One Month After Praising Dogara, APC Makes U-turn, Says ‘He’s Paperweight’

In barely a month after describing the Speaker of the House of Reps, Yakubu Dogara, in glowing terms, the All Progressives Party (APC), have described him as paperweight with no electoral value.

The change in tune is owing to the decamping of Dogara from the APC to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday.

Mr. Dogara picked the form of the PDP to re-contest for the fourth time.

On August 10, 2018 precisely, the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, reacting to Senate President Bukola Saraki’s defection said; “I have absolute confidence in Right Honourable Yakubu Dogara. I said something earlier that it was Sen. Saraki that complained. He did not only complain that he was not given juicy appointments but that Rt. Hon. Dogara was also not given and I wondered aloud whether Saraki thought that Dogara is not capable of speaking for himself, after all he is the Speaker. “So, if those were the views of Rt. Hon. Dogara, it was not for Sen. Saraki to parrot because Hon. Dogara is capable any day of speaking for himself. The point I tried to make is that Saraki wants to drag everybody along with him.

“The APC as a party and myself as chairman, we have confidence in Hon. Dogara. I have had very useful interactions with him. We have had couple of meetings. He has shared with me in trust, his concerns that have to do with issues in Bauchi state, and I have taken steps to address those issues to the best of my ability and I have shared with him that I am excited that we are getting very positive results.

“So, Hon. Dogara has no problem whatsoever with the APC and he did not do anything similar to what Sen. Saraki did. He emerged as Speaker and he also ensured as a patriot that an APC member emerged as Deputy Speaker. He was not so desperate as to mortgage that position to PDP in order to cling on to his speakership. He knew the difference between personal interests and his party interests”.

But on September 13, the party issued a scathing attack on the Speaker for jumping ship.

A statement by the party signed by its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, said the speaker is not only a paperweight, but will suffer crushing defeat at the polls next year.

“Dogara’s reported defection has not come to us as a surprise. It was only a matter of time judging by Dogara’s anti-party antics in the National Assembly where in connivance with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, he exploited all available avenues to sabotage and undermine the APC-led executive,” Nabena said.

“Dogara’s anti-party activities which enabled one of the opposition party’s sole victory in Bogoro Local Government Area (Dogara’s council) during the recent Bauchi South Senatorial bye-election won by the APC is another pointer, among several others. “Indeed, all politics is local. As a party, we empathise with Dogara on his confusion and despair over his bleak political future given the fact that he is not on ground and a political paperweight in his home Bauchi state. In his emergence as Speaker, Dogara was merely used by his political master to achieve their selfish political ends at the time. They have since moved on to pursue their individual political aspirations and left Dogara in the cold. We would advise Dogara against his ill-advised decision to recontest his House of Representatives seat under the opposition party he is linked with because a crushing and humiliating defeat surely awaits him,” the statement further stated.