The race for 2019 may have been settled with the Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal highly favored by the to clinch the Peoples Democratic Party nomination. If the happens, he will for now face president Muhammadu Buhari as the coalition of political parties will automatically give him their full backing, if the memorandum of understanding, MOU, signed by over thirty political parties are to go by. Baring last minute changes, Buhari may still be the candidate if he has been able to survive the trauma of betrayals of his defecting party loyalists. He was so rattled that he had to go for the campaign of a senatorial campaign in Bauchi, more because he still wanted to test his grassroots popularity in-spite of the defections. This magazine had reported his threat to throw in the towel if the decampings will result in his humiliations at the polls.
But the decamping pf Tambuwal, which has recently been backed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar lll, though long expected, has been a major blow. This is because while other aspirants are suffering from vulnerability due to lack of immunity, Tambuwal as a serving governor is still covered by immunity. It is believed tha characteristically, the Economic and Financial crimes Commission, EFCC, is waiting until after the primaries to swing into action by hounding the person nominated by the PDP.Tambuwal is said to be close to Nyesom Wike, the new PDP strong man and the new National leader of the PDP, Bukola Saraki. Saraki, even though he may be longing for the Presidency, may settle for the senate where he may have been guaranteed the senate Presidency for the second term.
Saraki’s political brigandage has effectively left Rotimi Amechi, the Minister of transport, in the lurch. Amechi was said to have played a major role in the emmergence of Saraki as the Senate presidency, as part of his proxy war wit the National leader of APOC, bola Tinubu. But despite the deep war chest he expended on the election of Buhari, he lost out in the power game of becoming the vice president because he was seen as a king without a kingdom. Attempts to placate him had resulted in the ministerial portfolio he has been given.As it is, Nyesom Wike, who helped to install Uche Secondus-who has become Nilli Secondus, or second to non-with the help of Odidigborigbo of Africa, James Ibori, the former governor of Delta state, is said to be behind him. And the party thrown for the APC decmpees at Nicon hotel was actually to celebrate Tambuwal’s entrance into the race.
This has resulted in other presidential hopefuls kicking. Atiku was said to have been particularly angry at the unofficial choice of Tambuwal. This was why Atiku Abubakar, Sule Lamido and Ahmed Markafi were conspicuously absent from the recent gathering.
Meanwhile, the PDP has accused President Buhari of masterminding planned destabilisation of the National Assembly while he jets out of the country pretending he is not aware of what happened. Already, the PDP senators are currently keeping vigil at the hallowed chambers since it was reported that about ten All Progressives Congress senators attempted to break int the senate in the middle of the \night and, with the backing of SDecurity agencies, seize the Mace and impeach the Saraki and Ekweremadu. They were stopped by PDP House of Representative members and some senators. Overpowered, they were said to have escaped in a hilux van.
In a statement signed by the PDP spokes person, Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity secretary, they said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Federal Government of shopping for a fraudulent interim court order to declare vacant, the seat of the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, following his defection from the APC to the PDP.
“The PDP alerts that credible information at its disposal showed that some cabals in the Presidency and APC had perfected a plan to institute a lawsuit to challenge the validity of Saraki’s seat with the sole aim of securing a fraudulent injunction to force him out of office pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Further intelligence available to us shows that once they are able to secure the injunction from a particular compromised judicial officer, they intend to arraign and detain the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on trumped up charges and ensure he is not granted bail so as to keep him out of circulation while their men would move in to effect an illegal leadership change in the Senate.”
According to them,
“This desperation by despotic forces to forcefully and illegally take control of the Senate, the highest symbol of our Democratic Order, is nothing short of “civilianised coup” which must be resisted by all.
The judiciary must therefore ensure that it is not intimidated or ensnared to be party to a desperate bid to destabilize our nation.
The PDP holds that this newest devilish plot to destabilise our democracy lays credence to our earlier stand that President Buhari’s supposed London vacation is a ploy to absolve himself of responsibility for the political terror they have plotted to unleash on the opposition, especially the National Assembly.
Although they denied it as usual, Nigerians can bear witness to the fact that there is nothing the APC government denied that they did not eventually execute.
Indeed, there has never been any impunity they executed that they did not deny.
The recent rascally attempt to hold Saraki and Ekweremadu hostage in their homes on 24th July 2018 as well as the terrorisation of the Benue State House of Assembly after Governor Samuel Ortom’s defection bear sad testimony to this fact.
We, therefore, call on Nigerians and the international community to be on the alert as the conspirators plan to commence the execution of this evil plot from Tuesday next week.
Finally, the PDP cautions the APC and others in this evil ring to note that they are now running on a collision course with Nigerians as the citizens will definitely not fold their hands and watch them destroy our hard earned democracy and foist a fascism on our dear nation.”
