Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, yesterday raised the alarm in the United States of America, alleging a plot by some desperate politicians, whom he said are within his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to rig the 2015 general elections.
According to Tambuwal, the desperate politicians plan to use ex-militants to achieve their goal.
Tambuwal, who was invited to a round table discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) to give a talk on “Leadership in Developing Democracies: A Nigerian Perspective” in Washington DC, however noted that it is not the first time ex-militants would be threatening the nation ahead of general elections.
He expressed disappointment over the situation, saying: “This is not the first time militants will be threatening that if something they want is not done they will do this; they will do that. They did it in 2011; it is all about managing the contending interests. I notice that the militants are being influenced by some of us who are interested in particular goals. I am sure that at the end of the day, they will relax if the election does not favour the person they are supporting.”
Asked whether the crisis currently rocking PDP would not affect its fortune in the 2015 general elections, Tambuwal said there was a likelihood that the party might lose if its National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, is not persuaded to resign his position.
The Speaker argued that the seven aggrieved governors who have formed a parallel executive cannot be ignored by the party executive, saying any attempt to do so would spell doom for the PDP in the 2015 general elections.
Besides, Tambuwal also advised the Tukur-led executives to beg the seven governors who walked out of the convention to return to the party, stressing: “I am afraid to allow that particular group to form a new PDP. From what we can see, either they go and form a political party or merge with another, the situation will increase the strength of the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The PDP being led by Bamanga Tukur will find it difficult to face the strong opposition in 2015. The solution to this is, either we persuade Tukur to reign or he finds a way of bringing the seven aggrieved governors back to the main fold of PDP, because if you lose one seat in an election, it can be very costly, much more seven governors. Out of that seven, there is Kano with a very strong voting population. There are also Rivers and Niger States.
“Tukur can only be persuaded to resign from the PDP; if not, he will still remain chairman of the party. The National Executive Committee of the party cannot remove him; the only body that can remove him is the convention, except he resigns voluntarily.”
The seven governors who walked out of the convention are from Kwara, Jigawa, Sokoto, Niger, Adamawa, Rivers and Kano States. The development, people believe, is what has led to the deterioration of the crisis in the PDP.
Tambuwal, who also noted that the PDP had been engulfed in crisis since Tukur became National Chairman of the party, said: “What happened at the last PDP convention is going to influence the event in 2015, especially if PDP is not able to manage the on-going crisis.
“So it is up to the group that is being led by Bamanga Tukur to address the issues, and the implication will eventually come in 2015 general elections. Part of the issues raised by the aggrieved PDP leaders is that Tukur has been causing problems among leaders of the party, and that he (Tukur) started in his Adamawa home state, where he wanted his son to be governor. Quite a number of governors are not happy about Tukur’s leadership style.”
Also speaking at the conference, Special Adviser to the Kogi State government on Investment and International Relations, Ambassador Aisha Audu-Emeje, described the present role of women in Nigerian politics as encouraging.
The former First Lady of Kogi State enjoined women who are participating in politics to exercise patience, saying their time to become president is underway.
She said: “I want to really commend the efforts of women in Nigeria who have been participating in active politics. I know our time to become president of Nigeria is coming soon. It is only that we don’t have financial strength to achieve our desires.”
She, therefore, advised politicians in the country to play the game according to the rule in the 2015 general elections.
Source: Daily Newswatch
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