.
“One should ask, what is the
electoral value of these decampees? In other words, today in Sokoto State,
what’s the electoral value of those who have decamped.”
According to him, the foundation
for the defection was laid the moment Bukola Saraki emerged senate president
against the wish of the party.
The minister said since the day
Saraki lobbied the opposition party to become the senate president, the
relationship between the executive and legislature had been turbulent.
“In fact, we could not have
suffered more as an executive in the hands of the legislature if a PDP person
had been the senate president,” he said.
On the allegation of lopsided
appointment of Kwara people in Buhari’s administration, Mohammed described it
as unfounded.
He said no fewer than 24
indigenes of Kwara were given federal appointments of which he (Mohammed) only
recommended two while Saraki recommended 20.
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