It is clear that the defection of Hon Emmanuel David Davematics Ombugadu, the member representing Nasarawa Eggon, Akwanga and Wamba Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, and Hon Haruna Joseph Kigbu, the member representing Lafia Obi Federal Constituency in Nasarawa state, to the PDP were decisions taken by the members without the consent of their constituencies, especially the Eggon people where the two members originate from.
No wonder, soon after their defection traditional rulers, elders, youth and women from the Eggon extraction paid a solidarity visit to Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura in their hundreds, dissociating themselves from the defection of the two members and pledging their loyalty and support to Al-Makura.
According to them, Ombugadu and Kigbu did not consult with them before their defection to the PDP, hence their resolve to remain in APC to support the good work of Al-Makura who has touched the lives of the common people in all the nooks and crannies of the state.
They said since the creation of Nasarawa state this is the first time the Eggon people are enjoying a series of appointments and consideration in governance without discrimination as it was done in the past despite their contribution to the development of the state.
They described the recent crises involving the Eggon people as unfortunate and promised to live in peace with one another for the development of the state.
By this declaration regarding the defection of Ombugadu and Kigbu, it is clear that these honourable members have lost their political relevance in Nasarawa state, hence their selling of the people’s mandate to the PDP that was earned through sacrifice and commitment to dislodge the PDP during the 2011 election.
Maybe Kigbu has forgotten so easily the ill-treatment and denial he suffered in the 2011 PDP primaries and ran to the then CPC for help and his eventual emergence as a member representing that constituency. Now that the electorate are not with him in PDP what will become his fate?
For Ombugadu, a first timer who, if not because of the CPC tsunami that swept the PDP away in his constituency, what political structure has he put in place to win election, not even a chairmanship election, how much more that his people have now dissociated themselves from his so-called defection? Where will he borrow the strength again to win any election in his constituency?
The Eggon people, especially those resident in Nasarawa Eggon, which is the largest settlement of the Eggon people, will continue to remember the good gesture of Governor Al-Makura by providing some basic social amenities, above all provision of potable water which for over a decade was lacking in the area.
A bird at hand, they say, is worth thousands in the bush. What a wise saying!
Yakubu wrote from GRA Lafia, Nasarawa state