Why I will not join APC, PDP – ex-Speaker Na’abba

A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’abba, has accused Nigerian governors of hijacking political party structures in their states and making it difficult for party members opposing them to aspire for any political position.

Although Nigeria has over a dozen registered parties, all of Nigeria’s 36 state governors are members of one of three parties: APC, APGA and PDP, with Nigeria’s ruling party, APC, having a majority of the governors and APGA only one – in Anambra State.

Mr Na’abba in an interview with BBC Hausa on Tuesday said he is currently not in any political party in Nigeria.

“I decided not to join any political party in Nigeria at the moment because of how governors have hijacked the whole party structure in their various states thereby making it difficult for any aspiring politician who does not share the same ideology with them to succeed.”

Mr Na’abba became the speaker of the House of Representatives in 1999 on the platform of the PDP after the forced resignation of Salisu Buhari but did not return to the National Assembly in 2003 after losing in the general elections. The then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his party, lost to ANPP in Mr Na’abba’s Kano municipal constituency of Kano State.

According to the former speaker, the people he shares political Ideology with will soon roll out a new political party that will serve as an alternative to the APC and the PDP.

“We will soon give Nigerians an alternative and when the time come you shall hear from us,” he said.

Mr Na’abba also said he still nurses the ambition of becoming a senator in Nigeria.

“I once contested for a senatorial seat, but willingly I withdrew when I realised there is not going to be democracy or fairness at the primaries.

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“I contested for elections twice in 1999 and 2003, and I never gave out money to get elected during the primaries, the system presented me through democratic process.

“But when I was contesting for senate seat, the party was telling me to give some people money before I could get elected during the primaries, and that was why I withdrew; because unless we allow the process select contestants democratically, everything will just be a scam.”