REPS MINORITY LEADER QUITS ANPP FOR PDP

THE minority leader in the Federal House of Representatives, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has defected to the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), by dumping the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the platform on which he was expected to contest fo the Borno South Senatorial seat.

Ndume, who currently represents Chibok/Gwoza/Damboa federal constituency at the National Assembly, announced his decision to leave the ANPP on Monday night, ending weeks of speculations about his possible defection to either PDP or the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

He said he moved to the ruling party with all his supporters, including elected officials in Borno State.

The minority leader did not give a reason for his decision, but The Guardian learnt that he was compelled to move to  the PDP, following an alleged resolve of the ANPP leadership in the state to deny him the ticket to contest for the Borno South senatorial seat.

His supporters blamed Governor Ali Modu Sheriff for his defection, stating that Sheriff had endorsed a female commissioner, Dr. Asabe Vilita Bashir, who also held her formal declaration for the southern Borno senatorial seat the same day with Ndume at Gwoza, 135 kilometres south of Maiduguri, the state capital.

Ndume had told journalists shortly after his declaration that he had been receiving an invitation from the PDP leadership to leave the party that brought him to the lower chamber since 2003. He,  however,  said he was not considering leaving the ANPP for PDP which he described as 'the biggest problem of Nigeria.'

According to him, 'it is either Nigerians kill PDP or PDP kills Nigeria.'

It was learnt that the Minister of Works, Senator Sanusi Daggash assisted by  the  Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole led the team that wooed the minority leader to the ruling party.

Responding to Ndume's defection, Governor Sheriff said: 'Ndume will regret his defection to the PDP, because throughout my political career and politicking, it's now I will start real politicking, where the minority leader will seriously regret dumping All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) for the ruling party.'

He vowed to campaign from 'house to house' in all the 27 council areas, so that the minority leader would fail to win the Borno South Senatorial seat, which he is aspiring to on the platform of the PDP, instead of ANPP that helped him to rise to the National Assembly for eight years.