By SaharaReporters, New York

In what promises to be a seismic development in Nigerian politics, Speaker Dimeji Bankole and as many as 70 PDP legislators may soon leave the ruling party and embrace the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Several sources close to Mr. Bankole as well as two top officials of the ACN told SaharaReporters that the Speaker had been engaged in highly secret negotiations with the ACN to set out terms for his likely switch of political parties. “Speaker Dimeji may yet be the most high profile politician to decamp to ACN after the Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili, resigned from Jonathan's government and joined the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA),” said one of our sources. Mrs. Akunyili intends to run for a senatorial seat.

Our sources said Speaker Bankole may be switching parties with 70 lawmakers in the next few weeks, if negotiations go as planned.

The PDP is beset by a deepening crisis that has resulted from the controversy over which geopolitical zone is to produce the party’s presidential candidate. Many Northern members of the ruling party insist that Jonathan is violating an internal arrangement that stipulates the zoning of the presidency to a northern politician for the next four years.

One of our sources indicated that Bankole, who hails from Ogun State, began serious negotiations with ACN after he realized that President Jonathan’s close political ties with Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State was inimical to the speaker’s political ambitions. Mr. Bankole has his eyes on the governorship of Ogun State, but Governor Daniel, who doubles as the southwest campaign coordinator for the Jonathan/Sambo ticket, has made it clear that he does not want the speaker succeeding him. “If the speaker wants to realize his gubernatorial ambition, he has to decamp to the CAN,” said a close associate of Mr. Bankole.

Another source told SaharaReporters that Governor Daniel has completely marginalized former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a former minister of his, Jubrin Martins Kuye. “Chief Obasanjo wants [former military administrator] Olurin, Governor Daniel wants Isiaka Gboyega, and Bankole has to search for a new platform to actualize his ambition,” an insider told Saharareporters.

Mr. Daniel’s closeness to Jonathan has emboldened the governor to throw his weight around with impunity. Last Saturday, Mr. Daniel’s hoodlums disrupted a town hall-style gathering chaired by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. The action has further depleted the ruling party’s low political capital in the state.

SaharaReporters called Mr. Bankole’s telephone and sent him text messages seeking his comments, but he had not responded as at press time.

Nationally, the ruling party is going through a rough patch over its contentious zoning policy that has pitched Northern politicians against Mr. Jonathan who is accused of breaching the party’s zoning policy. Last month, a group that styled itself Northern elders chose former Vice President Abukakar Atiku as its consensus candidate. Since coming on board as a “Northern candidate,” Atiku has battled Jonathan in a duel that is tearing the ruling party apart.

But beyond the internal wrangling over its presidential candidate, the PDP is imploding from its long-term unpopularity. One gauge of the party’s wretched image came in a straw poll that was recently pulled from its website in embarrassment. In the poll, more than 70 percent of respondents indicated their preference for a different party other than the PDP. The page with the poll was removed yesterday after it became public.

The ACN is slowly emerging as the PDP’s staunchest opponent. The party has been in a series of merger talks with other political groups after it gained control of several states in court judgments that nullified the fraudulent elections that brought PDP governors to power in some south western states.

An ACN official (member of the "contact committee" in charge of receiving decamps from other parties ) who spoke to SaharaReporters said the party had not received official notification of interest from Bankole and the other legislators who have been informally negotiating a switch of parties.

Meanwhile, former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida – who lost out to Atiku – is actively seeking to become the presidential candidate of the ANPP, according to several sources. One of those sources revealed that Mr. Babangida was also interested in merger negotiations with other political groups, but none has expressed in working with a man whose era as military dictator was marked by rampant corruption, press repression, unsolved murders, and the infamy of the June 12 annulment.

http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/house-speaker-dimeji-bankole-and-70-pdp-lawmakers-plan-decamp-acn

All the criminals are following the king criminal tinubu.PDP rebirth into ACN.

I think ACN should stop people decamping to their party just for the sake of contesting political posostions.

Atiku did that in the past

Mr.Chyz:

All the criminals are following the king criminal tinubu.PDP rebirth into ACN.

Can you please define what "criminal" means?

Your region needs one Tinubu to be in the right direction.
Since they are yet to produce one,they'll continue languishing in perpetual poverty.

olafolarin:

Can you please define what "criminal" means?

