AHEAD of the 2015 elections, and in the bid to field a credible
candidate that could deliver the presidency for the new alliance, All
Progressive Congress (APC), some leaders of the new party were said to
have zeroed in on the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as a potential presidential candidate.
for the party.
Sources close to the Joint Consultative meeting of the party held in Abuja told the Sunday Tribune that the leaders agreed on Tambuwal, who they hoped to be persuaded to leave the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2015 elections.
Sources said that the choice of Tambuwal was agreed on after the younger elements within the party canvassed for a paradigm shift, by arguing that both former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari and the leader of Action Congress of Nigeria, Senator Bola Tinubu, be prevailed upon to withdraw from the 2015 race and leave the turf for a younger but acceptable candidate.
It was learnt that leaders of the opposition see Tambuwal as a man who had risen above partisanship by giving equal leverage to the opposition leadership in the House and one who could draw more PDP members to the APC should he agree to the proposal.
On the possible backlash should the speaker rise to the bait, it was gathered that the APC planned to engineer a massive defection of members of the House of Representatives from the PDP to its fold to checkmate possible threat of impeachment.
“Currently, the opposition parties have a combined number of 160 members, that is if the merger works. We already have Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) joining the merger. So with all opposition parties in the merger, we will only be 40 seats short of the PDP. With a massive defection between now and next year, the APC can secure the number to even make Tambuwal an APC speaker,” a source said.
Asked whether Tambuwal is already in the know of the arrangement, the source said that this was the decision of some of the leaders, which had not been communicated to him, saying they hoped to make it happen,because they saw Tambuwal as a “great source of support.” The the push in the APC, the source said further, was to ensure that younger elements were given leadership roles to play.
Another source said: “Members of the concerned opposition political parties in the National Assembly have met to deliberate on the issue. They have seen this as exciting.”
Sources also said that the APC meeting in Abuja also concluded that once the party was able to persuade Tambuwal and ensure the spread of members, that development would also assist them significantly in capturing more seats in the National Assembly and governorship seats as well.
A report of one of the meetings indicated that the above remained “the best and easiest way” the APC could capture political power.
“We are convinced that Tambuwal has been a great pillar of support to us and he remains our great target for 2015,” one of the sources further stated.
It was gathered that some leaders of the party have continued to mount pressure on General Buhari to dump his presidential ambition to pave the way for younger elements, just as forces are also said to be working on Tinubu to support the quest so that APC could snatch power from the PDP.
But the speaker had denied knowledge of such a proposal. One of the aides who spoke to Sunday Tribune described the issue as a mere rumour saying it was not true, that no one had contacted his boss nor was he contemplating dumping the party that brought him to prominence.
Sources close to the Joint Consultative meeting of the party held in Abuja told the Sunday Tribune that the leaders agreed on Tambuwal, who they hoped to be persuaded to leave the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2015 elections.
Sources said that the choice of Tambuwal was agreed on after the younger elements within the party canvassed for a paradigm shift, by arguing that both former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari and the leader of Action Congress of Nigeria, Senator Bola Tinubu, be prevailed upon to withdraw from the 2015 race and leave the turf for a younger but acceptable candidate.
It was learnt that leaders of the opposition see Tambuwal as a man who had risen above partisanship by giving equal leverage to the opposition leadership in the House and one who could draw more PDP members to the APC should he agree to the proposal.
On the possible backlash should the speaker rise to the bait, it was gathered that the APC planned to engineer a massive defection of members of the House of Representatives from the PDP to its fold to checkmate possible threat of impeachment.
“Currently, the opposition parties have a combined number of 160 members, that is if the merger works. We already have Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) joining the merger. So with all opposition parties in the merger, we will only be 40 seats short of the PDP. With a massive defection between now and next year, the APC can secure the number to even make Tambuwal an APC speaker,” a source said.
Asked whether Tambuwal is already in the know of the arrangement, the source said that this was the decision of some of the leaders, which had not been communicated to him, saying they hoped to make it happen,because they saw Tambuwal as a “great source of support.” The the push in the APC, the source said further, was to ensure that younger elements were given leadership roles to play.
Another source said: “Members of the concerned opposition political parties in the National Assembly have met to deliberate on the issue. They have seen this as exciting.”
Sources also said that the APC meeting in Abuja also concluded that once the party was able to persuade Tambuwal and ensure the spread of members, that development would also assist them significantly in capturing more seats in the National Assembly and governorship seats as well.
A report of one of the meetings indicated that the above remained “the best and easiest way” the APC could capture political power.
“We are convinced that Tambuwal has been a great pillar of support to us and he remains our great target for 2015,” one of the sources further stated.
It was gathered that some leaders of the party have continued to mount pressure on General Buhari to dump his presidential ambition to pave the way for younger elements, just as forces are also said to be working on Tinubu to support the quest so that APC could snatch power from the PDP.
But the speaker had denied knowledge of such a proposal. One of the aides who spoke to Sunday Tribune described the issue as a mere rumour saying it was not true, that no one had contacted his boss nor was he contemplating dumping the party that brought him to prominence.
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