Sokoto State governor, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, has refuted claims by the former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, that he left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) because he could not be given an automatic ticket in 2019. Tambuwal also accused Tinubu of trying to destroy APC after he was denied being President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in the 2015 presidential election. Replying in a series of tweets on the Sokoto Government House handle @ SokotoGovtHouse, Tambuwal said contrary to Tinubu’s statement, he left the party because of the failure of the current administration. Tinubu had, in a letter on Sunday, said that Tambuwal and Senate President Bukola Saraki left the APC because they were afraid to test the strength of their popularity in a primary election with President Muhammadu Buhari. The National Leader of the APC said: “Governor Tambuwal’s exit can be distilled to one cause. He covets the presidency. However, he had not the stomach to challenge President Buhari in a primary.”
But Tambuwal poohpoohed Tinubu’s claim. He said: “If I wanted to and if the presidency is why Ahmed Tinubu thinks I defected, I could contest with President Buhari under the APC. I have what it takes to have contested with Mr. President. “Tinubu tried to rock the boat when he was denied Buhari’s vice presidency. He thinks every other person could behave his way.
If I wanted to contest under the APC as president, I could have done so and only the votes could have produced a winner. “In any case, Tinubu is confessing that there is no level-playing ground for all members of the APC; that there is no internal democracy in it and that some people were denied their right to internal democracy. “I adduced reasons of my defection to the PDP. The reasons are still on record. Automatic ticket by the APC is certainly not part of that.”
.new telegraph