Defectors joining APC are sinners seeking political forgiveness – Abba Moro

The Minority Leader of the Senate, Abba Moro, has said that politicians defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) are “sinners” looking for political forgiveness.

The senator, who represents Benue south, spoke on Thursday during an interview on AIT’s Focus Nigeria.

“When history unfolds, we are going to have the privilege of knowing the main reasons why people are moving from PDP to the ruling party,” Moro said.

“It has always been the practice, though; people don’t want to stay outside the corridors of power, and so they quickly begin to realise that in the opposition, they won’t be getting as much as they want to get.

“Some of them who have been helmsmen at their various levels in the states, LGs, and senate certainly have more reasons than meet the eye to move to the ruling party.

“Don’t forget that a chieftain of the APC at one point said, if you move from your party to the APC, your sins are forgiven – so given the antecedents of some of the characters that are moving now – you can only conclude that they are only attesting to these assertions.

“They have sins and are looking for forgiveness, politically; these displaced persons may be going to the ruling party to ask for forgiveness, but is it in the interest of this country?

“Is it in the interest of democracy? Is it in the interest of the political development of this country that people continue to move from one political platform to the other?

“Where have principles taken flight to? Where has value taken flight to? You were elected on the platform of a political party, and as the supreme court ruled, it’s political parties that people vote for, and then you suddenly decide that you want to move to another political party, which is predicated on the nebulous excuse that you are doing that in the interest of your constituency.”

Moro also ruled out any need for the PDP to consider a merger ahead of the 2027 general election.

“PDP is a household name in Nigeria. From the remotest villages to the urban centres, we have structures, loyalists, and active members. That brand identity cannot be underestimated,” he said.

He said the PDP remains strong despite recent defections and internal disagreements.

“A coalition is acceptable if it strengthens our democratic goals,” he said.

“But a merger that requires discarding the PDP name is a non-starter. That’s a dangerous move. The PDP name carries weight — it’s our asset, and we’re not letting it go.”

He described the PDP as a “formidable force” and warned that the party must not lose sight of its core identity.

Speaking on the outcome of the 2023 elections, Moro blamed the party’s decision to field a northern candidate for its failure to win the presidential election.

“In 2022, running into 2023, the PDP was in opposition, so the question at that point was, ‘What do we do to get back to the winning ways?’” he said.

“The constitution of the PDP provides for zoning, but Nigeria’s constitution provides a level playing ground for everybody to aspire for whatever level they can in the country.

“So, in the political permutation of PDP at the time, leaving the choice of candidate open was an attempt to pick the best out of the best that could change the status quo of the ruling party at the time. It was an option that backfired and needs remediation.

“Looking back now to what I know, part of the reason we lost in the 2023 presidential election is the fact that our presidential candidate came from the north.

“People generally on moral grounds said, ‘Look, if the north has presided over this country for eight years, it’s only fair that the south should be allowed to produce a candidate for the election.

“We didn’t do that. It takes a few hours or minutes to cause damages, but it takes more time and effort to repair.

“At the moment the PDP is trying to realise its mistakes, and there is no doubt that if the PDP continues to make the mistakes of the past that presumably led to our present predicament, the results will be the same.”

Reacting to recent comments by Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), that PDP could suffer a worse defeat in 2027 if it fails to zone its presidential ticket to the south, Moro said the party must reflect seriously.

“Those are assumptions. But coming from the minister who played a key role in the formation of the G5, I am sure the party will take serious political note of that warning,” he said.

“There’s no doubt that if the PDP continues to make the same mistakes that presumably led to our current predicament, the outcome will likely be the same.

“I believe the PDP should take that warning seriously, regardless of who it’s coming from, and make the necessary corrections to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated.

“As the saying goes, ‘Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’”

On Monday, Seriake Dickson, senator representing Bayelsa west, said the PDP must reorganise or face imminent collapse.

The former governor of Bayelsa state urged PDP governors to take ownership of the party’s revival and show greater commitment to its restoration.