Jonathan Goes After Aggrieved APC Members.

It has been gathered that President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party have launched a plan to lure prominent members of the country's biggest opposition party, All Progressives Congress, into the ruling party. Investigations showed that loyalists to the
President have been meeting with leaders of the
APC known to be aggrieved with developments in the opposition party.
It was learnt that the ruling party will capitalise
on, among other issues, the internal wrangling in the APC over an alleged plan to present a Muslim/ Muslim presidential ticket under a consensus arrangement for the 2015 election.
On April 6, 2014, Christian leaders of the APC who were aggrieved with the alleged mono-religious ticket and consensus arrangement had reportedly threatened to quit the party, if the national leaders of the party carried out their alleged plan.
Even though the party's spokesman, Mr. Lai
Mohammed, has refuted the claims, its members insist that the hierarchy of the party have concluded plans to field a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and a former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, as the party's presidential candidates through a
consensus arrangement. Buhari and Tinubu are
Muslims.
Apart from the controversial issue of a Muslim/
Muslim ticket, some members of the APC are also dissatisfied with the way they have been
'sidelined by the party.' Others also want the
party to hold primary elections rather than adopt the consensus model.
Reliable PDP sources, said the PDP and Jonathan's close aides had been holding a series of meetings with some leaders of the APC, especially those who defected from the ruling party to the opposition party, to seek their return to the ruling party.
Five governors, 37 members of the House of
Representatives and 12 senators on the platform of the PDP had defected to the opposition party in 2013. Several other national leaders of the ruling party, including ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, had also joined the defection train.
Some of those alleged to be driving the PDP plane are the National Chairman, PDP, Adamu Mu'azu; the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki; and the newly appointed Chief of Staff to the President, Gen. Oladehinde Arogbofa (retd.).
Shortly after the report, a former Minister of
Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, who is known to
be aggrieved with the alleged APC plan, paid a
visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on
Wednesday. Fani-Kayode, who is believed to have held a meeting with Jonathan, declined to
comment on his reason for the visit. It was further gathered that another aggrieved
senior APC member, Hannatu Musawa, was
invited by the Presidency recently. Her visit was
said to have followed her alleged embarrassment by some APC leaders during the party's national summit on March 6, 2014.
It was learnt that Musawa was billed to deliver a
poem at the event but was allegedly cut short
midway into her presentation. When contacted
on Friday, Musawa said, "Yes, there have been
such talks but I was not invited by the
presidency."
A reliable source in the APC who preferred
anonymity, said, "Both the Presidency and
national leadership of the PDP are going about
and holding meetings with leaders of the APC.
The belief is that those who are not happy with
the developments in the opposition party may
consider defection.
"The President's Chief of Staff, the NSA and the
PDP National Chairman are the major leaders of
the mobilisation drive."