The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr.
Aminu Tambuwal, is making moves to ensure
members of the House of Representatives will
not impeach him when he finally defects from
the Peoples Democratic Party to the All
Progressives Congress.
There had been speculations that Tambuwal
might defect from the PDP, on which platform he
was elected to the House, to the APC.
On Monday, the Speaker attended a meeting of
APC members convened by the Sokoto State
Governor, Aliyu Wamakko, to discuss the political
future of the state.
Tambuwal, however, said he was still consulting
and would brief Nigerians very soon on his final
decision.
The Office of the Speaker had claimed that a
reconciliatory mission of the Board of Trustees of
the PDP to Sokoto on Monday did not invite
Tambuwal to a meeting of the PDP stakeholders
in the state.
The BoT members were said to have been led by
the Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih.
A statement by Tambuwal’s Special Adviser on
Media, Mr. Imam Imam, stated that the Speaker
obliged the invitation by attending the Wamakko
meeting.
Tambuwal’s romance with the opposition is said
to be puzzling to the Presidency, the
representatives and leadership of the PDP.
Findings showed that Tambuwal, who is in the
last lap of his consultations on the issue, might
likely defect on Thursday this week.
The House too is set to adjourn plenary on
Thursday to allow members prepare for the
primaries of their various political parties.
SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the Speaker had
been talking some members into supporting his
defection for “stabilising the House since June
2011.”
Leadership stability is said to be his lobbying
thrust to retain the speakership after the
speculated defection.
Insiders said he used his loyalists across party
lines to preach the need to sustain the seeming
unity in the House till May 2015.
“Meetings are going on; a lot of members are
being spoken to. It is to prepare the ground for
the Speaker’s final move, which should happen
any moment from now”, one source told SUNDAY
PUNCH .
Investigations revealed the targets of the
intensified lobbying were PDP members of the
House, who could move against Tambuwal
should he defect to APC.
As things stand, the PDP has regained full
control of the House with about 206 members,
while the APC controls about 151 lawmakers.
Accord Party has two members, while Labour
Party has one.
“The Speaker’s game plan is to ensure that he
will escape removal from his seat should there
be a plot by the PDP to impeach him.
“He is trying to get the support of more than 240
members to be in the safe zone,” another
National Assembly source confided in SUNDAY
PUNCH .
Under Section 50(2)(c) of the 1999 Constitution
(as amended), the President of the Senate or the
Speaker can be removed from office if supported
by the votes of “two-thirds” of all the members.
Two-thirds of the 360 House members is 240.
“That is the idea of consulting more members
and seeking for their cooperation,” the source
added.
The section reads, “The President or Deputy
President of the Senate or the Speaker or Deputy
Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
vacate his office (c) if he is removed from office
by a resolution of the Senate or of the House of
Representatives, as the case may be, by the
votes of not less than two-thirds majority of the
members of that House.”
The Speaker’s loyalists are also said to be
arguing that the constitution does not provide
that the Speaker must come from the majority
party.
“Even our rules book does not specify so. It
simply says the members shall elect from among
themselves a speaker.
“So, this impression created that because the
PDP is in the majority, it must produce the
speaker, doesn’t arise,” one member asserted.
They also argued that neither the constitution
nor the rules book gives any grounds for the
impeachment of a presiding officer of the
National Assembly, “though they can opt to
remove him if supported by the approval of two-
thirds of the members.”
The constitution makes a provision for the mode
of electing of the presiding officer in Section
50(1)(a)(b) thus, “There shall be: (a) a President
and a Deputy President of the Senate, who shall
be elected by the members of that House from
among themselves; and
“(b) a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the
House of Representatives, who shall be elected
by the members of that House from among
themselves.”
It was learnt that Tambuwal’s field men tried to
do this groundwork ahead of the defection in a
bid to checkmate external pressures on PDP
members to move against him in the aftermath
of the defection.
Findings also showed that the defection was
delayed as a strategy to wait till “very close to
the primaries” when members would be more
preoccupied with how to win their return tickets
than removing the speaker.
The PDP caucus at the House again remained
indifferent to the Speaker’s defection plans when
SUNDAY PUNCH sought the views of the
leadership.
The caucus declined to speak elaborately on the
matter until Tambuwal would have defected.
“We have said times without number that all this
is speculation.
“We see the Speaker as a PDP member until he
defects or he informs the caucus that he is no
longer a member.
“Since he has not told us so, he is a PDP
member”, Deputy House Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor,
stated.
Ogor also repeated his familiar lines of not
commenting on what the caucus would do
should the Speaker defect.
“When we get to that bridge, we will cross it.
I have also said again we should not place the
cart before the horse,” he added.
But, House Minority Leader, Mr. Femi
Gbajabiamila, said his members were excited to
hear that the Speaker was interested in the APC.
“Our doors are open to him any day; though he
has not told us of any intention to join APC.
We will welcome him any day he decides to join
us,” the APC leader said.
The Speaker’s Office would not respond to
inquiries on the planned defection. www.punchng.com/news/defection-tambuwal-lobbies-reps-against-impeachment/

Is the governor in PDP or APC?

Following...when we get to that bridge, we will cross it.