How APC caused lawmakers’ defection – Gbajabiamila

Leader, All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus in the House of Representatives has advised the party’s leadership to stay in constant touch with its members.

Gbaja, as fondly called, blamed the communication gap between the party and members as a major factor that contributed to the defection of some lawmakers.

He spoke on Thursday in Abuja when he led the party’s caucus at the House of Representatives to a meeting with the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

“It is time to consolidate and make sure we stay in touch with our members and keep them close and continue to appreciate them”, NAN quoted him as saying.

The lawmaker specifically asked the party’s leadership to continue to fight for its members in the House of Representatives as some of them were first timers.

“They should be taken into serious consideration and I think they deserve a second term.

“Because if they don’t come back, we are going to lose the first six months to one year training the freshers. How does that help the party or the country?” He asked.

He attributed the spate of defection of party members to lack of proper understanding of party ideology and called on the party leaders to develop and entrench its ideologies in members.

“We have our party ideology but we must begin to develop that ideology to the point that it is entrenched in the hearts and minds of every progressive member of the party.

“I believe it is the lack of the entrenchment of this ideology that allows people to cross from one party to another.

“This is going to happen in four years time again if we don’t develop this ideology”, he said.

Gbajabiamila added that while some of the party’s Senators and House of Representatives members defected to opposition parties, Mr Olamide Oni, a new member from Ekiti State joined its fold in the house.

According to him, Oni defected from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to join the APC, which he believes will sell his interest better.