Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Governors Aminu Tambuwal and Samuel Ortom of Sokoto and Benue states respectively and a former Nigerian envoy to South Africa, Ahmed Ibeto were among the recent APC defectors  who attended the 81st National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja on Thursday.

They were joined by members of the party’s Board of Trustees, National Working Committee, serving and former governors, serving and former legislators, presidential aspirants and other NEC members to unanimously agree to wrestle power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 general elections.

In his welcome speech, the National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus saluted Saraki’s courage for leaving the comfort of his office as the third highest political office holder in the land to stand by the Nigerian masses.

“Saraki is cardinal to the new freedom in Nigeria. Your sacrifice would never be in vain. Not for our party but for the 200 million Nigerians languishing in abject poverty,” Secondus said.

He added: “The bold steps you took to return to the party where you truly belong is a sacrifice not for yourself but for Nigeria and history will be fair to you. Today is the beginning of the great journey to freedom, the great journey to free our people and rescue this country from the damage done to it by the APC in the last three years.”

Responding, an obviously elated Saraki said he was happy to be back in the party  from where he started his political career and to be among men of integrity who have laboured to keep the party together to provide an effective opposition to a failed APC administration.

Saraki said: “Today, as we thank the Almighty God for allowing us to be alive to witness this, for allowing those that are able to be here today, those of my colleagues who had a long journey, tough journey, tortuous journey to be here, those on the side of PDP who made it possible for it to happen, it was because of the intervention of the Almighty God.

“I am happy to see some of my colleagues here who have given me faith in this country, who have made me believe there are still men of character, there are still men who are still ready to make sacrifices for this country.

“There are men and women and youths who are ready to leave their comfort zone because they want a better tomorrow. This sacrifice that we are all making is just the first part because we are doing this for Nigerians and that exercise will not be complete until we make a better country for our people.

“It is only when we reach that Promised Land that this sacrifice we are making comes good, when we see a better tomorrow for our people. I offer myself to ensure I continue to play my part, to continue to ensure that we defend our democratic principles in this country and provide security and good leadership and good governance for everybody.

“But that is only possible if we are all united because not any one man or two or three can do it alone. The message that I will like to leave here with is a message of – let all of us work together so that these sacrifices will really be worth it in the interest of our people”

On his own part, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal said as a democrat, he could not allow the country to drift further but to retrieve it, to reposition it and restructure for the benefit of all Nigerians.

His words: “When I hear that some people were trying to break into the chambers of the Senate, to steal the Mace and install a pseudo Senate President, I wondered whether they actually know the rules our democratic engagement.

“It is not a Gestapo. We are in a democracy and the constitution of this country is very clear that members of the Senate and House of Representatives can choose from among themselves their own president of the Senate and Speaker.

“It is a conference of members of the two chambers and if the members have confidence of the Senate President, they are free to retain him and so be it with Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

“Nobody should be afraid and we must respect due process and rule of law if we are in a democracy. Nigeria is not a banana republic and we will not take any illegal act from anybody.

“If you try it, we will march out our own forces in the country and jam you. We cannot afford to allow anybody, no matter how highly placed to toy with the fate of more than 200 million Nigerians.”