INSIDE STORY OF WAMAKKO SUSPENSION

. The Tambuwal Connection

Though the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, who was suspended from the party on Wednesday was involved in anti-party activities, hence the use of the sledge-hammer on him, Sunday Trust gathered that the decision was rather to enable the party strengthen a faction of the party loyal to Senator Abubakar Umar Gada, the governor’s arch-rival in March 10, 2012 re-run election in Sokoto State.
Senator Gada, a former Minister in Jonathan’s cabinet was the president’s favourite in the re-run, but a tough political horse-trading enabled Governor Wamakko to capture the party’s ticket and to eventually win the re-run election.

A top official of the PDP explained the scenario thus: “The table turned against Governor Wamakko after the appointment of Senator Gada as the Political Adviser to the National Chairman of the PDP in May.  There are two issues at stake here. First, Wamakko is seen as one of the PDP governors in bed with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). This means he may not support Jonathan’s 2015 presidential ambition. Secondly, Wamakko and Tambuwal are working hand-in-hand as political associates. For instance, during the Democracy Day anniversary, the Speaker was absent. He rather went to Sokoto to hobnob with Wamakko. The party is not comfortable about this alliance.”
The party chieftain told our reporter that it is suspected that Tambuwal would use Governor Wamakko’s political structure to run for governorship in 2015, and that the same platform would be used to work against Jonathan’s ambition. Sunday Trust learnt that the party wanted to strengthen Senator Gada’s faction of the PDP so that the former lawmaker can realise his governorship ambition, and also work for Jonathan’s 2015 ambition.
However, the PDP’s Vice Chairman (North West), Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure, has cautioned against such moves, describing Governor Wamakko’s suspension as unfortunate. He said it will negatively impact on the party’s fortunes in 2015.
Speaking with newsmen at the venue of the Northern State Governors Forum (NSGF), Ambassador Kazaure said the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) ought to have consulted widely before taken the decision of suspending the governor.
“We would have done a wide consultation because we have enemies within. PDP is a party not a club it has its constitution. I am not saying what they have done is wrong but all I am saying there should have been a wide consultation before the action should be taken. For a governor whose state we have 100 percent PDP supporters from the ward up to national levels, this is why I am sad. 
“North West is the largest PDP zone in the country, even in the National Assembly. We have seven governors in the zone, so it is not a zone you can play with. I don’t think his suspension will affect the PDP generally but it will affect the candidature of the PDP in the state.  I am calling on our leaders in PDP to please save us from the situation we are in because we have a very strong rival and they are strong,” he said. 
It is feared that in the ongoing political fireworks in the party, Speaker Tambuwal may be punished either by suspension or through some other means by the party for his close association with elements in the opposition. The Presidency has not been comfortable with the fact that the youthful Speaker is being touted as a presidential material by several powerful political elements in the North, and there has been no love lost between the leader of the House of Representatives and Aso Rock.
Also Sunday Trust gathered yesterday that some governors who are purportedly working against President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid in 2015 may be suspended from the party alongside state chairmen working against the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
The PDP leadership, it was gathered, believed that by cutting off the governors and state chairmen from party machinery, it would effectively weaken the governors and bring them to order.
The governors being targeted are the Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso; Muazu Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara). 
As for Tambuwal, he is alleged to have rebuffed all entreaties by the PDP to stop his public romance with the yet to be registered opposition party, APC, especially one of its national leaders and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
However, Sunday Trust reliably gathered that Tambuwal’s romance with the opposition did not just began in 2011 when he was elected Speaker with the overwhelming support of the opposition members of the House of Representatives. Like many other PDP stalwarts today, he was an opposition politician. He first came to the House of Representatives in 2003 under the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP). 
It was under the ANPP that midway into their tenure in 2005, he became the House’s Minority Leader until he defected to the PDP in 2007 and came back to the House for the second term as a ruling party member where he was also elected as the House Deputy Chief Whip.
More importantly however, the Speaker’s glowing relationship with the opposition climaxed in June 2011 when he teamed up with them to jettison the PDP’s power sharing or zoning arrangement and contested for the speakership.
The PDP had then anointed Barrister Mulikat Adeola-Akande from Oyo state as its candidate for the speakership but Tambuwal rallied the 160 members of the opposition parties including at least 100 other PDP members to garner 252 votes which was well over the 2/3 majority needed to win.
Since then, the opposition have always been supportive of his leadership and thwarted at least two attempts to oust him within the last one year.
On the other hand, the PDP leadership has had cause to complain that Tambuwal has allowed opposition to be dictating what happens in the green chamber as many of President Goodluck Jonathan’s bills, policies and programmes do not usually have smooth sail in the lower legislative chamber. On two occasions they had tried to broker truce between the speaker and the presidency but is all failed.
Tambuwal has, in the last one month, been publicly sighted with Tinubu and APC leaders at several fora. One such event was when Kano State University of Science and Technology awarded Tinubu an honorary doctorate degree. Tambuwal allegedly ignored the invitation to a public function by his party and went to Kano to rejoice with Tinubu. The speaker repeated this in Ilesha, Osun State, last Monday at the launch of the “Opon Imo” meaning Tablet of Knowledge.
