2015: Tambuwal ‘all set’ to defect to APC

Speaker of the house of representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress “in a matter of weeks”, TheCable understands.

This, according to sources, is in preparation for the 2015 presidential election.

He will defect to the APC just in time to express interest in the presidential ticket of the opposition party, a member of the house of reps told TheCable on Sunday.

Parties are scheduled to hold their presidential conventions in October, going by the timetable for the 2015 elections drawn up by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Tambuwal gave the biggest hint yet about his planned defection on Sunday in his hometown, Tambuwal, Sokoto State, where he went to pick his permanent voter’s card.

Asked if he was going to defect to the APC, he replied in Hausa: “Kowa ni tsuntsu kukan gidan su yake yi.”

Interpreted, it means “birds of a feather flock together”.

He also said Nigeria can do “with good leadership”.

Although he is a member of the PDP, he was elected speaker in 2011 against the wish of the party leadership and has openly associated with the opposition without officially defecting.

The ruling party had zoned the position to the south-west, but the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (which is now part of APC) teamed up with pro-Tambuwal PDP lawmakers as well as those from other opposition parties to edge out the PDP candidate, Mrs Mulikat Akande-Adeola.

TheCable asked one of Tambuwal’s associates if he would vacate his position as a result of the defection, but he replied: “There is nothing in the law that says the speaker must come from the ruling party. It simply says someone with legislative experience should be elected speaker.”

In 1979, the speaker of the house of representatives, Hon. Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, was from the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP), although the ruling party was the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

However, both NPP and NPN were in alliance, leading to a power-sharing agreement.

Tambuwal recently met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo as part of consultations over his ambition.

He had also been recommended for “higher office” by former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, in the past.

Posters announcing his presidential bid were all over Abuja a few weeks ago and although he denied having a hand in it, he did not rule out running.

Others thought to be interested in the presidential ticket of the APC include Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Senator Bukola Saraki.