As the general elections draw closer, a gale of defection has hit the Jigawa State polity, investigation by the News Agency of Nigeria has revealed.
The investigation revealed that a number of political heavyweights have recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All progressives Congress.
The investigation in Dutse on Friday showed that among those who allegedly defected included the first civilian Governor of the state, Alhaji Ali Sa’ad Birnin Kudu; and former Senator for Jigawa North West, Alhaj Danladi Sankara.
Others were former commissioners, special advisers and members of the state and national assemblies, who failed to secure tickets to re-contest.
A former Deputy Governor during the administration of ex-Governor Sule Lamido, Alhaji Ahmad Muhammad, was also among the defectors and is currently the campaign Director-General of the incumbent Governor, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru.
Suleiman Bulus of the PDP said the defectors are not politicians but people who are hungry, looking for something to eat because they are not true politicians.
Bulus said: “I am assuring you, anytime if PDP wins elections, the same people will still come back and meet us, I tell you.
“There is no cause for alarm.
“PDP will still recapture Jigawa this year.
“We don’t want to talk too much.
“Just wait and see.”
In a swift reaction, a chieftain of APC in Jigawa State, Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia, popularly known as Baba Ishaq, dismissed the claim that PDP will still capture Jigawa State in the upcoming elections.
Ishaq said: “That is a dream.
“We have already killed and buried PDP in Jigawa.
“That is just an empty outburst.
“PDP will not do anything in Jigawa.
“It is because of the good leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari in the centre and Governor Muhammad Badaru in Jigawa that people are defecting to our party on daily basis.
“The APC administration under present Buhari was able to fight, corruption, insecurity and unemployment.
“Buhari was able to achieve a lot in just about four years of his tenure, which the PDP couldn’t in its 16 years of administration.”
NAN gathered that PDP and Social Democratic Party are in secret talks to enter into alliance to wrest power from APC in the forthcoming elections.
Efforts to contact the state Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Mahmoud Kuit, and his SDP counterpart, Alhaji Abba Annas, to comment on the issue failed as their mobiles lines were either switched off or unavailable.
NAN.