Defection to APC: Concerns Mount over Nnamani's Electoral Reform Job

Defection to APC:  Concerns Mount over Nnamani's Electoral Reform Job

*Let him resign, says PDP chieftain

The decision of the former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, to formally join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has elicited public reactions over a possible clash of interests on his position as the Chairman of the Electoral Reform Committee.

While some of the political stakeholders have expressed fears that his move to the APC may conflict with his leadership position in the committee saddled with mandate of proffering reformative changes in the country's electoral system, others, especially his new party saw nothing wrong with that.

The former Senate president resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and also temporarily from active politics in February 2016.

Nnamani was subsequently appointed to head the electoral reform committee in October last year by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Reacting to last weekend's formal declaration of Nnamani for the APC in his Enugu home, a chieftain of the PDP, Chief Patrick Okomiso, asked him to resign from the committee.

Another politician and the Secretary General of the Conference for Nigerian Political Parties, Willy Ezugwu, also faulted Nnamani's move to join the ruling party when he is still yet to conclude his assignment on the electoral reforms, describing it as too hasty.

"Well, you see in as much as every person can jump gun, you can do what you want to do but at times, people should be able to check at their integrity when they are doing some certain things. If we are learning America kind of democracy, they should have learnt how the Americans do their things.

"So, in most cases, l see Nigerian politicians as political prostitutes.  How many of the political parties they have joined in the last 15 years? Is that the way to play the politics; is that the way to have integrity? It is very unfortunate!

"You are holding a position and what is the rush in joining a political party when you are giving a mandate on how to reorganise electoral system in the country. So, to me it is very, very sympathetic and uncalled for," he said.

However, another politician who contested for the presidency on the platform of the African Peoples Alliance (APA), Adebayo Musa Ayeni, said there is nothing to be concerned about over Nnamani's move to restart his active politics in APC.

He said: "You cannot compartmentalise ideology in politics. People are political either within or without. When he was given the position, he was a PDP chieftain and his mental capability to do things right should not be eroded for being a member of a political party.

"So, people of integrity should be allowed to work not minding their political affinity.  Nnamani has what it takes to chair the committee given his experience in politics. If you restrict some persons from doing a job because of their political affinity, you will lose a lot of potentials.

On his part, the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, said he is surprised at the defections happening now because they politicians do not base their decisions on ideology.