TAMBUWAL EDGES TOWARDS APC...ATTENDS PARTY’S SOKOTO The speaker of the House of Representatives yesterday moved closer to joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) by attending a meeting of its Sokoto stakeholders which decided to concede the governorship ticket to the southern zone where he hails from. Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal’s participation sparked speculations that he had finally defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC. But his office said he was still consulting on his political future, and that he attended the meeting on invitation by Governor Aliyu Wamakko. The meeting, held in Sokoto, was attended by party leaders including Wamakko, who said at the opening that Tambuwal had been “part and parcel” of the formation of APC. “I know your eyes are on Speaker Tambuwal, but let me tell you that he had been part and parcel of the formation of this party and he has been attending its activities,” he said. During the closed-door session that followed, the party’s governorship ticket was zoned to Sokoto South on the grounds that the East and Central zones had governed the state for two consecutive terms each. Sources at the meeting told Daily Trust that a committee has been set up to choose a consensus governorship candidate for the party from aspirants of Sokoto South origin. Apart from Tambuwal, others in the zone interested in the governorship seat are Finance Commissioner Faruk Malami Yabo, Senator Umaru Dahiru and Alhaji Yushe’u Kebbe. After the issue of zoning was decided upon, stakeholders asked Wamakko to give them direction as regards to who should be the consensus governorship candidate, but he rejected this, saying he had sworn not to arbitrarily choose a successor. “But he assured us that whoever emerges at the end he would give him all the support he needs to win in the election,” a participant told Daily Trust
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 06:21:34 +0000