The chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay, has described the return of a former speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a big setback for the party’s image.

Daily Independent reports that Dogara, who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) shortly before the 2019 general elections, was led to meet President Muhmmadu Buhari at the State House on Friday, July 24.

360aproko gathered that the chairman of the APC caretaker/national planning committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, led Dogara to the Presidential Villa for a meeting with Buhari where his defection to the ruling party was sealed.

Reacting to the development, Sagay said the APC as a principled party shouldn’t have allowed Dogara back into its fold.

He said: “For me, this is a big setback for the image of the APC. I think it’s an illustration of the fact that we are yet to adopt ideology and principles in our politics. Because if you have an ideology and philosophy, you won’t be hopping from one party to another.

“So, it creates a negative image of Nigeria and our political parties as immature. Otherwise, nobody drove Dogara away from APC. He woke up one day and decided to follow his friend Bukola Saraki to PDP. Why didn’t he stay there? Why is he back to APC again? So, for him, there is no difference between the two parties.

“If we are not the same, then if a person finds something good enough in PDP to go there, we should let him remain there and not just take him back. This whole idea of allowing people to jump in and out of parties has to stop.

Meanwhile, 360aproko had previously reported that Dogara defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It was reported that this was revealed on Friday, July 24, by the acting chairman of the party, Mai Mala Buni. The news came after Dogara alongside Buni met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.