Aminu Bello Tambuwal,Speaker House of Representatives


By Chuks Okocha and Mohammad Bello


Scoops from the meeting the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Bamanga Tukur had on Thursday night with the party's members in the House of Representatives in Abuja show that PDP’s National Working Committee has offered the lawmakers automatic tickets to run in the 2015 general elections.

The meeting, it was gathered was aimed at checkmating the gale of defection of members of the PDP in the House of Representatives who are being wooed to the All Progressive Congress (APC) with automatic tickets in the 2015 elections.

The meeting had in attendance the entire leadership of the House of Representatives led by the Speaker, Aminu Bello Tambuwal, the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha and the House leaders - Mulikat Akande and Leo Ogor.

The PDP leadership at the meeting was represented by Tukur and the Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus with the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Goodswill Akpabio, the governors of Katsina, Bauchi and Bayelsa states. The meeting which started at about 8.45 pm ended in the early morning of Friday.

The source at the meeting confirmed to THISDAY that when members raised the question of automatic tickets since it was the weapon the APC had been using to woo PDP members, the national chairman had no choice but to grant the PDP members of the House their request for automatic tickets.

“We in the House know where the shoe pinches and this was laid bare to the PDP National Working Committee led by our national chairman. The plot of the APC is to use the offer of the automatic tickets to lure our members. So, as children and members, we told the national chairman and his delegation the gimmick and they accepted.

They accepted that any member of the House of Representatives seeking to re-contest in the 2015 election would be given an automatic ticket at the primary election,” the elated member of the House of Representatives said.

“The national chairman promised that the automatic ticket would be done in line with the Electoral Act as amended, to ensure that all things regarding the automatic ticket are done in line with consensus arrangement.”

It was also gathered that Tukur promised the party’s House of Representatives members that other challenges facing them would be addressed by the national caucus and the NEC of the party and that the meeting between the NWC and the National Assembly would hold on a regular basis.

Commenting on the outcome of the meeting, the national chairman said: “I feel great because we spoke as one family; we resolved to work together as one family. The atmosphere of peace is already pervading our party. You can see that PDP is strong and united as a family.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is not in a hurry to quit the ruling PDP despite the fact that all the legislators from his state are part of the 37 members of the House that recently dumped the PDP for the opposition APC.

Tambuwal, it was gathered from a source, "is still weighing his options as to whether to defect or stay on in PDP."

With the defection of the 37 members, the APC only needs seven more members in their fold to attain the simple majority of 181 required by the constitution to take over the leadership of the House.

A source close to the Speaker said: “The Speaker believes we shouldn't expend energy discussing politics at this point in time. We must lay emphasis on giving Nigerians quality leadership. Every Nigerian has a right to say what he or she wants to say. On our part, all we can say is that the Speaker has a mandate and he's working assiduously to fulfill the mandate."