FG Wants Tambuwal Gone

Date Posted: 18/09/2013

THERE are plans to remove House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, source said yesterday.

The Presidency believes the House has been infiltrated by the G-7 governors and the Kawu Baraje faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It has launched a counter-move to remove Tambuwal and other principal officers, The Nation learnt.

The Presidency stepped in following alleged moves to sack the House Leader, Mrs. Mulikat Adeola, who is pro-President Goodluck Jonathan. Also, as part of the plot, the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP National Working Committee(NWC) yesterday called off its proposed meeting with the Speaker and the PDP caucus in the House at the last minute.

According to sources, the Presidency was uncomfortable with the alleged romance between the Speaker and the G-7 governors/ Kawu Baraje faction.

It was gathered that the Presidency suspected that the G-7 and the Kawu Baraje faction planned to join forces with the opposition to reduce PDP into the minority party in the House.

It was learnt that the Presidency is acting on security reports on covert plan by the House to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan or make governance difficult for him because of the 2015 election.

The Presidency alleged that the initial bend of the suspected move against Jonathan was the removal of the Leader of the House. Based on what a source described as “false alarm”, the Presidency has also decided to move against Tambuwal. It was gathered that a key official of the Pan-African Parliament is the arrowhead of lobbying House members to ease out Tambuwal and other anti-Jonathan principal officers.

A member of the House from North-Central was being co-opted last night to assist the official. Besides meeting with some members at the Presidential Villa, the anti-Tambuwal forces also met at Apo Legislative Quarters and at Bolingo Hotel, Abuja yesterday on how to effect changes in the House.

The meeting was across party lines as it was attended by some PDP, APGA, Labour and a few elements in APC. A principal officer of the House said: “What is happening is that they have fears in the Villa but nobody is moving towards the impeachment of the President.

“They do not know that we have decided that the leadership will remain but should the G-7 governors defect to APC, the House Leader, Hon. Mulikat Adeola-Akande will seamlessly transform into a minority leader. The Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Chief Victor Ogene, confirmed the plot.

He said House members had been called to meetings at the Presidential Villa and outside the seat of power. He said: “Well, what I do know is that members have been meeting in various caucuses, including state and party caucuses. As parliamentarians, we will not stop our members from attending meetings.

“The unity of the House of Representatives is sancrosanct but any member who goes ahead to attend a meeting that is injurious to our unity will only put himself or herself up for sanctions. “We have been hearing rumours of attempt by different interest groups to sway members one way or the other but I wish to say that the leadership of the House is up to the task of keeping the House as one whole unit.

“We know that some members have been called to meetings in the Presidential Villa or outside the Villa but where the inducement is coming from, we do not want to speculate.

Responding to a question, Ogene said: “The Speaker and his team are not shaken in any way; they are not threatened. “You could see this from the rousing welcome given to the Speaker on the floor of the House today.”

Source: The Nation