Wahab Issa, a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain and loyalist of Senator Bukola Saraki in Kwara State, has defected to the state’s ruling All Progressives Congress.
Political observers see the development as a dramatic step that further depletes the main opposition PDP ahead of next Saturday’s crucial gubernatorial and house of assembly elections.
Wahab Issa, one of the Saraki dynasty’s strongest allies, was the PDP candidate for the Ilorin East/South House of Representatives election on February 25, 2023, but lost to the APC’s candidate, Yinka Aluko.
Rumour mills had gone wild on Wahab’s defection bid, even as dozens of Sarakites jumped the ship after the crushing defeat meted to the opposition PDP by the APC in the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections which the ruling APC party won 100%.
Wahab Issa, reportedly and finally met with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday to seal his defection to the governing APC, raising questions about the future of a dynasty that has failed to regain traction since its first-ever defeat in 2019.
The last few days have seen hundreds of opposition elements defecting to the ruling APC, all of them hinging their decision on the “excellent performance” of Governor AbdulRazaq who is standing for re-election in the Saturday’s election.
Some of the leading defectors included Senator Suleiman Makanjuola Ajadi of ADC; former commissioner for Sports Kale Ayo; former Commissioner Aisha Ahman Patigi; PDP’s Haruna Likpata; former council chairman and senior legislative aide to Saraki Wasiu Bamidele; and Saraki’s cousin Ope Saraki; among several others.
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