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Wamakko vows showdown, insists APC controls Sokoto

By Azimazi Momoh Jimoh (Abuja), Eric Meya (Sokoto), Abiodun Fagbemi (Ilorin) and Abel Abogonye (Lafia)
03 August 2018   |   4:21 am
The chairman of the Northern Senators' Forum, Aliyu Wamakko, has declared that in the coming days, Nigerians would know who really is in charge of Sokoto State.

Senator Aliyu Wamakko

The chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum, Aliyu Wamakko, has declared that in the coming days, Nigerians would know who really is in charge of Sokoto State.

He was reacting to Wednesday’s defection by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alongside 18 members of the state House of Assembly and others.

Wamakko, who is a former governor of the state, said: “The people are solidly behind me, senators, House of Representatives members and elders who have chosen to remain in the APC.”

He said the state would not renege on its support for President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Insisting the defection is of no consequence, he said: “I pity my younger brother, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

He is a very promising and young politician with full potentials.

“This is the worst decision he has taken in his life. At his age, he should not be in a hurry.

He is a fine young politician. I have a lot of respect for him.

If he had taken into consideration the people he is representing, he should not have gone into the PDP.”

Deputy Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, Senator Ibrahim Gobir, seven members of the House of Representatives and eight members of the state House of Assembly did not defect.

This came as the PDP held its 81st National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, yesterday, attended by Senate President Bukola Saraki, who left the APC on Tuesday, and Tambuwal.

Both leaders declared they would do everything to reverse deterioration in governance and abuse of power in Nigeria.

“Today is a great day not only for this party but also for our great country. I am happy to be back to the party where I started my political journey,” Saraki said.

Tambuwal condemned a system where people are “framed up” because of their political beliefs.

“We cannot allow our country to drift further. It is not about anybody. It is not about any interest. This is about the country,” he said.

The meeting resolved to amend the PDP constitution, to give younger people more opportunities to serve.

National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan said the party was ready to protect the interest of all Nigerians.

A political group, Ilorin Emirate for Buhari (IEB), meanwhile, has described Saraki as an enemy of Kwara State.

The group was reacting to comments where the senate president blamed Buhari for alleged lopsidedness in appointments.

“The federal government appointed over 200 persons into juicy offices without allotting any slot to me or Dogara.

Everything went to Katsina and Lagos.

If not for the love I have for Nigeria, we would have scattered everything.

They don’t want us in their party. They don’t like us in Kwara,” he had said.

But the group’s Director of Publicity Rotimi Sulyman, in a statement, replied: “President Buhari is enamoured of Kwara and the demonstration of his love for the state is there for everyone to see.

Without a shadow of doubt, it is Saraki who hates Kwara and her people with every fibre of his being.

In a statement in Abuja yesterday, state APC chairman, Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa, described the defection of Saraki, Governor Ahmed and members of the state House of Assembly as cleansing for the party.

But Ahmed yesterday justified his defection while addressing youths under the auspices of Kwara Agenda, who staged a solidarity march in the state capital, Ilorin.

He said the APC-government at the centre failed to meet the aspirations of people and persecuted the party leadership in the state.

“Most of the political appointments at the federal level were done without any input or consideration from the state party stakeholders and in flagrant neglect of established principles of federal character.

The problem became compounded with ceaseless litigations and harassment,” he said.

The defections, notwithstanding, the APC chapter in Nasarawa State expressed support for Buhari ahead of next year’s elections.

At a stakeholders’ meeting at Government House, Lafia, Governor Tanko Almakura commended party members who have refused to decamp, stressing: “President Muhammadu Buhari is our own from the north and we must stand with him, no matter the storm.

We are not part of those who are jumping ship. We remain firm with our president.”

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