- PDP divided between Tambuwal, Gyang
- Jarigbe‘ll carry the day – APC Senators
- Don’t get involved, group warns Akpabio
BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE
The cold war between the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the February 25 elections, Atiku Abubakar and leader of the rebellious G-5 governors, Nyesom Wike, has escalated, as the race for the position of the Minority Leader hots up.
As senators prepare for their resumption on July 4, the battle for the principal offices has continued to gain traction with more lawmakers indicating interest in the principal offices.
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (PDP, Sokoto South), former Speaker of the House of Representatives and former governor of Sokoto State is the favoured candidate for the position of the Senate Minority Leader.
Tambuwal, former ally of Wike until the 2022 presidential primary of the PDP, is being supported by Atiku, the National Working Committee of the PDP, former PDP governors in the Senate and a handful of other opposition senators.
However, there are fears that a repeat of what happened in the House of Representatives in 2019 when the PDP nominated Kingsley Ogundu Chinda as Minority Leader, but the then Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila of the All Progressives Congress named Ndudi Elumelu instead, may occur.
Unlike in 2015 and 2019 when the PDP had a commanding figure in the minority caucus, the last general elections threw up other political parties.
Though the PDP controls the larger number in the minority caucus, other political parties are expected to be represented in the leadership configuration.
The membership configuration showed that APC has 59 senators, PDP 36, Labour Party 8, New Nigeria Peoples Party 2, Social Democratic Party 2, All Progressives Grand Alliance 1 and Young People’s Party one.
It was gathered that the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, Wike and members of the opposition who worked for the former Akwa Ibom State governor’s victory are plotting to have one of their own as Minority Leader.
Prior to Akpabio’s emergence, leaders of the PDP, including the NWC had covertly instructed their members to vote for Abdulaziz Yari.
Leaders like Atiku, Bukola Saraki, Tambuwal, and former governors like Seriake Dickson, Adamu Aliero, among others openly worked for Yari.
On the flipside, some PDP senators ignored the instruction from their party and worked for Akpabio’s emergence.
As a pay back, it was gathered that the opposition senators who worked for Akpabio, drawn from the PDP, LP, NNPP, SDP, APGA and YPP are rooting for Wike’s choice for the position of the Minority Leader, Agom Jarigbe.
Jarigbe, a ranking senator and close ally of Wike, who defeated Ben Ayade in the February 25 National Assembly elections, represents Cross River North.
It was gathered that Wike who met with Akpabio last week in Abuja, is also meeting with other senators from the opposition to frustrate plans by the PDP NWC to produce the next Minority Leader.
One of the senators, who attended one of the meetings, said it would be unfair for a senator who opposed the emergence of the current leadership of the Red Chamber to become the Minority Leader.
He said though the Minority Leader is expected to play the role of the opposition, a known rival would not be allowed to lead the Caucus.
“Atiku and Wike have renewed their hostilities. Wike appears to have won the first round in the House of Representatives. It is too early to tell if he can replicate the same feat in the Senate,” he said.
Strong indications also emerged at the weekend that the national leadership of the PDP may pitch its tent with a senator from Plateau State as the Minority Leader of the red chamber.
In the current Senate, Senator Istifanus Gyang is the only PDP senator from Plateau State, as the two other senators from the state are in the APC.
It was gathered that the opposition senators felt it was wrong to cede the position to the North West since the zone already had two principal offices in the National Assembly; Deputy Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives.
The Speaker, Tajudeen Abass, is from Kaduna State while the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, is from Kano State.
A PDP senator who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “North West is not the only zone in Nigeria. There are six geopolitical zones in the country and we cannot concentrate in the North West alone.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is from the same zone and he had just finished two terms in office. Tambuwal is a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a governor for eight years. He was one of those who also worked against the PDP in 2015 and made us (the PDP) an opposition political party. He should go and queue and work for the party in the next elections.
“Don’t forget he even made us lose the Sokoto governorship to the All Progressives Congress in his state. So, he has more work to do in his state than at the federal level.”
However, a political pressure group affiliated with the PDP, the PDP Action 2023, is supporting Tambuwal to clinch the office of the Senate Minority Leader.
This is just as the group flayed the recent attacks on Tambuwal by those it described as ‘dictators’ afraid of the growing political profile of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
In a statement signed by the group’s chairman, Rufus Omeire, and made available to journalists on Saturday, the PDP-affiliated body accused some unnamed persons of leveling unsubstantiated allegations against Tambuwal, for reasons not unconnected with his aspiration to the Senate minority leadership.
“In the National Assembly, a Speaker outranks a Senator. As a former Speaker, he has the ranking and qualifications to become the Minority leader of the 10th Senate. So, why are they afraid of Tambuwal? Are they worried that he may become a stumbling block to the alleged plot for complete dictatorship in Nigeria?” the group asked.
The statement read in part, “They alleged that he (Tambuwal) once betrayed some people and PDP. Behind these allegations is an attempt to re-litigate the 2022 PDP presidential primaries. They have consistently tried to pin on him the issue of the betrayal of some of his friends because of the patriotic role he played during the PDP national convention. We cannot hold brief for Tambuwal, but at the appropriate time, the relevant question would be asked: Who betrayed who? He didn’t betray the PDP or the nation in his eight years as Sokoto State Governor.
