PDP rejects former speaker Dogara, insists he is not part of the party

The People Democratic Party (PDP), Bauchi State has said that former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara is no longer a member of the party.

The chapter’s Publicity Secretary, Yayanuwa Zainabari stated this at a session with journalists at the party secretariat, Bauchi.

He said that the former Speaker tendered his resignation letter in July 2020.

Zainabari added that Dogara participated in the campaigns of rival party, All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last bye-election for the state’s constituency seat of Dass Local Government Area.

At the session, Zainabari said: “Dogara is not a member of the PDP in Bauchi state as far as we know, he tendered his resignation letter from the party to his ward chairman in July 2020 which was copied to the state secretariat.”

“Also, during the last by-election for the state constituency seat of Dass LGA in the State House of Assembly, he participated fully in the campaigns of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the PDP, if he is a member of the PDP, will he do that?

“Just recently, we started seeing his posters on the street of Bauchi with the state governor, Senator Bala Mohammed with an inscription of 4 +4, what that portends, we don’t know but we are dissociating ourselves from whatever may be the reasons.”

Zainabari continued that Dogara left the party voluntarily and he would be allowed back if only he followed the party’s constitutional guidelines of returning to the party.

“He is welcome, but he must go through the processes laid down in the constitution of the party because party politics is all about people,” the publicity secretary said.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to declare the seat of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara vacant.

Mr. Dogara, who is representing Dass, Tafawa Balewa, and Bogoro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State, defected from the APC to the PDP before the last general election and won re-election to the house on the platform of the PDP.

The party is calling for the sack of the former Speaker for defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) while still bearing the mandate of the party.

They prayed the court to direct Dogara to vacate his seat in the national assembly and to refund all the salaries, allowances, and emoluments he collected from the date of his defection from the PDP.

They also prayed the court to direct the house of representatives speaker to give effect to section 68(1) of the constitution to forthwith declare Dogara’s seat vacant and for INEC to conduct a by-election for his replacement.