Three senators from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was learned to have met with President Bola Tinubu behind closed doors at the state House Villa in Abuja on Friday. It was learned that their meeting with the president was not unconnected with a plan defection in this era of ‘Tinubu tsunami’ that have hit the opposition parties.
The senators include; Adamu Aliero, representing Kebbi Central Senatorial District, Yahaya Abdullahi, representing Kebbi North Senatorial District and Garba Maidoki, representing Kebbi South Senatorial District.
According to the source, the lawmakers were led by the National party chairman of the All progressive Congress, APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to meet with president Tinubu.
It was also disclosed that the Kebbi, and Sokoto State Governors, Nasir Idris and Ahmad Aliyu, respectively; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, were part of the meeting as All three are the ruling party bigwigs.
Although the purpose of the meeting was not made public, but there are speculations that the opposition senators may be planning to ditch the PDP for the ruling APC.
In the past few weeks, several lawmakers both at the federal and state levels have left their parties for the APC. Some anchored their reasons on internal party conflicts, while others claimed they took the decision to align with the federal government for access to political opportunities for their constituents.
Notable amongst those who joined the APC train were the Kano South senator, Kawu Sumaila, who defected from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) on Wednesday. Six PDP House of Representatives members from Delta State announced their defection on Tuesday. Another Rep from Osun State, Oluwole Oke, defected from the PDP on 16 April.
At the state level, Edo State House of Assembly Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, along with all members of the Delta State House of Assembly, have also joined the APC.
Who are these senators?
The three Kebbi state senators planning to dump the PDP were identified to be amongst the notable lawmakers that are known to be unapologetic critics of President Tinubu’s policies at the Senate, especially on insecurity and federal appointments, as they are considered to be respected figures in the opposition.
Mr Aliero was a governor of Kebbi State from 1999 to 2007. He was elected to the Senate in 2007 but was appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by late former President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2008, serving until 2010. Mr Aliero returned to the Senate in 2015 and has remained a central figure since.
Mr Abdullahi was a former Senate Minority Leader during Ahmad Lawan’s tenure as Senate President. He has been a legislator since 2015.
Meanwhile, Mr Maidoki, the most recent entrant, was elected in 2023. Despite being a first-time senator, he has attracted much attention recently for his unrelented public criticism of federal policies and his advocacy for northern interests.
