- Aliyu warns PDP to stop inviting defectors he calls “nomadic politicians” and blames them for deep-rooted party crises.
- He urges discipline, loyalty, and strict adherence to PDP’s constitution requiring returnees to “join the queue.”
Former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, has cautioned the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against encouraging defectors to return to the party.
Aliyu described those who left the party as “nomadic politicians,” saying they were responsible for some of the challenges facing the PDP.
He spoke at a PDP Consultative Conference held on Wednesday in Abuja, recalling that the party’s convention in Port Harcourt was dominated by “nomadic politicians.”
The ex-governor urged the party to learn from its past mistakes.
“Both the chairman and the chairman of governors’ forum have been very diplomatic and saying ‘come back, come back’.
“No, you don’t invite nomadic politicians back to your party. These were people with a history of nomadism,” he said.
Aliyu traced the party’s crises, dating back to 2013 and 2014, to a lack of discipline and the prioritisation of personal interests.
“We cannot keep on, knowing that the black sheep in the family keeps on destroying whatever we are building. And then you say, ‘come back’. In fact, the most shocking time period was 2019,” he added.
The ex-governor called for loyal party members to be rewarded rather than those who constantly defect.
He reminded members that the PDP constitution clearly stipulates that returnees must “join the queue.”
Aliyu further charged the party to pursue “real, principled politics” even if it does not immediately result in electoral success.
He appealed to the Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, to ensure compliance with the court ruling on the recall of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the suspended senator representing Kogi Central.
Earlier, the acting national chairman of PDP, Umar Damagum, said the party’s doors would remain open to returnees.
“Let it be said and known that our doors remain open to those who wish to return and it is my earnest prayers that in their return, they may rediscover themselves.
“After all, we are still the party that gave many their first political home,” Damagum said.
He acknowledged that the PDP had suffered internal fractures since 2013 but maintained that it remained the only platform capable of returning power to the people.
Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum and Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, cautioned defectors against “de-marketing” the party.
“You cannot be in PDP and be in coalition with another party,” Mohammed warned.
He said some defectors had caused the party’s loss in 2015 but were still accommodated.
A former senate president, Bukola Saraki, urged party members not to abandon the PDP due to anger.
“Yes, mistakes had been made in the past, but the question still remains — should we abandon this party?
“I stand here as somebody who left this party with anger. Anger does not solve problems in leadership.
“Lots of people are leaving the party now, and leaving with anger. We must not leave, but if we have to leave, (it should be) based on ideology, based on plans, based on a vision for Nigeria, not out of anger,” Saraki said.
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