Former women affairs minister Aisha Alhassan who suffered
massive defeat in the 2019 Governorship election in Taraba, has
said that she has completed arrangements to return to the People’s
Democratic Party.
Alhassan was the governorship candidate of United Democratic
Party in the 2019 elections in Taraba State. She got 14, 651 votes
in the election.
She joined the UDP on the eve of the polls after she failed to
secure the All Progressives Congress ticket, a party she contested
under in 2015 and was able to secure 275,966 votes to come second
in the governorship polls.
Alhassan was subsequently appointed the minister of women
affairs and social development by President Muhammadu Buhari but
resigned amidst doubts over her political loyalty.
Alhassan told Journalists on Sunday after a UDP stakeholders’
meeting in Jalingo that majority of her supporters in the 168 wards
of Taraba State had encouraged her to shift base to the PDP.
She said that the stakeholders’ meeting, which lasted till
midnight on Saturday, drew participation from all those who
contested for various political offices under the platform of the
UDP, executive members of the party from the ward to state levels
and other respected elders.
Alhassan added that more than 80 per cent of respondents in an
opinion poll conducted by a committee headed Alhaji Abdulmumini
Vaki, a former PDP chairman in the state, which covered the 16
LGAs, suggested that she should move to PDP.
The former minister said, based on the outcome of the opinion
poll, she had no option than to do the decision of majority members
of her supporters.
According to the former minister, “I cannot go against the
decision of the popular opinions of my supporters”, adding that she
was glad that the committee did not suggest the APC as an
option.
A communiqué issued at the end of the stakeholders meeting, a
copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in
Jalingo on Saturday night, recommended that two committees be set
up immediately to fast track the defection process.
According the communiqué which was signed by the state UDP
Chairman, Alhaji Hassan Chul, the first committee is to visit the
national leadership of the UDP in Abuja to express the appreciation
of supporters of the former minister for providing her the platform
to run for the 2019 governorship election.
The communique added that the second committee is to arrange a
meeting with PDP leadership in Taraba State to work out modalities
for the former minister’s official return to the PDP.
NAN reports that Alhassan contested and won the election for the
senatorial seat of Taraba North in 2011 under the PDP before
defecting to APC in 2015.
(NAN)
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