2015: Presidency, PDP ready to replace Tambuwal

House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal’s yet
unclear political future has sent panic into the Presidency and
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
They are worried about how to handle Tambuwal, should he
defect to the All Progressives Congress(APC) to vie for
Sokoto State governor.
The Presidency and the PDP are believed to be planning to
take control of the House once Tambuwal moves to APC.
In line with the agenda of the Presidency and the PDP,
Majority Leader Mulikat Adeola-Akande has resuscitated her
ambition to be the second woman Speaker of the House.
It was learnt that she is nursing the ambition to complete
Tambuwal’s tenure and roll over in 2015 if she is re-elected
into the House.
But most Representatives have rejected plans to force
Tambuwal to step down.
They argued that no law or House Rule says Tambuwal must
quit office, adding that it is just a global “parliamentary
practice” for a ruling party to produce either the President of
the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
They are pushing for the retention of Tambuwal as the
Speaker after defecting to the APC.
Tambuwal is under pressure from the people of the state to
run on the platform of the APC, which is the ruling party in the
state.
There were indications last night that the Speaker might bow
to pressure to contest for governor.
Beyond Sokoto politics, the battle has shifted to the House of
Representatives.
A source in the House, who pleaded not to be named, said of
“the Speaker confided in his backers, strategists, friends and
associates in the House that he might join the governorship
race. It is obvious that his people are persuading him to be
the next governor of Sokoto State,” the source said.
“The governorship slot is zoned to Sokoto South where
Tambuwal hails from.
“Even if he attempts to seek the ticket on PDP platform, he
will be denied the opportunity in view of the cat and mouse
game between the House and the Presidency.
“The challenge before the House is the aftermath of his
movement to the APC that we are trying to manage. You know
the Presidency and the PDP may not want him to continue to
lead the House as the Speaker.
A principal officer also gave an insight into how the House is
trying to manage Tambuwal’s aspiration to keep the chamber
intact.
The source said: “We are meeting on Wednesday (yesterday)
night to look at all options available to us. The House has to
choose between partisanship and merit. We want Tambuwal
to continue in office.
“But the Presidency and the PDP are already planning against
any attempt to retain Tambuwal by the House. They are
saying that Tambuwal must step down once he has defected.
“Definitely, the battle line is drawn between those for and
against Tambuwal.”
Another principal officer said there was no section of the 1999
Constitution or any House Rule that says that the ruling party
must produce the Speaker.
Section 50(1) (b) of the Constitution says: “There shall be a
Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that
House among themselves. Order 1 Rule 2 and Order 2 Rule
3(1) are also silent on whether or not a Speaker should be
from the Majority or the Minority; or whether a Speaker
should step down or not.”
“So, ordinarily, he is not expected to vacate his office as the
Speaker to contest for any office in 2015. But since he is
aspiring to another office under the platform of the APC, the
ruling PDP will want to make an issue out of it,” the source
said.
PDP is insisting that going by the House precedent, it should
produce the Speaker as the party with majority of members.
Besides, the PDP may cause a crisis in the House by trying to
apply Section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution to force
Tambuwal to vacate his seat. Although there are pending
suits against members who defected from PDP to APC, the
Presidency and the ruling party have been looking for an
opportunity to take a pound of flesh.
“We do not want the 7th House of Representatives to end its
legislative year abruptly or in chaos. We are trying to get the
best for the House,” a source closed to the Speaker said.
The Presidency and the PDP are being careful in their
approach to “the Tambuwal matter” because the 2015 budget
is yet to be presented and any chaos in either of the chambers
in the National Assembly will adversely affect the system.
“Also, this is an election year with the Presidency targeting
more votes from the North. The way and manner Tambuwal’s
case is handled may have some implications for Jonathan’s
chances,” said another source, adding:
“But a pronouncement by the court may be the way out but
there are appellate courts where you have to queue for
justice.”
Asked what the House will do if the Presidency and the PDP
have their way, a House principal officer said: “We have our
Plan B. We are trying to reach consensus on Hon. Adamu
Bashir from Jigawa State because he is ‘amiable, amenable
and accommodating’ as Tambuwal.
“This is just Plan B, we hope we will not get to this stage at
all.”