Defections: We can’t prevent politicians from joining us  —  APC

By Musa Baba Adamu

The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Felix Morka, says the party cannot stop politicians from joining it.
Speaking in an interview on Arise Television yesterday, monitored in Abuja, Morka stated that the recent wave of defections was a reflection of confidence in the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
He was responding to concerns over the growing number of governors joining the APC, including the recent defection of the Kano State governor.
According to him, governors defecting to the ruling party were aligning themselves with what he described as a ‘resurging Nigeria’ under the Tinubu administration.
“What you see is governors who have decided to join our party to identify with this resurging Nigeria that this President is clearly positioning Nigeria to be,” he said.
The APC mouthpiece further said that the party welcomed new members and would not act as a barrier to politicians seeking to join the party.
“We are happy, we are excited about people who join our party. We cannot be gatekeepers to filter out people who want to join our camp. We don’t do that because it is undemocratic,” Morka said.
Weighing in on fears that the defections could lead to a one-party state, Morka refuted such concerns, stressing that Nigeria had experienced similar political dominance in the past without undermining democracy.
“The Peoples Democratic Party at some point in our history governed Nigeria with about the same number of governors.
“I was very active in the political world at that time and there was no spectre anywhere about a one-party state because the PDP had those numbers of governors. That’s not the case now, and I think we should not equate people joining our party with that mode,” Morka added.