By Daniel Kanu
Assistant Political Editor
As the 2019 elections draw closer a lot of permutations is on display by politicians, perhaps, seeking to gain political advantage over their opponents.
It is no longer news on the gale of defections from one party to the other among Nigerian politicians.
While some defectors appear to be heavy weights that could change the political game in their constituency, there are those who are mere pretenders, seeking for political relevance and personal gain.
Besides, there are facts to show that some defectors that are perceived as big masqueraders are without electoral value.
The Niche investigation has shown that there are some candidates including those that left the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), to other parties but still hanging on to the candidacy of President Muhammad Buhari in their posters.
Some political observers are of the view that while some defectors are still die-hard to the Buhari candidature, there are many, unsure of themselves politically, who simply want to use the president’s name for endorsement, and by extension gaining political advantage.
Most of the politicians who still hang on with the president’s poster after joining another party, according to Abiodun Lawal, legal practitioner, are individuals driven by personal gain with no political clout to win election.
“I see them, I mean those who defect to other political parties and still retain the picture of My president (Buhari) in their posters as those incapable of winning elections on their own in their zones but want to use the president to create cheap popularity and influence voters,” according to Lawal.
Lawal said, “Those sure of their credibility, capacity to win and acceptability by the people (voters) do not bother to use anything outside their party provision to promote themselves. It is candidates that are deficient that are looking for such opportunities like using Mr President’s name to hang on. Its a sign of weakness”.
National Chairman, APC, Adams Oshiomhole, said that he was neither worried nor carried away by the antics of politicians who defect, insisting that the business of governance must be driven by men and women of honour.
Oshiomhole told State House correspondents at the end of the meeting with the President that he and the party were not disturbed by the gale of defection.
His words: “You see, this party that I am privileged to chair is not worried at all by the gale of defection; we are not disturbed. I am not going to miss my sleep and we will go into the campaign.
“Check the electoral results, you will find that a lot of those who claimed to have defected, on a good day, the votes they got that made them members of the Senate, our President got much more votes in their constituencies. So, we are not fooled at all.
“If the only motivation is personal interest; what is in it for me? What have I gained? and How many people have I done xyz for? If that is the basis, the earlier those in this business of personal gains return to where they belong, the better.
“I have said it and I want to repeat it that this business of governance must be driven by men and women of honour and anything outside that, we will miss it.
“The thing going on is that you have a lot of so-called big masqueraders with very little and no electoral value.”
The Presidential candidate of National Conscience Party (NCP) in 2015, Engineer Martin Onovo, told The Niche that such action was anti-party which ought to attract sanction.
Said Onovo, “Such action is simply an anti-party activity. A political party represents something; so you cannot be there and not believe on what your party represents.
“Political parties in their manifesto, logo etc represents something they believe in but sadly in our clime, to an extent, political party has become a vessel for individual to rise and achieve political ambition.
“For instance, in Imo State, Governor Okorocha’s godson, Uche Nwosu, has left APC to join AA and is still having the president’s picture in his poster when AA is supporting the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Abubakar Atiku. It is anti-party activity but here (Nigeria) anything goes and that is sad.”
Most commentators say the strategy would fail the politicians as the president’s name has become more of a burden than an asset.