From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The political atmosphere in Kebbi State appears to be tending towards one party system. This is due to the strong indication that the strong man of the main opposition party in the state, Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero, representing Kebbi Central Senatorial District and two other senators of the main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are set to defect to the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Aliero, it could be recalled, had joined the main opposition party after he couldn’t secure return ticket in APC to the Senate in 2023. To protest the decision, he, alongside two senators, four members House of Representatives, ditched the party. Senator Aliero and his co-travellers eventually won their elections, as Aliero defeated the then incumbent Governor at the time, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, now Minister of Budget and Economy Planning.
Recently however, Aliero’s camp have been seen holding secret and public meetings with the ruling party, APC and incumbent Governor, Dr. Nasir Idris to fine-tune their arrangement to return to APC.
On January 2nd, 2025, junior brother to Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero, Alhaji Abba Aliero was sighted at the Government House Birnin Kebbi, where he and other selected loyalists held a closed-door meeting with the Governor and APC State executives.
While briefing newsmen after the meeting, held at Government House, Alhaji Abba Aliero, described the meeting as a ‘tete-a tete’ and assured that, the general public would be informed of any decision they reached later.
According to him, “we were summoned for a friendly discussion with His Excellency, the Governor of Kebbi State, Dr. Nasir Idris, which we obliged. We have sought for some time to break, to return to our constituencies for further consultations with our grassroots supporters, upon which we shall decide the best course of action”.
Though, Senator Adamu Aliero was not at the meeting, others present at the meeting, included: former Commissioner for Works, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku Bunu, the State Assembly member, representing Aliero state constituency, on the platform of the PDP, Hon. Buhari Muhammad Aliero, Former Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Muhammadu Magawata Aliero and the former Chairman of Dandi Local Government Council, Hon. Salihu Dila Kamba.
To many residents in the state, the defection moves by Aliero, did not come as a surprise because, they see the former Kebbi State Governor as being on loan to the PDP, stressing that, as a 1999 set of former Governors, Senator Adamu Aliero would like to join President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration for political patronages.
Reacting to the Aliero’s defection moves, the Kebbi State Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Isa Asalafi explained that the defection of the former Governor, shows that there was is no permanent friend or permanent enemies in politics. According to him, “as you all knew, in politics, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies. We can agree and disagree. So, I don’t see anything abnormal in Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero returning to the APC because that is the party which he was before he left.
“Since 2014, we were all together in APC and we emerged victorious in the 2015 general elections. It was just because of disagreement that made them to leave. So, those issues of disagreement have been settled, resolved and gone. So, they are returning to where they belonged to initially.
“Don’t forget that Senator Adamu Aliero was a former Governor of this State, former Senator, former FCT Minister and current Senator, representing Kebbi Central Senatorial District. He was one of the strong pillars of APC before he and his supporters left. So, for us in APC, we are really happy that he and his Lieutenants, two other Senators, Four House of Representatives are ready to return to APC.
“Already, we have had a wonderful discussion with their agents. Any moment from now, you will hear that they announce at the National Assembly formally that they are now APC members. But as we are speaking now, everybody in Kebbi State knows that, they are already in APC.
“From all indications, his junior brother, who is always leading his political team, has come out, together with their lieutenants, and supporters that they are in APC right now. So, it is just a matter of time for them to officially announce their return. So, the impact of Senator Adamu Aliero’s return to APC on the main opposition would be very huge. Nobody can dispute the fact that Senator Adamu Aliero is one of the strongest politicians in the state. So, we are highly excited that they are coming back to APC.
“Their return would further strengthen APC ahead of 2027 general elections. It is a done deal. If Aliero finally returns to APC, our party’s chances of winning elections from the wards, to the state, and national levels would be a done deal because, we are not going to have a strong opposition party in the state anymore”.
Salafi added that immediately the news spread, the opposition party have been in disarray, jittery as they knew that their days as strong opposition party is over.
“If we have this deal sealed, Kebbi State would only have one strong political party, because, we would not have anybody in PDP in Kebbi State who can sponsor a Councillor in the state after the defection of Senator Adamu Aliero and his team to APC,” Salafi added.
While reacting to the defection of Senator Aliero, the Publicity Secretary of PDP in the state, Alhaji Sani Dododo, who is also one of the followers of Aliero, insisted that the main opposition party have not been formally notified about the defections plan of all the PDP Senators, four House of Representatives members of the party, to APC.
According to him, “actually what is happening is that, the way all of you heard about their defections rumour, is the same way we also heard about it. We heard the same that his supporters, two other Senators are also planning to go to APC. So, the way you all heard it, is the same way we in the party, heard it. There was no normal correspondence from Senator Adamu Aliero, and the other two Senators, about their plan including the members of the House of Representatives. So, the party, PDP is not aware of their moves. Because, nobody in the party, right from the Ward Chairmen, LGA Chairmen and State Chairman of the PDP have been contacted on their plan. We only learnt that the Junior brother to Senator Adamu Aliero, Abba Aliero along with some other supporters of Senator Aliero, and they also picked five people from each Local Government, making a total of 105 people to meet at the Senator’s house and from there, they met His Excellency, Governor Idris at Government House. All these were done without the consent of the party. Our party was not aware, party was not contacted, party was not included. Even the ex-officios of the party and State chairman were not contacted. That is why our party, all thoroughly scrutinised of all these information, and distanced itself from what is going on either in the Government House, or at Senator Adamu Aliero’s house or anywhere. Therefore, PDP as the party, is not in support or aware of anybody defecting to APC.
“Because, before anybody can defect to another political party from the party of which he or she won election, it has to follow a process. There is provision for that in the Nigeria’s constitution or of the political party. There is also a law governing that. If you look at the judgment of the Supreme Court, it is stated that before you can cross carpet, there must be crisis in the party. And there was no crisis in PDP in Kebbi State from the ward level to the Local Government and the State, we only have one Chairman. Even at the Ward and Local Government of Senator Aliero, Aliero Local government, we only have one chairman. At the national level, we only have one National Chairman. So, there is no crisis in PDP.”
Dododo, while responding to the likely action to be taken against the defectors, explained that the legal action would not be ruled out. He said: “if it happened eventually, there are rules and regulations, the party would not have any other option than to approach the court to seek for a redress. And I don’t want to believe it that they would eventually do it and defect to APC. They would never. As I am talking to you, we in PDP still count them as the Bonafide members of PDP in Kebbi State, because, they have not officially informed us that they are leaving PDP to APC.”
He added that if they wanted to defect, they should do it formally on the floor of the Senate, and that of the House of Representatives and thereafter, inform their wards’ chairmen, adding that “what is happening now is a political brouhaha. That is why PDP has not joined them on this issue. In Kebbi State, PDP is still intact, no crisis and those members planning to defect are still members of the PDP.”