Lawmaker representing Buhari’s senatorial district defects from APC to PDP

Ahmed Babba Kaita, senator representing Katsina north senatorial district, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

President Muhammad Buhari is from Daura, one of the LGAs in the senatorial district.

According to a statement released on Wednesday, Abdulkadir Lawal, the senator’s aide, said Kaita has joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Lawal said the PDP represents the “ideals” of the senator as a representative of the people.

Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, was accused of  “willful refusal” to preserve the basic foundation of democracy and of marginalising critical stakeholders in the party.

“As a loyal party man and responsive democrat whose expansive support base in his constituency has remained pivotal to his passion for the reciprocal growth and development of his people, Distinguished Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita has followed the recent events in Katsina state with keen interest and deep concern,” the statement reads.

“Of notable implication among many of these numerous concerns is the gradual loss of credibility in Governor Masari-led administration, particularly in the avowed refusal to conduct local government elections across the state in time.

“The willful refusal of the administration to uphold the basic foundation of democracy has also found expression in the marginalisation of critical stakeholders by the state government and the leadership of the party at the state level.

“The recent Congresses at the state and ward levels, with no identified genuine pro-government delegates are clearly a rape of grassroots politicians and genuine party foot-soldiers who were rigged out of open contest.

“The total absence of a level playing field speaks volumes about an already orchestrated decline to anti-democratic principles and challenges every good conscience including ours. All politics is local.

“As an advocate of transparency, accountability and continuous entrenchment of popular will, Senator Kaita cannot afford to continue sharing the tent of undemocratic merchandise clearly being executed against his people by the state government and party leadership.

“A clear stock-taking of where Katsina state stands today, is already enough burden on good conscience. Our good people, in their millions have excused deprivation, poverty and hunger for too long.

“They have endured the risk to their lives and wellbeing imposed by the incapacity of the state government to tackle insecurity head-on.

“They have been denied enough, already, by the state government. We cannot deny them their right of choice.

“The serial denial of the people’s mandate at the recent Congresses among other related developments has finally found expression in our answer to the clarion call of our people to vacate the APC following very wide consultations.

“Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita is not a bandwagon politician. His exemplary and robust representation in the Nigerian Senate is to the admiration of all, and with significant, visible impacts in the areas of infrastructural and human capital development across the three Senatorial zones of the state. There is room to do more.”

“The fresh page from the decision to join the Peoples’ Democratic Party represents the ideals of representativeness in the mandate, goodwill and an even more determined desire and opportunity to provide succour, comfort and the much-needed dividends of democracy to the people.”

Kaita was elected to represent Katsina north senatorial district in 2018 after the death of Mustapha Bukar. He was re-elected in 2019.