By Nahum Sule (Taraba State Correspondent, in Jalingo)
Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has formally defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Bwacha, who has represented Taraba South from 2011 to date on the platform of the PDP, said he had had enough of the party. He made this declaration at a ceremony where he was received into the APC at the State House Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday 3rd February, 2022.
It is very clear that the defection of Senator Bwacha who is the deputy senate minority leader and a founding father of the PDP in Taraba state, has sent a sudden shock wave to the Taraba PDP.
According to Bwacha, he said "I need a breathing space in the political arena. I need to free myself from the persecution I have been going through in the PDP in Taraba State since 2019 when I won my re-election to the senate against the wish of my Governor, Arch. Darius Ishaku.
"I cannot commit a political suicide by remaining in PDP under Governor Darius Ishaku. We settled for APC as our new political family because of the love and attention the Federal Government is giving to my constituency through Infrastructural projects like the Ibi bridge, Kashimbila Dam, Marraba–Donga Road etc. It is not about elections or aspirations, but about justice, freedom and peaceful involvement in politics without persecution or bitterness.
"With my defection today (Thursday, February 3, 2022), I cease from being the Senate Deputy Minority Leader but remain a ranking Senator on the floor of the senate, contributing my quota to the development of Nigeria", Senator Bwacha said.
The PDP which has been the ruling party in the state since the return of democracy in 1999, is still confident of maintaining their winning streak even as they are shocked by Bwacha's exit from the party.
The Taraba State PDP spokesman, Andeteran Iramae, spoke to NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent in Jalingo, capital of Taraba state, saying that, Bwacha's defection is just like a drop in an ocean and that the PDP in the state will still maintain it stronghold.
He asserts that "though the PDP in Taraba lost the companionship of Bwacha through his defection to APC, it will not affect the party in any way. We were not expecting his defection now but it was being expected. Yesterday put paid to several speculation about his planned defection and we were not surprised about it.
"As a party, we remain unshaken, because the truth of the matter is that he contested on the platform of our party, it wasn't as if his personal charisma made him to win, but people supported him to win because of our PDP.
"To be candid with you, l happens to be one of his major supporters. I was the zonal chairman when he first contested for senate in southern Taraba. So he's defecting to APC now without people like me. I don't think it will have any serious impact on our party. The PDP in Taraba State is still intactand kicking.
"I'm somebody who plays politics with conviction. Bwacha has crossed a demarcation line of political morality. it's going to be a burden to him soon. So, political weight of every individual is dependent on his political base. It is not about charisma. Bwacha's defection to APC is just like a drop in an ocean. We won't feel his absent at all. Since he went back to the Senate for the third time, we've not felt his companionship politically. And since he went back for the third term in the National Assembly, he's been preparing himself for this defection and it happened".
"I cannot speak for the governor about his problem with Bwacha, but when you have a problem, and that problem is bigger than your goal, you will behave the way he has behaved. If he thinks he has issues with the governor, all of them have tenure. He should exercise patience until both tenure expires", the PDP image manager in Taraba state said.
The defection of Senator Emmanuel Bwacha may just be a tip of the iceberg about what will soon justifiably happen to the PDP in Taraba, or rather a wake up call for the PDP in the state. Nobody shifts the goal post in the middle of a game without consequences.
PDP, according to some it's party leaders, is a national political party built on the principle of zoning and rotation of power. It was assumed by many that governor Ishaku has made it clear that Senator Bwacha won't get the ticket of the PDP in 2023 because the governorship ticket is not going back to the south.
Senator Bwacha's audacious move to APC is seen as a welcome development for the APC which political pundits have said should serve as a strong warning to PDP that 80% of his supporters will soon head to the APC ahead of the 2023 general elections, especially since Bwacha's interest can no longer be accommodated in the PDP.
However, an APC opposition party Chieftain in Taraba state, Chief Ben Adaji, describe Senator Bwacha's defection to the ABC on Thursday as a "big fish" coming to the APC.
According to him, "For the APC as a political party, it is a good development, because for a political big fish like Senator Emmanuel Bwacha to leave the ruling PDP in Taraba State to join the APC, there must be a good reason. It is an added advantage to the Taraba APC.
"Every political parties have their supporters, and Bwacha will move in with his supporters to the APC. That may outweigh the PDP. Adding to that, we also foresee some State House of Assembly members who will follow Bwacha to APC, and that will be a booster to the Taraba APC". NNL.
