Rumpus over election: Speaker, Deputy in secret meeting with Clark
By Yusuf Alli, Tayo Owolabi, Genevieve Ajewole Abuja and Osagie Otabor Benin




Speaker Aminu Tambuwal has launched a peace mission to reassure opponents of his election that he remains loyal to his party’s interests.

He plans to let the President know that his House leadership is not opposed to him.

On Tuesday night, Tambuwal met with elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark in Abuja.

The PDP has not accepted the election of Tambuwal and his deputy, Emeka Ihedioha. They contested the position against the party’s official candidate Akande-Adeola and Yakubu Dogara.

Their emergence has upset the party’s zoning policy. The Speaker’s post is zoned to the Southwest. The Deputy Speaker is expected to be produced by the Northwest.

The PDP National Working Committee (NWC), after reviewing the election of officers of the House of Reps on Tuesday, declined to congratulate the new leaders.

National Secretary Abubakar Baraje said zoning is still an integral part of the PDP Constitution, adding that the party would soon “come up with an appropriate policy in the due course”.

President Jonathan on his Facebook page yesterday said he believes in separation of power and lauded the Senate and the House for peacefully electing their leaders.

But vice presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Chief John Odigie-Oyegun described Tambuwal’s emergence as “a time-bomb wanting to explode at any time”.

During the visit to clerk, Tambuwal and Ihedioha said they are not anti-Jonathan administration, but only sought change that will sustain the principle of separation of powers.

Clark yesterday asked the leadership of the PDP to settle any rift arising from the election of the House leaders and move forward.

The new House leaders reached out to Clark, following propaganda that they were sponsored by Northern leaders opposed to the President to destabilise the administration.

It was learnt that the Speaker and his deputy have initiated steps to “heal the wounds in the party which was caused by their election”.

There were indications that they might still reach out to other leaders of the party such as the President, the acting National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Mohammed Haliru Bello; the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo; the PDP Governors Forum, and a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “During their audience with Clark, the Speaker and his deputy explained why there is need for separation of powers.

“They said they are not rebels or anti-party leaders. They claimed that they came to Clark to clarify that they did not go out to defy the PDP’s zoning formula as their election was the wish of all the parties in the House.

“They pledged to work with the President to achieve the targets of his administration. They repeatedly assured Clark that ‘we are not out to sabotage this government.’ Instead, they said it is in the best interest of democracy to uphold the principle of separation of powers.”

It was gathered that the new House leaders might meet the President on Saturday when he returns from the United States.

“I think Clark might broker peace between the House leaders and the President and other leaders of the party who are aggrieved over the defiance of the zoning formula of the party,” the source said.

Another source added that the House leaders chose the humble part instead of being combative.

He said: “While the party is blowing hot, the new House leaders have offered olive branch to PDP leaders. I think this is a good development.”

The octogenarian Clark confirmed the visit to his Asokoro, Abuja home.

He urged the PDP leadership to embrace peace and move forward from the challenge posed by the election of Tambuwal.

He said: “The rumours that some powerful forces who are opposed to the President were behind the election of the House leaders should be discarded.

“These House leaders are still loyal members of the party; they have done nothing otherwise. The two members who contested are all members of the PDP. If one party has won, the other should accept.

“There is always a way to settle the rift for us to move forward. No one should build a mountain out of a mole hill.

“When Mr. President returns, my appeal is that these are issues that should be looked into. The issue of zoning or no zoning is not an issue. Like I told the Speaker, the idea of zoning is dead or not dead is not the point.

“We want a united country. Mr. President was voted for by all the parties except the Congress for Progressive Change. We should look at it from that angle. It is not the PDP alone that had a say in the choice of the House leaders.”

On the alienation of the Southwest from the power sharing game, Clark said: “I will appeal to the Southwest that they should not regard the choice of the Speaker from the Northwest as a slight on them. The PDP can always find a way around the challenge at hand.

“Already, the Northeast will produce the new National Chairman of the party and I am sure it will get more offices in the new cabinet.”

Odigie-Oyegun told reporters in Benin yesterday: “There is going to start now a war of attrition; there is no question about that. A lot of difficulties are going to be put in the way of the President. He is not going to have an easy task”.

He said Jonathan needs courageous advisers, who can look him in the eyes and give hard advice, adding:

“People see it as a triumph for democracry, but I don’t see it so. I just see it as a time bomb which is waiting to explode in our feet,” he said.

The former governor of Edo State urged President Jonathan to establish a court that will adjudicate on corruption, if the country must develop. He said corruption could be tackled head on if the EFCC is allowed to operate freely, adding that the war against corruption depends on the level of control the President exerts over his ministers and others.

On his Facebook page, Jonathan said: “I believe in the doctrine of Separation of Powers and I salute the Senate and the House for electing their leaders in a transparent process.

“I congratulate the Senate President, Senator David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark and the Speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

“Again, it is only by ensuring transparency in all governmental processes that we will first put in and then get the best out of Nigeria.”