The photograph he took with Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Tinubu featured prominently in most national dailies the next day. The PDP and the presidency were said to have frowned at the development.
“There is nothing that has not been done to discourage him (Tambuwal) from his unholy romance with the man who does not wish our party and President (Goodluck) Jonathan well, but he has refused to listen to the voice of reason. This is nothing but anti-party activity and I think our party will rise up to the occasion by calling him to order,” a leader of the PDP reportedly said.
Besides this, the party has had a grudge against the speaker since he thwarted the zoning formula to assume the office that was originally allotted to the south-west.
But reacting on the activities of the House Speaker and his unmitigated closeness to the leaders of the opposition parties, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh told Sunday Trust that party was unaware of any romance between Tambuwal and the opposition. 
Metuh said: “We are in a democracy where there is freedom of association. You have friends and associates that cut across party divides. PDP members can attend meetings organized by other political parties but that does not amount to romancing with the opposition.
“Tambuwal is a national figure and is not Speaker of PDP alone. Therefore he can honour invitation to attend functions organized by opposition politicians. In the same vein the President visits and attends functions organized in opposition states because he is president of Nigeria; not of PDP.”
On the wind of suspensions in the party, he said: “We are trying to re-establish order and discipline among the rank and file of our members. If a father disciplines a son, it does not mean the son will disown the father. We are trying to correct anomalies in order to rebuild our party. Our party has respect for our governors and other leaders but expects them to observe discipline because the party is supreme.
“The suspended governors are not going anywhere; it is the party that gave them tickets and by taking these measures we are going to come out stronger.”
Analysing the developments in the country’s ruling party, a renowned constitutional lawyer, Barrister Festus Okoye alleged that the leadership of the PDP was acting on a script tailored towards the 2015 elections.
In an interview with Sunday Trust in Kaduna, Barrister Okoye said the leadership of the party did not come to equity with clean hands in suspending the governors of Rivers and Sokoto States. 
Okoye, who is a veteran election monitor and Executive Director of Human Rights Monitor, said: “The leadership of the party is just acting a script tailored towards the 2015 elections. The alleged crimes of the parties are in the public domain and the Nigerian people have analysed the issues and passed their verdict. So, the action of the party is not a surprise. What is surprising is impunity and grandstanding that accompanied the action of the party.
“Ordinarily, the suspension of two governors by their own parties should be seen as an internal affair of the said parties. However, political parties are a creation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and must be seen to posses all the attributes of a party anchored on the rule of law and process and hence the way they run their affairs is the business of the Nigerian people and not necessarily their internal matter. 
“In more organised political systems, the political party is the engine of the political process and all those who belong to them abide by the rules of the party and the ideology of the party. Unfortunately, in Nigeria the party is subordinate to the President, the Governors and the Local Government Chairman in that sequence. This gives room for indiscipline within the parties and subordinates the party to the political leadership. 
“Moreover, you cannot suspend a Governor without a hearing and without due process. It is a bad precedent and doing so undermines the rule of law and due process and sends a wrong signal to the Nigerian people regarding the commitment of the party to democracy and its ideals,” he said. 
If votes are the main determinants of political succession in Nigeria, he said, the Peoples Democratic Party would have been more circumspect and cautious in suspending two elected governors knowing that they command influence and resources and can harm the fortunes of the Party in 2015. 
“But in Nigeria, votes do not always count and what counts are illegitimate votes that produce illegitimate leaders. It is rather unfortunate that there is crisis in almost all the Political Parties in Nigeria and this raises concerns regarding the 2015 elections. The signs are ominous and unless the political elite come to some form of consensus, the contest for political power in 2015 will be fought by armed political thugs, miscreants, militants and insurgents. 
“I believe that it is in the interest of the President to promote cohesion in the Peoples Democratic Party and in the nation at large. The President seems stronger when he is fighting personal wars and perceived enemies and weak in the art of governance. 
The veteran election observer said the PDP in crisis poses security challenges to the country, noting that turning a blind eye to those threatening the peace and stability of the country in the guise of promoting the agenda of the President is a threat to the sovereignty and unity of the country. 
“Unfortunately, I do not see how crisis in the PDP will translate into gain for other political parties. Other parties are also fighting the monster of dissention occasioned by their disregard for the tenets of internal democracy, due process and the rule of law. The PDP at its own level at least pretends to be democratic and to follow the due process. Some other parties are run in an authoritarian and cavalier manner and really have nothing to teach any other party. 
According to him, political parties and their leaders must retrace their steps and follow the rule of law and due process. 
He said the consequences of the present impasse occasioned by the cuddling of militants and or ex-militants and trying to reap political capital from the present state of insecurity in Nigeria will threaten the democratic health of Nigeria and empower anti democratic forces.

Source: Sunday Trust