“Tambuwal had shown interest in the PDP presidential nomination long before some people suddenly appeared on the scene and expected him to drop out for them just because they believed that they had more financial resources than him. Whether they had better programmes for Nigerians or not, didn’t matter.”
Lauding the leadership quality of the former Governor, the group argued that Tambuwal’s broad-mindedness played a huge role in his unanimous election “As the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, a position usually reserved for majority party Governors,” stressing that he successfully “Rallied round the entire Nigerian Governors to speak with one voice and assist the nation at its trying times of transition.
“He has demonstrated the capacity to forge alliances within his team for good cause. He has also shown that he is not over-ambitious. He demonstrated the political equivalence of supreme sacrifice by voluntarily relinquishing his quest for PDP presidential nomination in 2022 when he was a strong enough contender to clinch the ticket.
“To those who are sponsoring these attacks on Senator Tambuwal, let them first purge themselves of the ignoble roles they played in the last presidential elections. Some Nigerians have no shame.”
The group also counseled the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio ‘Not to allow people to destabilize the Senate by dabbling into the Minority leadership issue of the 10th Senate but to concentrate instead on assisting Mr. President to deliver sound legislation and good policies to ensure good governance in Nigeria at this critical period of change and leadership.”
As provided for by the relevant laws and rules of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, aside from the two presiding officer positions, eight principal positions are also to be occupied by elected lawmakers on the platforms of both the ruling and minority political parties.
On resumption of the plenary on July 4, the Senate President is expected to read the letter from the parties announcing their nominations for the minority leadership positions.
After the election of the presiding officers, both the majority and minority caucuses of the National Assembly are expected to appoint their leaders.
But the jostle for the Senate minority leadership position appears to be generating tension among the opposition senators following moves by some vested interests to impose a candidate on the Senate.
Lawmakers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that Atiku was behind the choice of Tambuwal as the Minority Leader.
A source said, “Tambuwal is Atiku’s choice as the PDP Senate leader while Wike is also pushing for Jarigbe as minority leader. Wike is looking for an opportunity to get back at Tambuwal over the presidential elections primary elections.
“Tambuwal is Atiku’s choice as the PDP Senate leader while Wike is also pushing for Jarigbe as minority leader. Wike is looking for an opportunity to get back at Tambuwal over the presidential elections primary elections”
“He is still bitter. But the party would not allow him to try the same thing he did during the national elections with the National Assembly.”
With 36 senators in the upper chamber, the PDP is expected to take two out of the four minority seats comprising the Senate Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip, and Deputy Whip.
However, there has been tension in the minority camp of the PDP since the former Rivers State governor visited the Senate President, Akpabio at his office last Thursday for a marathon meeting which ended around 6:30 pm.
Sources revealed that the leadership of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are, however, treading carefully on the matter.
A source stated, “Having assisted APC to win the presidential election in Rivers State in February and supported the aspirations of the now elected four presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly, making one of his loyalists a principal officer is his next plan.
“He is very serious about the plan and he is getting the required support from the leadership of the National Assembly as well as membership of the other minority political parties in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.”
Another lawmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, noted that the PDP was intent on enthroning Tambuwal as the senate leader.
The lawmaker added, “His Excellency, Senator Tambuwal is the one that the party has chosen as the Senate leader. The party at this time needs someone who can play the role of opposition very well and he is experienced having been a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. The party wants a competent person for that position and no doubt, he is one.”
The Media Adviser to Atiku, Paul Ibe, explained reasons the former Vice President was supporting the aspiration of the former Sokoto State governor.
Ibe said if his principal aligned himself with the position of his party concerning the Senate Minority Leader position; the same should not be misunderstood, adding that Atiku had always been a party man.
He noted, “The position of the Minority Leader of the Senate should be taken by the biggest opposition party which is the PDP. The PDP will naturally vie for the role in consultation with other opposition party members in the Senate. This is how the Minority Leader will emerge.
“If the party is backing Tambuwal and Atiku Abubakar happens to support this, there is nothing wrong with that. It is the prerogative of the party to decide who they think can champion the interest of the party in the hallowed chamber. Normally, they will support someone whose competence they can vouch for.
“If Atiku and the PDP are on the same page on this, it is merely a coincidence because the former Vice President has always been a party man.”
Confirming the stand of his former principal, ex- Chief Press Secretary to erstwhile Governor of Benue State, Nathanial Ikyur said Samuel Ortom would support Wike’s choice.
“Ortom will support Wike and I can tell you that for Wike to identify with Senator Jarigbe that means the man (Jarigbe) is the choice of the G-5. The group is intact and they make decisions together. All five of them are together. Seyi Makinde, Okezie Ikpeazu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Ortom, and Wike are together. They resolved to always stand together before, during and after the elections. Nothing has changed even after the elections,” he said.
Corroborating this, an ex-official of the party who served in the Uche Secondus-led National Working Committee said that the former governors who formed the G-5 would oppose the choice of Tambuwal for any position in the Senate.
A PDP chieftain who is of South West extraction said, “There is no way the G-5 leaders will support Tambuwal. He betrayed other PDP presidential aspirants. Instead of staying in the race for the PDP presidential ticket, backed out to support Atiku. They will never support him on this.
“I hope the PDP will back out of this mission of pushing Tambuwal as Senate Minority Leader. If they insist he is the one they want, he will lose.”
