INSIDE STORY OF WAMAKKO SUSPENSION

A top official of the PDP explained the scenario thus: “The table turned
against Governor Wamakko after the appointment of Senator Gada as the Political
Adviser to the National Chairman of the PDP in May.  There are two issues
at stake here. First, Wamakko is seen as one of the PDP governors in bed with
the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). This means he may not support
Jonathan’s 2015 presidential ambition. Secondly, Wamakko and Tambuwal are
working hand-in-hand as political associates. For instance, during the
Democracy Day anniversary, the Speaker was absent. He rather went to Sokoto to hobnob
with Wamakko. The party is not comfortable about this alliance.”
The party chieftain told our reporter that it is suspected that Tambuwal would
use Governor Wamakko’s political structure to run for governorship in 2015, and
that the same platform would be used to work against Jonathan’s ambition.
Sunday Trust learnt that the party wanted to strengthen Senator Gada’s faction
of the PDP so that the former lawmaker can realise his governorship ambition,
and also work for Jonathan’s 2015 ambition.
However, the PDP’s Vice Chairman (North West), Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure, has
cautioned against such moves, describing Governor Wamakko’s suspension as
unfortunate. He said it will negatively impact on the party’s fortunes in 2015.
Speaking with newsmen at the venue of the Northern State Governors Forum
(NSGF), Ambassador Kazaure said the party’s National Working Committee (NWC)
ought to have consulted widely before taken the decision of suspending the
governor.
“We would have done a wide consultation because we have enemies within. PDP is
a party not a club it has its constitution. I am not saying what they have done
is wrong but all I am saying there should have been a wide consultation before
the action should be taken. For a governor whose state we have 100 percent PDP
supporters from the ward up to national levels, this is why I am sad. 
“North West is the largest PDP zone in the country, even in the National
Assembly. We have seven governors in the zone, so it is not a zone you can play
with. I don’t think his suspension will affect the PDP generally but it will
affect the candidature of the PDP in the state.  I am calling on our
leaders in PDP to please save us from the situation we are in because we have a
very strong rival and they are strong,” he said. 
It is feared that in the ongoing political fireworks in the party, Speaker
Tambuwal may be punished either by suspension or through some other means by
the party for his close association with elements in the opposition. The
Presidency has not been comfortable with the fact that the youthful Speaker is
being touted as a presidential material by several powerful political elements
in the North, and there has been no love lost between the leader of the House
of Representatives and Aso Rock.
Also Sunday Trust gathered yesterday that some governors who are purportedly
working against President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid in 2015 may be
suspended from the party alongside state chairmen working against the National
Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
The PDP leadership, it was gathered, believed that by cutting off the governors
and state chairmen from party machinery, it would effectively weaken the
governors and bring them to order.
The governors being targeted are the Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso; Muazu
Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and
Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara). 
As for Tambuwal, he is alleged to have rebuffed all entreaties by the PDP to
stop his public romance with the yet to be registered opposition party, APC,
especially one of its national leaders and former governor of Lagos State,
Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
However, Sunday Trust reliably gathered that Tambuwal’s romance with the
opposition did not just began in 2011 when he was elected Speaker with the overwhelming
support of the opposition members of the House of Representatives. Like many
other PDP stalwarts today, he was an opposition politician. He first came to
the House of Representatives in 2003 under the platform of the All Nigeria
People’s Party (ANPP). 
It was under the ANPP that midway into their tenure in 2005, he became the
House’s Minority Leader until he defected to the PDP in 2007 and came back to
the House for the second term as a ruling party member where he was also
elected as the House Deputy Chief Whip.
More importantly however, the Speaker’s glowing relationship with the
opposition climaxed in June 2011 when he teamed up with them to jettison the
PDP’s power sharing or zoning arrangement and contested for the speakership.
The PDP had then anointed Barrister Mulikat Adeola-Akande from Oyo state as its
candidate for the speakership but Tambuwal rallied the 160 members of the
opposition parties including at least 100 other PDP members to garner 252 votes
which was well over the 2/3 majority needed to win.
Since then, the opposition have always been supportive of his leadership and
thwarted at least two attempts to oust him within the last one year.
On the other hand, the PDP leadership has had cause to complain that Tambuwal
has allowed opposition to be dictating what happens in the green chamber as
many of President Goodluck Jonathan’s bills, policies and programmes do not
usually have smooth sail in the lower legislative chamber. On two occasions
they had tried to broker truce between the speaker and the presidency but is
all failed.
Tambuwal has, in the last one month, been publicly sighted with Tinubu and APC
leaders at several fora. One such event was when Kano State University of
Science and Technology awarded Tinubu an honorary doctorate degree. Tambuwal
allegedly ignored the invitation to a public function by his party and went to
Kano to rejoice with Tinubu. The speaker repeated this in Ilesha, Osun State,
last Monday at the launch of the “Opon Imo” meaning Tablet of Knowledge.
