Last week ended with a major political development – the acceptance of Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to vie for the ticket of his new party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the presidential primary.
At least 80 members of the House and close associates bought the nomination and intent form for Tambuwal on Thursday.
Though the Speaker has not made any formal declaration, reports of his intention caused a stir in the political landscape all through the weekend.
However, Nigerians who spoke to Daily Independent on the issue had different views.
The Chairman, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Bayelsa State chapter, Lucky Akpeli, believed that Tambuwal’s chances of securing the presidential ticket of the APC are very slim.
In fact, Akpeli emphasised that the Speaker personally nailed his political coffin the day he defected from the ruling PDP to the APC.
He argued that like the Senate President, David Mark, he should have remained in PDP and bargain for his return to the green chamber as Speaker after the 2015 elections.
He said the Speaker would have become more relevant in 2019 if he ran for re-election to the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP instead of defecting to the APC and juggling his governorship and presidential ambitions at the same time.
The CNPP Chairman posited that the fact that about 80 of his political associates picked the APC presidential nomination form for him was not an indication that he was popular.
He said Tambuwal’s seeming popularity in the lower House should not be used as a political barometer to measure his chances of defeating Buhari, Atiku and Kwankwaso to become the APC presidential flag-bearer.
Akpeli stated that the APC contest is between Buhari and Atiku, adding that while the former has 70 per cent chances, the latter has 30 per cent chances.
“Tambuwal does not have any chances in the APC even though he has been hobnobbing with the party while he was in the PDP. In fact, he has nailed his coffin. He should have remained in the PDP and negotiate his return as Mark always do and that would have made him relevant in 2019,” he stated.
But a political science teacher at the Niger Delta University (NDU), Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Ibaba S. Ibaba, said it was difficult to decipher who among Buhari, Atiku and Kwankwaso, clinches the APC presidential ticket.
“There has to be some horse-trading, negotiations, and consultations, and probably the day of the primary (of the APC) will decide who has a chance,” he said.
A former member of the Imo State House of Assembly, Bath Obi, declared that the entrance of Tambuwal will only be an added advantage to the chances of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 Presidential election.
He insisted that Tambuwal’s inability to remain steadfast in a particular political party will work against him, adding that he also bit the fingers that fed him, which was not a good example for someone seeking to be Nigeria’s President.
“He will not change anything and he cannot go far. If the APC decides to field him against President Jonathan, it will be a walk over. He has not been consistent in a particular party for a while. Jumping from one party to another is not the best thing for any politician who aspires for higher office,” he stated.
Godwin Erhahon, Edo State Publicity Secretary of the APC, described Aminu Tambuwal’s decision to join the APC Presidential race as encouraging and inspiring, adding that it confirms APC’s claim of being the most attractive and most potent platform.
“While I emphasise that Aminu Tambuwal’s entry into the presidential race has now made the game to be excited and inspiring to other aspirants, let me quickly add that our opponents, especially the PDP, have been rattled by Tambuwal’s latest action and his exit from the PDP is like a loss of kidneys from human body and therefore a fatal blow that will knock them out of power,” he stated.
Edo State PDP Publicity Secretary, Matthew Urhoghide, said “ Tambuwal joining the Presidential race is of no effect.”
“Tambuwal is definitely electorally inferior to Buhari who also is electorally worn-out, “ he stated.
Abdul Oroh, Edo State Commissioner For Agriculture and Natural Resources, said Tambuwal’s joining of the Presidential race is a welcome development because the more the merrier.
He said it would enhance strong competition which would give APC an edge over PDP at the Presidential election.
A legal practitioner, Benedith Asaboro, in his reaction declared: “As far as I am concerned, Ta’buwal’s joining of the Presidential race in APC has no political consequence as far as PDP is concerned.
“As a matter of fact, I liken his joining the presidential race in APC vis-a-vis the chances of PDP to putting a spoon of water into an ocean.
“The biggest problem of Nigerians in politics is inability to assess their political position correctly. To me, it is a laughable development in Nigerian political history,” he stated.
*Daily Independent