Your region needs one Tinubu to be in the right direction.
Since they are yet to produce one,they'll continu languishing in perpetual austerity.

Bless You,

olafolarin:

Can you please define what "criminal" means?

Your region needs one Tinubu to be in the right direction.
Since they are yet to produce one,they'll continu languishing in perpetual austerity.

Criminal means Tinubu in yoruba. How can the blind lead the blind.Crooks in the continuation.ACN the progression of a new crook organization.damn yorobos

Mr.Chyz:

Criminal means Tinubu in yoruba. How can the blind lead the blind.Crooks in the continuation.ACN the progression of a new crook organization.damn yorobos

chyz when did you change,,,,,,,u are becoming so unreasonable

well keep it up, it is good for you (silly person)

Mr.Chyz:

Criminal means Tinubu in yoruba. How can the blind lead the blind.Crooks in the continuation.ACN the progression of a new crook organization.damn yorobos

i told you not to follow this path but you did!!! Now you just sound like a fool!!! Goodluck to your new-found personality!

Tell am say we no want

no, we do not want them!!!

jason123:

no, we do not want them!!!

Ileke-IdI:

Tell am say we no want

Now you don't want you thief brother damn Yorubas.All of yall are thieves.Tinubu stole revenue from lagos and the yorubas stole the name Urhobo from the Urhobos and changed it around and thought noone would know.Thieves

Yorubas seem to be uniting I must say. Why can't we Igbos do that with APGA? Ojukwu was right to say that you cannot impose a leader on the Igbo. Prior to Biafra you could, but now things have fell apart. I weep for the Igbo nation. Where is our unity? The war has really impacted the Ndigbo, more than I previously have though.

Mr.Chyz:

Now you don't want you thief brother damn Yorubas.All of yall are thieves.Tinubu stole revenue from lagos and the yorubas stole the name Urhobo from the Urhobos and changed it around and thought noone would know.Thieves

I know that good governance to you is when Igbos from PDP gather into APGA. . .but that's not my mentality.
So try a lil harder with your "new" personality.  

Ochi_Agha:

Yorubas seem to be uniting I must say. Why can't we Igbos do that with APGA? Ojukwu was right to say that you cannot impose a leader on the Igbo. Prior to Biafra you could, but now things have fell apart. I weep for the Igbo nation. Where is our unity? The war has really impacted the Ndigbo, more than I previously have though.

Superman Orji Kalu is there to save the day.

Ileke-IdI:

Superman Orji Kalu is there to save the day.

I seriously doubt Uzo Orji Kalu would come to save your raggedy ACN although he belongs there too with the rest of the thieves and snakes.

Mr.Chyz:

Now you don't want you thief brother damn Yorubas.All of yall are thieves.Tinubu stole revenue from lagos and the yorubas stole the name Urhobo from the Urhobos and changed it around and thought noone would know.Thieves

Ochi_Agha:

Yorubas seem to be uniting I must say. Why can't we Igbos do that with APGA? Ojukwu was right to say that you cannot impose a leader on the Igbo. Prior to Biafra you could, but now things have fell apart. I weep for the Igbo nation. Where is our unity? The war has really impacted the Ndigbo, more than I previously have though.

@bolded
well said!

Ileke-IdI:

I know that good governance to you is when Igbos from PDP gather into APGA. . .but that's not my mentality.
So try a lil harder with your "new" personality.  

GBAMMMM!!!

Ileke-IdI:

Superman Orji Kalu is there to save the day.

Please do not mention that man's name. My village still needs its road paved in Umuahia. But since my LGA didn't vote for him or PPA, the road was left incomplete. This man is no leader.

@Mr chyz or what ever u call urslf, u can see how u jst derailed dis thread and gave ethnic twist to d issue in question. When d bashing starts nw u run out of ideas, save coment on d issue and if u ve got non then u step aside.

Mr.Chyz:

I seriously doubt Uzo Orji Kalu would come to save your raggedy ACN although he belongs there too with the rest of the thieves and snakes.

When you hear Orji Kalu. . . . say Igwe!!

Ochi_Agha:

Please do not mention that man's name. My village still needs its road paved in Umuahia. But since my LGA didn't vote for him or PPA, the road was left incomplete. This man is no leader.

