After Tambuwal’s defection, what next?

Finally, after speculations, cantankerous deliberations and consultations, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congresss (APC) on Tuesday, October 28.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal

According to him, his defection was because of his political future and consideration of his state, Sokoto.

His formal declaration came after a rumour of his defection was denied by his spokesman, Mr. Imam Imam.

Imam stated that the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, led other members of the party to a reconciliation meeting in Sokoto but Tambuwal was not invited to the meeting.

He added that the Speaker was later invited by Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, to attend the meeting of their political family to discuss the political future of the state.

The meeting, held in Sokoto, was attended by party leaders including Wamakko, who said at the opening that Tambuwal had been “part and parcel” of the formation of APC.

During the closed-door session, it was concluded that the party’s governorship ticket should be zoned to Sokoto South on the grounds that the East and Central zones had governed the state for two consecutive terms each.

Sources at the meeting said a committee was therefore, set up to choose a consensus governorship candidate for the party from aspirants of Sokoto South origin.

Apart from Tambuwal, others in the zone interested in the governorship seat are Finance Commissioner, Faruk Malami Yabo, Senator Umaru Dahiru and Alhaji Yushe’u Kebbe.

After the issue of zoning was decided, stakeholders asked Wamakko to give them direction as to who should be the consensus governorship candidate, but he rejected this, saying he had sworn not to arbitrarily choose a successor.

He, however, assured the attendees that whoever emerges at the end would be given him all the support he needs to win in the election.

Sources also disclosed that it was because of this decision by the governor that a 21-member committee was set up to come up with a consensus candidate for the party from the southern zone, headed by Alhaji Aminu Tambari Tafida with Barrister Suleiman Tsaki as secretary.

After the meeting, the Speaker proceeded to his hometown, Tambuwal, sparking further speculation that he was there to register as member of the APC, though it was not clear if he did that.

Sources, however, said that even at that, the Speaker is still weighing options, whether to seek the APC presidential ticket or seek to be Sokoto governor.

Consequent upon his defection, the PDP and the main opposition APC have sharply disagreed over his fate to continue his appointment as the Speaker of the house. While PDP wants Tambuwal to resign as Speaker, APC says it won’t happen.

Shortly after Tambuwal announced his defection on the floor of the House, the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) met with the party’s leaders in the lower parliament. The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisah Metuh, said as a responsible elected officer, Tambuwal should know what is needful and honourable for him “since his new party is in the minority.”

Metuh also reminded him that he (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.”

APC, however, rose to Tambuwal’s defence, describing it as a welcome development, arguing that it would give the opposition the opportunity to enthrone checks and balances in governance.

In acceptance of this former declaration, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had said that the decision is historic as well as indicating the growth of democracy in Nigeria. He said that with the defection, APC is taking the leadership of one arm of the national legislature.

He also said that having the head of the legislature from the opposition party makes for a balanced setting in government.

Mohammed faulted those canvassing Tambuwal’s resignation, recalling that in 1983, the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) did not have the majority in the National Assembly and so entered into an accord with the defunct Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP), and the ruling party at the time shared the leadership of both arms of the National Assembly.

“When the accord concordia broke down, the then Speaker, Chief Edwin Umezeoke, did not relinquish his position. Those who are saying this has not happened before and that Tambuwal should step aside as Speaker, do not have the backing of history and the constitution,” Mohammed said.

Tambuwal’s eventual defection will surprise very few, giving his public fraternity with the nation’s opposition party.

He owes his emergence as Speaker to opposition members of the House who ensured he defeated PDP’s favoured candidate, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, also a ranking member of the party from Oyo State.

While he has remained officially a PDP speaker, Tambuwal is believed to have long fallen out with the party and has been absent from key party functions.

However, Nigeria’s political game seems to be getting more interesting with this development.

Several questions have been raised by critics over the Speaker’s defection, though it was not quite a surprise to most Nigerians, following antecedents.

The world is curious to know the defected Speaker’s next political move. Would Tambuwal seek governorship or presidential ticket?

Obviously, if he decides to go for the governorship, he needed to join APC before the Sokoto consensus committee would consider him to be an aspirant.

He would also have to obtain the APC nomination form by next week when submission of forms would close.

In the event that Tambuwal decides to join the presidential race in APC, he would have up to November 6 to obtain and return the nominations forms.

Be that as it may, it is ideal for Tambuwal to know that those who did what he has done in the past are now in political wilderness, considering the prize of creditable democracy anywhere in the universe. The likes of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and Governor Orji Kalu, are part of the trembling league on the political stadium probably waiting in desperation for final whistle.

Tambuwal was born on January 10, 1966, in Tambuwal village, Sokoto State. He graduated with LLB. Law from Utman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, in 1991.

He was elected into House of Representatives in 2003 on the platform of All Nigerians Peoples Party (ANPP) and later defected to Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) in 2007, few months before election.

But when the DPP denied former ANPP legislators return tickets, Tambuwal went back to the ANPP, where he eventually succeeded in picking a ticket for the election.

When the ANPP governorship candidate for Sokoto State in the 2007 election, Wamakko, dumped the party for the PDP, Tambuwal followed suit.

See more at: Daily Independent