After many weeks of speculations and denial, the former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, has formally ditched the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Shekarau announced his defection from PDP to APC on Friday in Kano.
National chairman of the APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, the governor of Kano State, Mr. Umar Ganduje and some other party chieftains went to Shekarau’s Mundubawa Palace to welcome him back to the party he co-founded in 2014.
In his speech, Oshiomhole described Shekarau’s return to the APC as a reunion rather than defection saying the former governor was one of the founding fathers of the party.
“Going by the records, nobody is more progressive than Shekarau whose records while in power preceded that of others.
“I am most delighted to be at your residence to officially welcome you back to our great party the APC, the party you assisted to form. We know that you would have not committed great amount of efforts in the formation of the APC right from the beginning if you didn’t believe in it, but due to some issues, you had to leave.
“I have always said that, going forward, the real progressives would unite and the conservatives would move away. The conservatives have moved away and that offers us a new opportunity for the real progressives to reunite.
“I have come to pay my respect to you your Excellency, to look forward to working with you and the Governor of the state whose Progressive credentials are also well known,” said Oshiomhole.
For his part, Shekarau said: “Our coming together will not only move Kano state forward but the country as a whole.
“Anybody who writes history of APC without mentioning Shekarau, the history is not complete.”
Shekarau thanked the APC leadership and Ganduje for the “political and friendly visit” saying the consultation between him and the APC was in “full gear” for his final movement to the party.
Ganduje, for his part, described Shekarau as one of the founding fathers of APC and assured him of his readiness to establish a good relationship.
“I am the happiest person in the state because the dream has come true as we have always been good friends and brothers,” he said.