The man is no leader, but the perfect leader for you guys.
Stop fronting Ochi, you know you respect that man.

byrron:

@Mr chyz or what ever u call urslf, u can see how u jst derailed dis thread and gave ethnic twist to d issue in question. When d bashing starts nw u run out of ideas, save coment on d issue and if u ve got non then u step aside.

I derailed what? are we not still talking about thosr agberos join the ACN,omo?

Ochi_Agha:

Yorubas seem to be uniting I must say. Why can't we Igbos do that with APGA? Ojukwu was right to say that you cannot impose a leader on the Igbo. Prior to Biafra you could, but now things have fell apart. I weep for the Igbo nation. Where is our unity? The war has really impacted the Ndigbo, more than I previously have though.

to be honest, i do not care about yoruba and ACN

to answer your question, look at the way we igbos are first of all portraying ourselves on this forum,,,,,,,,,we do not even talk with 1 voice not to talk of policies.

kalu uzo has said what we need, but we are just to blind to listen to him  

yes kalu is a thief but he has said the truth,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.sad indeed

olafolarin:

Can you please define what "criminal" means?

Your region needs one Tinubu to be in the right direction.
Since they are yet to produce one,they'll continue languishing in perpetual poverty.

You old fool is not even ashamed that a convicted drug pusher is your leader. . . Amala and Ewedu politics at its best.

@PO
It is good news that thief BankOLE and his gang members are decamping to ACN where they will join Tinubu, the Yoruba drug kingpin.

Mr.Chyz:

I seriously doubt Uzo Orji Kalu would come to save your raggedy ACN although he belongs there too with the rest of the thieves and snakes.

which kind beaf bi this

Ileke-IdI:

The man is no leader, but the perfect leader for you guys.
Stop fronting Ochi, you know you respect that man.

That man is not worthy of respect. I respect his ability to get himself out of trouble. That is something I cannot deny and the man is intelligent. But he is not a leader, he is a thief and him and his wicked mother control Abia like it is a personal fiefdom. His mother is the true power behind his throne. And that is something I find very weird as well.

Ochi_Agha:

That man is not worthy of respect. I respect his ability to get himself out of trouble. That is something I cannot deny and the man is intelligent. But he is not a leader, he is a thief and him and his wicked mother control Abia like it is a personal fiefdom. His mother is the true power behind his throne. And that is something I find very weird as well.

Reh reh reh. Story story.

Kalu is the perfect leader the Ndi-Igbo/Biafra needs. If Ojukwu wasnt lying in hospital like a vege, he'd have verified my statement.

Ileke-IdI:

Reh reh reh. Story story.

Kalu is the perfect leader the Ndi-Igbo/Biafra needs. If Ojukwu wasnt lying in hospital like a vege, he'd have verified my statement.

Better to lying in a hospital like a vege that has become the president of his own country at the age of 33 then lying in the grave with the maggots and never have accomplished any of that in his life like awoloho.

Mr.Chyz:

Better to lying in a hospital like a vege that has become the president of his own country at the age of 33 then lying in the grave with the maggots and never have accomplished any of that in his life like awoloho.

When me and Ochi are having a private conversation, you sef go carry your chicken leg come talk.

Behave. Before you get spanked.

Ileke-IdI:

Reh reh reh. Story story.

Kalu is the perfect leader the Ndi-Igbo/Biafra needs. If Ojukwu wasnt lying in hospital like a vege, he'd have verified my statement.

How is that a story? What has Kalu done, or are you just trying to rile people up? Because I must say it is working. Abia is the laughing stock in the East, because of this man and his stooge.

Ileke-IdI:

When me and Ochi are having a private conversation, you sef go carry your chicken leg come talk.

Behave. Before you get spanked.

Put up one of your sexy photos and i will behave.(maybe)

Ochi_Agha:

How is that a story? What has Kalu done, or are you just trying to rile people up? Because I must say it is working. Abia is the laughing stock in the East, because of this man and his stooge.

I like your attitude, so pure and innocent. heehhe

I'd never rile you up. I wouldnt dare  

But Abia is not only the laughing stock because of Orji K and his gangsta mama [ a descendant of the Aba Women's Riot]

Mr.Chyz:

Put up one of your sexy photos and i will behave.(maybe)

Behave, chyz

Why have you turned so rowdy on me lately?