The photograph he took with Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Tinubu featured
prominently in most national dailies the next day. The PDP and the presidency
were said to have frowned at the development.
“There is nothing that has not been done to discourage him (Tambuwal) from his
unholy romance with the man who does not wish our party and President
(Goodluck) Jonathan well, but he has refused to listen to the voice of reason.
This is nothing but anti-party activity and I think our party will rise up to
the occasion by calling him to order,” a leader of the PDP reportedly said.
Besides this, the party has had a grudge against the speaker since he thwarted
the zoning formula to assume the office that was originally allotted to the
south-west.
But reacting on the activities of the House Speaker and his unmitigated
closeness to the leaders of the opposition parties, the PDP National Publicity
Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh told Sunday Trust that party was unaware of any
romance between Tambuwal and the opposition. 
Metuh said: “We are in a democracy where there is freedom of association. You
have friends and associates that cut across party divides. PDP members can
attend meetings organized by other political parties but that does not amount
to romancing with the opposition.
“Tambuwal is a national figure and is not Speaker of PDP alone. Therefore he
can honour invitation to attend functions organized by opposition politicians.
In the same vein the President visits and attends functions organized in
opposition states because he is president of Nigeria; not of PDP.”
On the wind of suspensions in the party, he said: “We are trying to
re-establish order and discipline among the rank and file of our members. If a
father disciplines a son, it does not mean the son will disown the father. We
are trying to correct anomalies in order to rebuild our party. Our party has
respect for our governors and other leaders but expects them to observe
discipline because the party is supreme.
“The suspended governors are not going anywhere; it is the party that gave them
tickets and by taking these measures we are going to come out stronger.”
Analysing the developments in the country’s ruling party, a renowned
constitutional lawyer, Barrister Festus Okoye alleged that the leadership of
the PDP was acting on a script tailored towards the 2015 elections.
In an interview with Sunday Trust in Kaduna, Barrister Okoye said the
leadership of the party did not come to equity with clean hands in suspending
the governors of Rivers and Sokoto States. 
Okoye, who is a veteran election monitor and Executive Director of Human Rights
Monitor, said: “The leadership of the party is just acting a script tailored
towards the 2015 elections. The alleged crimes of the parties are in the public
domain and the Nigerian people have analysed the issues and passed their
verdict. So, the action of the party is not a surprise. What is surprising is
impunity and grandstanding that accompanied the action of the party.
“Ordinarily, the suspension of two governors by their own parties should be
seen as an internal affair of the said parties. However, political parties are
a creation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as
amended) and must be seen to posses all the attributes of a party anchored on
the rule of law and process and hence the way they run their affairs is the
business of the Nigerian people and not necessarily their internal matter. 
“In more organised political systems, the political party is the engine of the
political process and all those who belong to them abide by the rules of the
party and the ideology of the party. Unfortunately, in Nigeria the party is
subordinate to the President, the Governors and the Local Government Chairman
in that sequence. This gives room for indiscipline within the parties and
subordinates the party to the political leadership. 
“Moreover, you cannot suspend a Governor without a hearing and without due
process. It is a bad precedent and doing so undermines the rule of law and due
process and sends a wrong signal to the Nigerian people regarding the
commitment of the party to democracy and its ideals,” he said. 
If votes are the main determinants of political succession in Nigeria, he said,
the Peoples Democratic Party would have been more circumspect and cautious in
suspending two elected governors knowing that they command influence and
resources and can harm the fortunes of the Party in 2015. 
“But in Nigeria, votes do not always count and what counts are illegitimate
votes that produce illegitimate leaders. It is rather unfortunate that there is
crisis in almost all the Political Parties in Nigeria and this raises concerns
regarding the 2015 elections. The signs are ominous and unless the political
elite come to some form of consensus, the contest for political power in 2015
will be fought by armed political thugs, miscreants, militants and insurgents. 
“I believe that it is in the interest of the President to promote cohesion in
the Peoples Democratic Party and in the nation at large. The President seems
stronger when he is fighting personal wars and perceived enemies and weak in
the art of governance. 
The veteran election observer said the PDP in crisis poses security challenges
to the country, noting that turning a blind eye to those threatening the peace
and stability of the country in the guise of promoting the agenda of the
President is a threat to the sovereignty and unity of the country. 
“Unfortunately, I do not see how crisis in the PDP will translate into gain for
other political parties. Other parties are also fighting the monster of
dissention occasioned by their disregard for the tenets of internal democracy,
due process and the rule of law. The PDP at its own level at least pretends to
be democratic and to follow the due process. Some other parties are run in an
authoritarian and cavalier manner and really have nothing to teach any other
party. 
According to him, political parties and their leaders must retrace their steps
and follow the rule of law and due process. 
He said the consequences of the present impasse occasioned by the cuddling of
militants and or ex-militants and trying to reap political capital from the
present state of insecurity in Nigeria will threaten the democratic health of
Nigeria and empower anti democratic forces.