Date: 2018-07-30

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, a governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Ajia, has said that he remains committed to the principles and ideals of the party.

Ajia declared that he would not dump the PDP over the lingering anxiety that the state structure of the party might be ceded to leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state upon their defection into the opposition party.

This is coming against the backdrop of recent defection of eight members of National Assembly from Kwara State who were elected on the platform of the APC to the PDP. They included two Senators and six members of the House of Representatives.

The PDP governorship aspirant spoke to Journalists on the sidelines of the commissioning of a block of seven toilets, motorised borehole and renovated classroom, which he funded at ECWA LGEA Primary School in Ilorin, the state capital.

Ajia insisted that he would not on the premise of defection of some political bigwigs abandon the PDP, saying members of the opposition party must learn to accommodate the potential decampees.

He assured that he would be among the first set of gubernatorial aspirants that would pick up intention and interest forms immediately they are released for sales from August 1, 2018.

Ajia told Journalists that the coming of defectors into the PDP was not a threat to his ambition, saying existing members need to scheme and re-strategise as required in politicking.

The governorship aspirant, however, flayed the APC led federal government for deceiving Nigerians to ride to powers and added that the ruling party had failed to meet the aspirations of the citizenry.

"I'm a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, I'm still a member, I have not informed anyone that I have left the party, and you know I have an ambition. Just last week, the timetable for conduct of (primary) election is out. They would start selling of the forms from August 1, 2018, and I can bet you, I would be one of the aspirants that would pick up the forms as they are realising it.

"So, for me you should expect things like this (defection to another party). It is a game of organizing to win election, it is a game of organizing to dominate certain people. It depends on how you know how to organize yourself to dominate, that is what is going on in Nigeria. It is not about Kwara alone, it is a national issue. If you look at what is going on in Nigeria, there are lots of failure.

"APC came on the ground of deceiving Nigerians that they are the answer that we need. But today, they have failed. If the state government in Kwara are saying they cannot go again with the APC because they have failed, they should come and meet us. We will agree on terms.That is what I'm just telling the party members of PDP that we cannot runaway for anybody.

"Politics is a game of interest, my own interest is to help the people of Kwara. So, if I want to help the people of Kwara, why would I now say I want to runaway and then go and start again afresh from another political party? For me, I'm still a member of PDP, my aspiration still stands, except if the people of Kwara State said they don't want me, at that point I will drop. I can't be threatened by anybody coming to party.

"I look at politics beyond individualism. I have principles that guide me in my politicking. So, when I joined politics, I joined PDP. With the fear that some people are coming to dominate, politics is a scheme, you re-strategise", Ajia said.