PDP Governors Joining APC Are Seeing The Bigger Picture – Presidency Declares

The special adviser on media and publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina has revealed that he felt like embracing Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade for his decision to dump the PDP for the APC.

The presidential media aide while praising Ayade for his decision to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) submitted that Ayade’s crossing was a good development.

According to Adesina, apart from increasing the chances of APC at retaining the presidency in 2023, it shows that some people have learnt to look beyond politics and embrace the commitment of President Buhari to rebuilding Nigeria.

“Ayade’s crossing over to APC was very good for the party. The more governors, the merrier, and the brighter your chances of retaining power at the centre,” he said.

While praising Buhari whom he says embodies virtues like character, honour, commitment, selflessness, and transparency, Adesina submitted that rather than remain in the opposition, more Governors should join the President in APC.

He argued that Ayade decamped not for personal reasons or gains, but for national interest and for that, he deserves a lot of respect.

In the words of Adesina, “Hear the Governor when he gave reasons for crossing the carpet: “Having seen and known the President and his commitment to this country, his nationalistic disposition and all the efforts he has made to bring Nigeria to where we are today, it is obvious that at this point, we needed to join hands with him to build a Nigeria that we can be proud of.”

“We need all governors to recognize that it is not the party that matters, it is character, honour, commitment to the vision of this great nation.”

“This resonates deeply with me. For if there is one thing lacking in our country, it is love for nation. Some Nigerians actually rejoice when negative things happen to their own country. They rejoice at iniquity, at evil, and they think somebody is being done in, not knowing that the land is the ultimate loser. They swallow poison, and think it would kill their neighbors. Pity!”

“Also lacking in our blessed but blighted country are virtues like character, honour, commitment, selflessness, transparency, which President Buhari has a-plenty, and which Gov Ayade has seen, and which brought him into the APC. That is the reason for the intended embrace. Cross River State has always been PDP, and may still be largely so, but Ayade did not mind. He was actuated by enough love for country to know that his former party was not the way to go any longer, not minding the personal consequences.”

“Now, listen to this one that bowled me over completely. The Governor came to see the President, and spoke to journalists covering State House. He told them: “What do I stand to gain? If police stations are attacked, policemen are killed, soldiers are killed, there is kidnapping everywhere, it makes the ruling party unpopular, and that is good for me. My party is likely to win. But that is what I want to depart from. The cumulative impact of that is you are celebrating while your country is undergoing a bloodbath. And the cascading effect is that your country is becoming ungovernable over a period of time.”

“So, why don’t we join hands with a party that says we are open, rather than being at war with each other?”
That is the crux of my admiration for Ayade. His decamping is not strictly about himself, but about our country. Love for fatherland. That is food for thought. Something we need to ponder about, and check ourselves in the mirror.”

Noting that currently, the APC has 21 sitting Governors, PDP 14 and the All Progressives Grand Alliance has 1, Mr. Adesina reiterated that politics remains a game of numbers and the APC remains the party of choice and the party to beat in the 2023 general elections.