20th October, 2014
Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, has attended a meeting of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in his home Sokoto state, sources at the meeting said.
Associates of the speaker said his presence at the meeting, Monday, may herald his official defection from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Tambuwal exit from PDP has been long expected having romanced national party leaders of the APC.
One source at Monday’s meeting said Mr. Tambuwal told the gathering to accept him as “one of you starting from today”.
The Sokoto meeting was for APC officials to choose a consensus candidate for the state’s gubernatorial election.
Another source at the National Assembly also confirmed Mr. Tambuwal’s presence at the meeting.
Asked about his possible defection, the source said if he attended the meeting “what does that tell you, will they allow someone that is not their member attend their meeting?”
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, on Monday, said the speaker attended the meeting on the invitation of the state governor, Governor Aliyu Wamakko to discuss political future of the state.
Imam said the meeting was attended by prominent Sokoto citizens, “many of who have no known political affiliation.
“The most notable being the Sardauna of Sokoto and former Minister of Finance, Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji”.
He said that consultations on the speaker’s political future continued and the outcome would be publicised at the appropriate time.
Imam said that the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, had led other members of the party to a reconciliation meeting in Sokoto but the Speaker was not invited.
He said the speaker was a member of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC).
Adressing the APC meeting, Wamakko said the active support received from members of the National Assembly, the 27 members of the state assembly and the 23 local government chairmen was responsible for the party’s growth in the state.
He tasked the stakeholders to come out with responsible candidates that would seek elective positions of various offices ahead of 2015 general elections. “I have no candidate but ready to support any candidate that the stakeholders of our party present,” he said.
He called on the stakeholders to play responsible politics that would ensure the emergency of acceptable candidates.
He also called for more unity among the faithful members for the success of the party, adding that, the time had come for the party to present its candidates to the electorate.
Wamakko said that the party would ensure the wishes and aspiration of the electorate were respected as no candidate would be forced on the party. “I am ready to support any candidate presented by our party stakeholders as your wishes will be supported.”
Wamakko called on the party members to play responsible politics without bitterness for the overall development of the party. We must realise as progressives that seeking elective positions must not to be seen as a do or die affair,” he said.
He said that the task before the party was to work towards winning all elective positions in the forth coming general elections.
He said this would only be possible ” if we collectively present credible and valuable candidates to the electorate”.
NAN reports that Sen. Umaru Dahiru, Sen. Ibrahim Gobir, some members of the National Assembly from the state and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Lawali Zaiyana, attended the meeting