Former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, has officially joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, following his registration at his village in the Logo Local Government Area in the ongoing APC e-registration exercise.
Senator Suswam, who broke away from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last year following disagreement with his successor, former governor Samuel Ortom, who took and retained leadership of the PDP even after leaving office, will be leading his mass following into the APC.
“Moments ago, the former governor of Benue State H.E. Sen. Gabriel Suswam, performed his first duty as a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress APC by registering in his Mbagber Council Ward, in Logo Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria,” a brief statement posted by his media aide, Bartholomew Bede, on his verified social media page, read.
The former governor was captured on the party’s ongoing e-registration platform.
The exercise was conducted by the state organising secretary, James Ornguga, and Angura Bishop.
Ornguga, on behalf of the state chairman, presented the new membership card to Suswam.
Gov ‘Expelled From PDP’
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has distanced itself from the defection of the former governor from the PDP, noting that he had long exited the party when he led his followers to relaunch the African Democratic Congress in Benue.
The statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Tim Nyor, said the claim making the rounds that Suswam decamped from the PDP into the APC was false.
It revealed that the former governor had long fallen within this category of members who had failed to pay membership subscription for a continuous period of 12 months, and was “accordingly, expelled from the PDP during the period of his active and open association” with the ADC.
“By implication, one cannot resign from a party of which one is no longer a member,” it said in the statement.
“First, the purported resignation is coming several months after Senator Suswam had left the PDP and repeatedly aligned himself with a political coalition outside the party. This alignment was neither subtle nor speculative.
“He attended multiple meetings of the coalition, actively participated in its public unveiling in Benue State, and went as far as donating personal property for use as its secretariat, after evicting the PDP from the same premises.
“In light of these overt actions, it raises a fundamental question as to why Senator Suswam had to address his “resignation letter” to the PDP at this stage, rather than to the political platform he had clearly embraced long before now.
“Secondly, pursuant to Section 8 of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party, any member who fails to pay membership subscription for a continuous period of twelve (12) months automatically ceases to be a member of the party.
“Senator Suswam had long fallen within this category and was, accordingly, expelled from the PDP during the period of his active and open association with the African Democratic Congress (ADC). By implication, one cannot resign from a party of which one is no longer a member,” the statement added.
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