• Set to dump PDP end of September
• Ruling party still bent on ousting him
Barring any last minute twists, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the end of the month.
Saturday New Telegraph learnt that all arrangements have been concluded for him to take the final plunge having waited in the wings of the opposition camp for almost three years. The move was said to be informed by both legal and constitutional limitations as well as political exigencies.
The APC recently released guidelines for the conduct of its presidential primary election upon which it would pick its presidential candidate for the 2015 general election. According to the guideline, the collection of the expression of interest forms for the presidential primary election will commence on September 24 while the sale of nomination forms will start on September 25 and end on October 2.
Similarly, the APC has fixed October 25 for its Special National Convention when the party will choose its presidential candidate. In addition, the constitution of the APC stipulates that anyone contesting any elective office on its platform must have been a bona fide member of the party at least thirty days to the primary election.
However, Tambuwal may have dropped his presidential ambition after his consultations with some prominent politicians. Sources in the party said Tambuwal found out that his chances on the political turf in terms of the presidential ticket, were very slim. “One thing I like about him is that he is a realist and knows how to cut his coat according to his cloth.
The moment he sensed that it would be difficult for him to challenge political heavy weights such as General Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the race for the APC presidential ticket, he changed his mind,” a source said. Tambuwal, it was learnt, would on joining the APC, seek an instant waiver from the party’s leadership to contest the governorship election in Sokoto State.
The speaker who have been standing astride both parties for a long time, appears to have become weary of sitting on the fence and playing the double game, particularly as the primary elections of the two major political parties draw near and every politician desirous of seeking elective position needs to pursue his ambition on the platform of one political party.
The Speaker who was elected to the House on the platform of the PDP in 2011, incurred the wrath of his party when he defied the party’s directive on zoning of offices in the parliament and practically “forced his way” to the position of speaker. The PDP had zoned the position to the South West and presented Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola as its speaker-nominee, banking on its numerical strength as the majority party in parliament.
But Tambuwal, a lawmaker from the North-West zone, backed by some PDP renegades and other legislators of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the forerunner of the APC, the main opposition party in the House of Representatives defeated the candidate of the ruling party in a landslide victory. This development was seen by the PDP not only as an affront and betrayal, but a deliberate attempt by the opposition to humiliate the ruling party.
There were initial attempts at reconciling Tambuwal and the PDP but it soon became clear that his loyalty was with the opposition party on whose back he came to power. In an attempt to keep his seat, Tambuwal became somewhat pliant in the hands of the opposition and openly challenged the policies and programmes of his party.
This triggered speculations that he was preparing to dump the PDP and defect to the opposition party. Although he never left the PDP, Tambuwal has consistently stayed away from the activities of the party but was, curiously, always found in the company of the opposition.
He came close to defecting when 37 members of the House elected on the platform of the PDP defected to APC alongside the governors of their states. Tambuwal had to defer the plan when the ruling party instituted a legal battle against the defectors and almost threw them out of the parliament.
In recent weeks, Saturday New Telegraph learnt that the Speaker has been under immense pressure to defect to the APC if he is to fulfil his ambition of running for a higher office in 2015. Tambuwal has, for several months been torn between remaining in the PDP and losing political relevance and defecting to the APC where he believes he stands a chance of advancing his political career.
A member of his kitchen cabinet who spoke to the paper in confidence said that months ago it was the APC leadership that was mounting pressure on Tambuwal to join them but now it is the other way round.
“He is the one mounting pressure on the party now to admit him because it is almost getting too late for him if he must actualise his aspirations in the party. I can tell you that Tambuwal was dithering before because of the position he currently occupies.
But with the way things are going and the short time left before party primaries, he is the one now doing everything possible to get on board before the door is shut against him.” According to our source Tambuwal is in a precarious situation and needs to act fast.
If he dumps PDP and joins APC, he can only be eligible to contest in the presidential or governorship primary elections if he is granted a waiver by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party by virtue of Schedule II (2) of the APC constitution.
Schedule II (1) (i) of the APC Constitution provides thus: “No person shall be eligible to contest for any party position or be nominated by the Party to be its candidate at any election if the person is not a Member of the party.
Of course he knows that remaining in the PDP to pursue his political future is not an option.” Meanwhile, the PDP is watching the moves of Tambuwal’s moves and would come for him as soon as he announces his defection.
By parliamentary convention and precedents, the top position in the two chambers of the National Assembly is occupied by the majority party and has remained so since 1999. But the APC as a party appears poised to change that tradition and is currently plotting to appropriate both Tambuwal and the seat he is occupying.
An opposition lawmaker said that they expected the PDP to have suspended Tambuwal long ago but that did not happen because of “the popularity of Tambuwal in the green chamber”.
He said the opposition was aware of a plot by the PDP to instigate an impeachment move over his imminent defection, but maintained that the ruling party would lose.
“As for his current office we are working hard to see how he can defect without losing his seat. After all, there is nothing in the constitution that says only a member of the majority party can be Speaker of the House.
The presiding officers of the parliament can be from any party as long as they are acceptable to the majority of the members. I can confirm to you that Tambuwal still has the numbers in the House of Representatives,” the source said.
Source: New Telegraph
