Tambuwal: When Silence Is No Longer Golden: Nigerians are anxiously waiting for the consultation the speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, is making on his next move over his political career amidst worries that his delay may cost him valuable space in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in which he is currently a member, or the All Progressives Congress, APC, which many believe he is planning to cross over to. EDEGBE ODEMWINGIE writes Despite the hub of activities around the presidency, with thousands of support groups holding meetings, shouting endorsements and holding rallies for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election, many are looking at the speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to know what his course of action will be. There is, no doubt, that the speaker has, in the last three years and counting, proved to Nigerians that he is a leader that can understand the yearnings of the average Nigerian and responds effectively. From the fuel subsidy probe to the activities of Boko Haram and to the open condemnation of perceived anti-peoples policies emanating from his own party, Tambuwal has been able to win support of many Nigerians on the streets. However, the speaker only has four years to stay on that seat until he seeks another office to be able to continue his leadership to Nigerians and many who believe in him have expressed fears about the uncertainty about his political future. To be or not to be? That the speaker would defect to the APC or not is an issue that has been over-flogged but like the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. It is apparent that Tambuwal is no longer comfortable in the arms of the PDP, or so it seems since he so happens to always be busy doing one thing or the other when the party is holding activities. Even during the recent endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan by the National Assembly PDP caucus, the speaker was notably absent, even as he had made it known on several occasions that he did not think the government of the day was doing a good job worthy of steering the ship of the nation. He recently said while collecting his permanent voter’s card in his home town in Sokoto State that he thinks Nigeria deserves better leadership than what is on ground and, as such, they must work hard towards defending the nation’s democracy. “Nigeria deserves better leadership and the nation’s leaders and as well as every other Nigerian must work to protect the hard-earned democracy in the country”, he stated. The speaker had also, on one of the numerous occasions, criticised the government led by his party for supporting corruption. “The president’s body language seems to be encouraging corrupt practices in the country”, he stated in December 2013 during an address on the role of the legislature in fighting corruption, which he presented during a roundtable conference organised by the Nigeria Bar Association to mark the international anti-corruption day in Abuja. “Take the subsidy probe, the pension, the SEC probe and recently, the bullet proof cars cases. After the House of Representatives did a diligent job by probing and exposing these cases, you now see something else when it comes to prosecution.In some cases, you have the government setting up new committees to duplicate the job already done by the parliament. Take the bullet proof cars case, the NSA, with all the security challenges confronting the country, should not be burdened with a job that can best be handled by the anti-corruption agencies”, he stated, adding further that, “By the action of the president setting up different committees to straightforward cases, the president’s body language doesn’t tend to support the fight against corruption”. So the big question is: Is the speaker willing to stay in the PDP and continue with his criticism of its leadership or will he move to another party where his views and beliefs will be same? Why the speaker must decide now Tambuwal can continue to sit on the fence, some political analysts have opined, but it will likely have an adverse effect on his immediate political future. Charles Okeke, a political analyst, who spoke with LEADERSHIP Sunday on this issue, is of the opinion that the best time for the speaker to conclude his consultations and make a definite decision is now if he does not want to risk slipping into political oblivion. Okeke explained that while he is consulting, other aspirants have started putting structures on ground and charting courses that will enable their followers know exactly how they would give support to their ambition. Furthermore, he argued that the political space is filling up by the day and as such, if he belongs to PDP, he should stay there and strategise his next move for governorship or presidency or move to the APC fast so that he will not be seen to be the last man that came in but wants the best seat. “Time is of the essence. With the PDP already showing support for the president’s reelection unopposed and names of political heavy weights like Atiku Abubakar and Gen Muhammadu Buhari are being bandied in the APC, the best time to get the electorate to key into his plans and aspirations is now; not a minute more”, he stressed. But the speaker has continued to assure his followers and supporters that at the right time, he will let out plans he has under his sleeves. He said in Benin City, Edo State that, “When I went to collect my voters card, I said I was consulting and I am still consulting. Nigeria is not a small country; we have very, very senior leaders that one needs to meet with before taking such decisions. As I said, I am consulting and, at the appropriate time, I will come out to say what I will be doing in 2015,” he said. It is widely known that the feeling the speaker has for the PDP is mutual but showing him the way out may not have the desired effect as he has a lot of supporters who may use the opportunity to move to another party. It will be recalled that an earlier suspension of governor of Sokoto State, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and his Rivers State counterpart, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, by the Bamanga Tukur administration for indiscipline was partly responsible for the crisis that almost tore the party apart. Stay up to date, follow us on Twitter; @LeadershipNGAOriginal link Read More goo.gl/vHRQKc (y) ✍comment ☏share
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 02:27:13 +0000
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