Wike I love more but Atiku I trust as a better leader to govern Nigeria, says Tambuwal
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has explained why he dumped his old friend Nyesom Wike for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary election ahead of the 2023 election.
Tambuwal, now a leader in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) made the disclosure on Friday when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He said as a friend, he loves Wike more than Atiku, but in terms of leadership of Nigeria, he would rather support Atiku.
Wike, now minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), had blamed Tambuwal for his defeat in the 2023 presidential primary, calling it a betrayal.
Tambuwal explains his decision to ditch Wike: “Look, If Wike and Atiku walk in here and request for my phone, I will give it to Wike. But for the leadership of Nigeria, I will support Atiku,” he told Seun Okinbaloye, the host of the show.
When told that Wike had helped him in the past, he disagreed, saying they collaborated.
On President Bola Tinubu’s leadership of the country, he said It has been disappointing, arguing that Tinubu is an expert in political engineering but lacks the skills of governance.
When reminded that Tinubu supported him to win the speakership of the House of Representatives in 2011, he said they only collaborated when Tinubu saw that he was going to win without his support.
He said: “He initially was supporting my opponent, Mulikat Adeola. When we ran the numbers and he saw that I was going to win, he switched support for me. And if you subtract the votes of the ACN caucus and add it to the votes of Mulikat Adeola, I would still have won.”
He dismissed the claim that Tinubu has never lost election, saying he lost in Lagos and Osun in the 2023 election.
He said Tinubu is not invinsible, and will be defeated in 2027.
