Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has defected from the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) to rejoin the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Interim APC Chairman and governor of Yobe state, Mala Mai Buni, disclosed this to state house correspondents after himself and Dogara met with President Buhari in the presidential villa in Abuja today July 24.
“He is now a member of the APC,” Buni told journalists after the meeting.
Dogara defected from the APC to the PDP in January 2019. He is yet to disclose the reason for his defection back to APC.
Read excerpts of Mr Buni’s interview with journalists below.
On the purpose of the visit, Mr Buni said:
“We paid a courtesy call on the President in continuation of our effort to rebuild the party. We are here to see Mr President and brief him on the developments.”
When told that people may be surprised to see him with Mr Dogara, Mr Buni said:
“They shouldn’t be surprised because the former Speaker is a member of the APC and he is because the reason he left the APC is no more there.”
When he was asked if Mr Dogara is back to the APC, Mr Buni said:
“Yeah, he’s back.”
On the president’s reaction to Mr Dogara’s return, the Yobe governor said:
“He welcomed him. He’s happy with the development. That’s what he’s looking for. We are rebuilding the party and these are the steps we are taking towards rebuilding the party.”
When asked how far the party will go to get everybody back, he said:
“Well, we are meeting all our aggrieved members, particularly (those) who have an interest in coming back to the party. They should feel free to do so. We are assuring them and there is no crime in double assurance.”
When asked when there will be an end to all the APC crises, he said:
“Shortly In sha Allah.”
Mr Buni was also asked what assurance the APC was giving to the returnees. He said:
“We will do justice to all our members and that’s what will bring peace and that is why will guarantee peaceful coexistence, that is what will bring the consolidation of the party, the rebuilding of the party. Without doing justice, you cannot achieve that and we are sure of doing justice to all our members.”
When asked if that was part of the party’s 2023 strategy, Mr Buni said:
“Well, of course, not only 2023 strategy, this party, we are rebuilding the party to outlive all of us. It’s not only about specific time or period, it’s not about election, it’s not about electioneering. It is about building a party.”
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