Three opposition Governors would have joined the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in 2021, The Nation has gathered.
It was learnt the commencement of congresses by the party prevented the Governors from switching over.
It was gathered the Gov. Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) was on the verge of concluding negotiation with the concerned Governors when the heat by stakeholders heated up.
The pressure forced the committee to commence the ward congress in July 2021.
Checks within the caretaker committee revealed that one Governor from the South East, South West and the North-West were to defect to the governing party.
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The Governors, it emerged, backed down when they felt any structure that might have emerged would not make them have control over party structure in their States.
Despite assurances from the CECPC, The Nation gathered that the three Governors, two of whom are first-timers, opted out of the negotiation.
A party source said: “The delay in the conduct of Zamfara State congresses greatly helped secure the defection of Governor Matawalle Bello but when the pressure and call for the national convention pitched the party into two, the caretaker committee had to commence congresses before the national convention.
“The Caretaker Committee was trying to buy time to conclude the negotiation but the heat that the pressure mounted on the committee forced it to succumb to conducting the congresses.
“When it became clear that the negotiation can not be concluded as the Governors were yet to extract enough assurance from the party on the structure, they had to back out.”
Three PDP Governors defected to the ruling party last year.
Confirming the development, the Secretary to the Caretaker Committee Senator John James Akpanudoedehe said that for the conduct of congresses, three Governors of the opposition would have swelled the rank of APC Governors.
Akpanudoedehe however refused to name the Governors but confirmed that the party lost them due to the congresses.
According to him: “We would have gotten three more governors but when we started the Congresses and we lost them because there is no governor that will come into the party without having a structure. Remember we had brought in three other governors earlier.
“We lost some Governors, some lawmakers, and others but we got more in return.”
But the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Hon. Yekini Nabena in a telephone interview in Abuja stated that the window of negotiation has not been closed.
“The space is still open. The window for negotiation is not closed. The truth is, it is not about having the structure. You remember we lost the Governor of Adamawa State. He had the structure but the people rejected him and the party lost the State,” he said.
He however said that the prospect of attracting more members from the opposition is getting brighter with the conclusion of all the congresses.
He cautioned that the party needs to get the national convention and the party primary for 2023 right.
“Once we fail to get the primary right, it will affect us at the general elections. We have to get it right to attract more members from the opposition,” Nabena advised