Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, may have stirred the hornet’s nest with his defection to the APC last week, writes Head, News Desk, VICTOR EBIMOMI.
After months of speculation, the House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday, October 28, walked out on the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), – the major opposition party poised to wrest power from the PDP in next year’s general election.
Tambuwal announced his defection at the House plenary in fulfilment of the law which requires him to declare formally to his colleagues, and he promptly adjourned house sitting till December 3.
His defection has, however, continued to generate reactions from his former party, just as in his new party some aspirants appear to have been thrown off balance by his action.
The Speaker, incidentally, seems to have the reputation of seizing opportunities to further his political quests.
He came into political limelight as a member of the All Peoples Party (APP), which later mutated into All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). From there, he moved to the PDP, on which platform he was elected into the House of Representatives where he occupies the exalted position.
His move, this time around, to the opposition APC, is believed to also be in furtherance of his political career. The Speaker is said to be eyeing the governorship position in his home state, Sokoto. The position is even said to have been zoned to his senatorial district by his new party, which many observers say gave him the conviction to want to take a shot at it. In fact, the zoning is reportedly the bait dangled before the Speaker to lure him into APC.
But his defection is not going unchallenged. For instance, PDP has the majority in the House of Representatives. As a result, it has been kicking that since Tambuwal has jumped ship, he should equally relinquish the Speakership.
“After a thorough consideration of the matter, the NWC (National Working Committee) came to a conclusion that the Speaker, as a responsible elected officer, knows fully what is needful and honourable of him since his new party is in the minority,” a statement by PDP Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said. “We are not unmindful of the fact that Tambuwal became Speaker on the platform of the PDP as the political party with the majority of seats in the House of Representatives, and that this incontrovertible fact has not changed.”
Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswill Akpabio, echoed similar sentiment, stressing that the party’s leadership had always suspected the Speaker’s action and body language. He advised him to resign his position as Speaker.
But APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, argued in the contrary, stressing that defection is not novel to Nigeria’s politics and warned PDP of any attempt to force the Speaker out of office. He alleged that PDP started the gale of defection in the country by poaching “governors from the defunct ANPP and Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA)”, adding that it is settled that people could move across parties.
Beyond the controversies generated by his defection, some political observers have continued to weigh his chances in the 2015 election, even if he picks the APC ticket for governorship election in Sokoto.
Though Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wammako, is of APC, following his defection from PDP, that may not easily assure the Speaker the needed breather. For one, former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa, who has been waging pitch battle with Wamakko, is seen as a huge obstacle to Tambuwal’s ambition.
Besides, the presidency is expected to throw all its weight into the ring to retain the state and also to serve as a punishment for Tambuwal, if he eventually gets the ticket.
Tambuwal, before the defection, had always been at loggerheads with the presidency and the PDP hierarchy because of his close relationship with the opposition.
Indications that things had got to a head emerged two weeks ago when he was allegedly snubbed by the visiting PDP delegation to Sokoto led by Tony Anenih, the Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman.
Before then, he was repeatedly accused of surreptitiously attending APC functions where he used the opportunity to gauge the mood of the party men while also consulting on his next move.
Although Tambuwal is regarded as being relatively popular in his constituency, he is not seen as a state-wide grassroots man as he is perceived more as Abuja politician where he spends the better part of his tenure.
Sokoto, incidentally, has always been a political hotbed, being the seat of the caliphate, which invariably controls the North by virtue of the position of the Sultan of Sokoto, regarded as the highest religious position in the North and among Muslims in Nigeria.
Though it was reported that Tambuwal is already enjoying the support of some members of the political elite in the North, it is doubtful if the Sultan will openly canvass support for him because of the backlash it could draw from Aso Rock.
But as it stands, some political pundits believe that Tambuwal is on a journey that will define his political fortune in years to come.
