Five months after leaving his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Governor Muktar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State, has joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The former governor, who served the state from 2012 to 2015 under PDP, was defeated by the former governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, during the 2015 elections in the state.
Commenting on the development, Yero said, “Since the very day we announced our defection from PDP, many political parties contacted us, including the ruling APC. We met and discussed since the very day we left our former party. Therefore, from today, being 12 February 2024, myself and representatives of other political associates have decided to join APC. After our decision, we met with the state governor and had a discussion with him. We told him that we accepted to join the party based on the invitation we received.”
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The former governor further appealed to his supporters to join him in the ruling party to contribute their quota towards moving the state and country forward.
Reacting to the former governor’s joining the APC, Kaduna State PDP Secretary Ibrahim Wosono said Yero’s decision didn’t come as a surprise.
According to Wosono, the fortune of their party is not in any individual’s hands; therefore, his joining the ruling APC would not affect the party’s fortune in the next general election.
“He has the right specifically to defect from any party to another party, but if he can remember, he has been a commissioner under PDP platform, he has been a deputy governor under PDP, and also he has been a governor under PDP. The APC he has joined now is the same party that defeated him in the 2015 general election, and it’s the APC that took him to court and even to jail,” he said.
According to him, it’s the same APC that took him (Yero) to EFCC, and the case is still ongoing.
On whether his joining APC will affect the PDP in any way, Wosono said, “As a former governor, he has his own followers, but I will say that the fortune of PDP doesn’t rely on somebody’s hand. If you could remember, PDP has a history; Obasanjo left PDP, Atiku once left PDP, a lot of governors left PDP, and the party is still alive and strong.
“So the defection of Ramalan Yero, I don’t think will affect the fortune of PDP in the next coming election by God’s grace.”
