APC GOVERNORS LOOK FOR A BAILOUT
Speakership Race: Tambuwal Syndrome Won’t Apply in the House, Says Jubrin
L-R: Vice-President-elect, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; President-elect, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari; Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha; and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie Oyegun, when Buhari met with APC governors and governors-elect, in Abuja… yesterday
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance and one of the contestants for the Office of the Speaker in the incoming eighth assembly, Hon. Abdumumini Jibrin, has described any member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House that plans to disobey the party’s directives on zoning of the offices in the National Assembly as a rebel, adding that the Tambuwal syndrome which came into play in 2011 would not be reenacted in 2015.
He further said the non-existent principle of zoning was being bandied around to blackmail the North-west geopolitical zone out of the race for the speakership of the House.
Jibrin, who made the disclosure in an interview with journalists in Abuja, explained that the presidentelect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), who comes from the North-west, was never presented for election by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a zoning candidate, adding that Buhari is not the president of his zone but that of the whole of Nigeria.
According to him, “In the first place, I think we are getting the interpretation of the zoning completely wrong. The presidency is not supposed to be zoned; he is the president of Nigeria. Buhari was never presented as the candidate of the North-west; he was presented as the candidate of Nigeria. He is supposed to be neutral and not show bias for any zone.
“So if (the presidency) was never zoned to the North-west. Yes, of course Mr. President will be very proud that he is from the North-west, but this idea of trying to exclude the North-west from other offices because the president comes from the zone is very unfair and is tantamount to blackmail and I don’t think anybody should blackmail the Northwestern part of the country.
“I’m calling on every eligible senator and House member from the North-west to come out and contest for the leadership of the National Assembly. It is our right like every other zone. We shouldn’t be boxed into a corner; this is a blackmail against the North-west, and we are not going to allow it,” Jibrin said.
The lawmaker pointed out that the zone has the largest contingent of state assembly members, the largest contingent of senators and the House members, adding that it delivered the highest number of votes in the March 28 presidential election to the APC.
“Now if you exclude us, what do you want us to tell our people? What do you want us to go back and tell all the people that gave all those votes to the president? The president is for the entire country, So, we want other
offices that we will take back to our people for them to be able to hold back to something. We don’t want to see the president-elect as that of the North,” he added.
The speakership aspirant said the Tambuwal scenario cannot happen under the present circumstances.
According to him, the Tambuwal experience happened in 2011 because “we were in PDP, and we were not happy with the
party. We had issues with the president then, but the scenario now is completely different. We are happy with our party and we have a strong president-elect who is a well respected man of integrity, no nonsense president and everybody respects him.”
Continuing, he said: “The psychological feeling among members is completely different. Everybody has respect for the party and the president-elect. If you look at it in 2011, there were no sufficient candidates from where the majority party wanted to bring the speaker from. But in this case, there are a lot of competent people who are gunning for the position of speaker.
“I think we’re not going to have any challenge choosing anybody to come up as the new speaker. So I strongly believe we cannot have the Tambuwal scenario.
“Some aspirants that are flying that flag of the Tambuwal scenario I think they’re only trying to play to the gallery; they cannot go against the party. The party is strong enough; everybody respects the party. I think the party will deal decisively with anybody who tries to set it at collision with members of the House.
“If the party comes out to zone, it is very dangerous if you go against it, because it is going to lay a very faulty foundation for the Buhari administration and we don’t want to do that. It is in the interest of everyone to support the zoning arrangement of the party. I believe they are going to do it with fairness and justice, we will respect the zoning formula.
“I know of an aspirant that came out to say he is not going to respect the zoning formula of the party, and I think the party has taken note of that and they should take the necessary action.
“Someone mentioned that the particular aspirant took to that position because he wants to seduce members of the PDP to come and support him, but I know members of the PDP; I have been with them for four years. Emeka Ihedioha is a fantastic leader; Leo Ogor, a consummate lawmaker and an excellent personality, and of course you have very good lawmakers and people of integrity like Nnenna (Ukeje), Tajuddeen Yusuf and so on.
“All these people will support an APC candidate based on his capacity to deliver, his integrity and ability to lead, not because he is a rebel against his own party. If you think to rebel against your own party is the only way you can use to lure PDP to support you, I wish you good luck, but I think the PDP is smarter than that.”