Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. YakubuDogara, has confirmed his exit from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC) and has given reason for his decision to leave the opposition party.
In a letter of resignation dated July 24, 2020, and addressed to the Bogoro 'C' Ward Chairman of the PDP, in Bauchi state, the immediate past speaker said among the reasons is the failure of governance in his home state, Bauchi, under the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed, whom he helped install as a governor in 2019.
The former speaker stressed that he has taken up the responsibility of telling the truth to power in Bauchi under the administration of former Governor Isa Yuguda and Mohammed Abubakar, he believes abdicating the same duty under the present administration will make him become the most irresponsible and unprincipled politician in the state.
"I write to intimate you of my decision to resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This became necessary because the same reasons why we fought hard in 2019 to effect changes in the Governance of our dear state are festering now," he said in the letter.
"I intend to bring these issues to the front burners once again as the fight to install a decent and egalitarian government in our dear state continues.
"Specifically, I intend to ask questions about the following: What has happened to LGA allocations since May 2019? What happened to our campaign promise to conduct LGA elections within six months of the PDP government? What happened to the N4.6 billion loan taken from a bank and paid directly into a private company’s account?
"Why are we segmenting salaries and why is the payment of salaries of state workers outsourced to a private firm as consultants? Why are contracts inflated, awarded, and payment of mobilization done in violation of extant rules on procurement? Why are our highly revered Traditional Rulers and Elders treated with odium contrary to the guarantee we gave during the campaign that such will not happen under a PDP government?
"Mr. Chairman, you will agree with me that I cannot raise these issues and many more questions without a charge of disloyalty leveled against me if I were to remain a member of the PDP. I cannot also fail to raise these questions now, having raised similar ones during the administrations of Governors Isa Yuguda and Mohammed A. Abubakar. If I abdicate this responsibility on the altar of partisan loyalty, I will be the most irresponsible and unprincipled politician in Bauchi State.
"Thus, by this letter, I have resigned my membership of the PDP to enable me to keep faith with my principle of fighting for good governance in our Dear State."
