GOVERNOR of Sokoto state and former presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Aminu Tambuwal, has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s rule by proxy, as unacceptable.
Tambuwal, who came second in the race for the PDP presidential ticket, affirmed that he would remain in the party and work towards the ouster of President Buhari in next year’s election.
He was speaking after a meeting with the Chairman of the PDP Reconciliation Committee and Governor of Bayelsa State, Henry Seriake Dickson in Abuja on Monday.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said the maladministration of the present government must stop in 2019, saying that he has already started working to ensure that the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is elected.
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Tambuwal said: “The maladministration, the way the country is being run through proxies is unacceptable.
“So, we don’t want a situation whereby that will continue anytime after May 29. We want a situation whereby the President of Nigeria will be hands on issues of good governance, respect for the rule of law and the way this country is governed.
“So, I have given my commitment and I mean it, I am out for it. By the grace of God, we shall support Atiku Abubakar and PDP to win elections throughout Nigeria.”
He assured that he had made up his mind to remain in the PDP immediately after the national convention where he lost the ticket to the former Vice President.
The Sokoto governor stated: “I want to reassure you, our party men and women and Nigerians that I am committed to the success and victory of our party at the General Elections, come February 2019.
“We have had a robust and fruitful engagement on the way forward. And I have made my commitment immediately after the convention that I am going to support our candidate, Wazirin Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar 100 percent for us to have victory at the General Election.
“So, I am not wavering, I am not looking back. Work has started for us to ensure that the PDP family remains united and other lovers of democracy come and partner with us for us to ensure that we convincingly win this election.
“It is not about my personal ambition. It is about this country. And all of the issues we have discussed, canvassed and traversed for during our with delegates and party leaders, have remained there.”
Meanwhile, the Dickson-led PDP National Reconciliation Committee has commenced intensified consultations with the 12 Presidential aspirants of the party who lost out in the party’s national convention in Port Harcourt on October 6, 2019.
The Bayelsa Governor in the company of his Delta and Taraba counterparts, Ifeanyi Okowa and Darius Ishaku, respectively, met withTambuwal and another former presidential aspirant, Ahmed Makarfi, and praised them for their understanding and spirit of sportsmanship in the last national convention of the party.
The governors who were with the former aspirants for consultative meetings with Tambuwal and Makarfi in Abuja on Monday.
Speaking to reporters after closed meeting Dickson commended them for displaying maturity and a spirit of sportsmanship after the Port Harcourt Convention which was won by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The Governor said that the visit was part of the decision of the PDP to visit and interact with all presidential aspirants of the party in the last election with a view to encouraging them as leaders of the party in their own rights.
He said that the party had commenced series of consultative talks with aspirants and leaders of the party in the bid to recapture political power from the ruling All Progressive Congress in 2019.
Dickson commended Tambuwal for his display of statesmanship and the encouraging remarks he made after the emergence of the party’s candidate in the convention in which he was a leading candidate.
He stressed that the meeting with Tambuwal focussed on the need to strengthen the PDP, to provide the requisite support for the candidate of the PDP for electoral victory.
He said. “I am leading a team of the committee of governors to interact and compare notes with our brother, His Excellency Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state. As you all know, he ran a great race and we are all proud of what he did and what he continues to do. We appreciate his statesmanship, we appreciate the way and manner he has been of help to the party consolidating the gains the party is making.
“This afternoon, as part of our decision to go round, visit, encourage and interact with all our party leaders especially all those who indicated interest in the last presidential elections, we have held a fruitful meeting.
“We are actually starting from here and would be leaving from here to visit our former national caretaker chairman and also hold similar consultative meetings with him.
“This is just the beginning of several interactions formally and informally that we are going to have with him and with several other leaders of our party. As you all know, he is a very key player in the unfolding political scenario and we are all committed to reclaiming our country and building a new Nigeria.”
He said that all leaders of the PDP had a responsibility to close ranks, to hold regular talks as opposition politicians to reposition the PDP for electoral victory.
Dickson said that as the nation moved towards the next election, the Independent National Electoral Commission and the security agencies had a responsibility to ensure the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in the country.
He urged INEC and the security agencies to be fair, adhere strictly to the rule of law, and recognize the rights of individuals in the next elections.
Speaking also Tambuwal said that the PDP must remain a strong united party stressing that the emphasis should be on the country and not personal ambition.
Tambuwal who condemned the way the country was being run as a proxy said that Nigeria needed a president who would deliver effective governance.
He said that he was resolute in his decision to give total support to Atiku in pursuit of victory for the PDP in the next elections.
In his remarks, Makarfi said that while the aspirants went into the election as aspirants, they emerged collectively as a party.
According to him, he had long years of national and political relationship with the party’s candidate, Atiku which had not changed.
He was confident that the PDP will win the 2019 elections.
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