Bauchi Speaker Defects From APC To PDP

After years of uncertainty and accusations of lack of loyalty to his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Mr Abubakar Sulaiman, has finally defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Sulaiman is also the Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria.

He has seen his loyalty questioned since his emergence in 2019 as speaker with the help of PDP lawmakers.

His emergence in the PDP dominated House threw the APC into confusion with concerns emerging soon afterwards that it was just a matter of time before he defected to the ruling party in the state.

The Speaker announced the decision at a Ramadan Iftar dinner hosted by Governor Bala Mohammed on Saturday night.

Sulaiman justified his decision to defect on the the exemplary leadership style of Governor Bala Mohammed and his commitment to transforming the State.

“I want to use this opportunity today to officially announce to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, and other stakeholders in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of my formal defection to the state ruling party.

“One of my reasons to return to the PDP is in recognition of the exemplary leadership style of our Governor and his commitment to transforming the state,” he said

In welcoming him, Mohammed said the step he took was long expected considering his body language in recent times.

He said that it is a homecoming for the Speaker having supported all the programme of the PDP in the past

The governor further acknowledged the good working relationship between his administration and the Assembly.

He called for continued working synergy for the speedy development and progress of the state.

Bauchi PDP chairman, Hamza Akuyam, expressed confidence in the party’s ability to emerge victorious in the 2023 general elections.

His defection is a minus for the APC as Bauchi is one of the states considered very important in the presidential election.