Speaker of the House of Representatives Alhaji Aminu Waziri will not seek the opposition All Progressives Congress’ (APC) presidential ticket but will, instead, seek the party’s governorship ticket for Sokoto State, Daily Trust authoritatively learnt in Abuja yesterday.
The decision brings to an end a big suspense in Nigerian politics with some newspapers reporting yesterday that Tambuwal secretly picked up an APC presidential nomination form on Monday. Tambuwal did not pick up the form and would not seek it, Daily Trust learnt.
Daily Trust also learnt that Tambuwal’s decision was made after several rounds of high level meetings of APC’s Northern caucus. The party’s elders including its governors, national officials and presidential candidates had met in Kaduna on October 18 and in Abuja, last week.
The meetings, Daily Trust learnt, discussed at length how to reduce the possibility of rancour after one of the aspirants might have won the party’s ticket. The leaders said such rancour could mar the party’s chances of success in next year’s elections and they discussed ways of pruning down the number of aspirants.
An authoritative source close to the Speaker told Daily Trust last night: “The Right Honourable Speaker was present at all those meetings and he fully agreed with the observations made. There was heavy pressure mounted on him from all parts of the country to seek APC’s presidential ticket. Those who were mounting the pressure pointed to opinion polls which found that he is the potential aspirant with the nationwide appeal to defeat President Jonathan in next year’s election. Pressure is also being mounted on him to go home to Sokoto and seek the governorship ticket. He considered all the issues and decided that he must help the process of reducing rancour in the presidential race which could affect the party’s chances of success. Since the party already has four declared presidential aspirants and efforts are being made by elders to prune down the number, the Speaker decided not to compound the problem. He will, instead, consider the call for him to seek the Sokoto governorship ticket.”
The source noted that age is on the speaker’s side so he is in a good position to make sacrifices. Tambuwal, the source said, is also ready to play any role that will enhance the party’s chances of success in the elections, given his broad appeal across the country.
Tambuwal is believed to have the strong backing of Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko in the quest for Sokoto APC’s governorship ticket.
Days before he defected from PDP, Tambuwal attended an APC stakeholders’ meeting in Sokoto, saying he did so upon Wamakko’s invitation. At that meeting, the party’s governorship ticket was zoned to Sokoto South Senatorial District, where he comes from.
There are, however, several other APC governorship aspirants from the same zone. The party has more aspirants from outside that zone. One of them, Professor Muhammad Lawal Bashar recently rejected the zoning arrangements adopted at the caucus meeting and said it could spell disaster for the party.
In deciding to seek the Sokoto governorship, observers believe that Tambuwal may have chosen the path of least resistance given APC’s overwhelming dominance in Sokoto State. The party controls not only the state government but has two of the three senators, all the House of Representatives members, all the members of the State House of Assembly, all the local government chairmen and all the councillors.http://dailytrust.com.ng/daily/top-stories/39541-tambuwal-to-go-for-sokoto-governor

Ok

Yea he should go for more experience as a Governor after eight years he can contest d Presidential election

Him no geh liver to do Presidency dance na! Sokoto? Easy! Nigeria? Hmm, he might sleep and not wake up. Even in his own party, beef already day. Wise move by him to go where e nor geh competition.

Watching in 3D.......

after d huge consultation from political stake holders he now opted to go to sokoto state to contest that's great not only that baba obasanjo endorsed him for governorship ticket.

APC told Tambuwal: "you're too young"

The better for him, because realistically he has no chance to garner even 3% of vote in the presidential poll. Can't even be in the top3 for APC's primary.

I thought he said he was the next best thing since sliced bread?

Make him come contest Presidency na?

please!!!!!!!!!!!

This should be a very sad and dangerous news to Altwireless and Sincere9igerian who had celebrated the news of Tinubu Dumping Buhari

Donphilopus says:

I ain't surprised seeing this from vanguard, a proGEJ paper. The fear of Buhari is the beginning of wisdom. All I'm seeing there is "an associate of Tinubu", "one of Tinubu's aides" and "Tinubu's loyalist". No names; nothing, nothing, nothing. Maybe those people are nameless fellows, who knows! Vanguard should continue encouraging themselves wrongly. That wouldn't save GEJ from being swept out of office come next year!

The fools who keep saying Tinubu is now politically dead in the Southwest are still the same set of people who believe without the Support of Tinubu, Buhari cannot win the Southwest. Is that not hypocrisy?! Keep deceiving yourselves.

Moreover, most of the serving APC Governors have already pitched tent with Buhari, so he has nothing to worry about. Latest Friday next week, most of you celebrating this would be perplexed to hear that Tambuwal has purchased APC' nomination form for Sokoto State Guber Polls. Though you wouldn't like to hear that because y'all feel GEJ will "use him to shine" in the General Election should he wins APC' ticket.

Meanwhile, I wouldn't be surprised if I should see this on the homepage tomorrow morning because any news which seems to be against Buhari's candidature always hits the homepage. Anyways, let's wait till December 8th to know who's who!

https://www.nairaland.com/1997674/why-tinubu-dumped-buhari-tambuwal#28023067

I said the above just yesterday here, thinking by next week Tambuwal would have settled for his state's Governorship Ticket. Barely 24hrs of the post, Tambuwal has already decided to vie for the number one Seat of his State. Are the celebrants of yesterday still celebrating tonight?! Yeye dey smell.

They were all over Nairaland yester-nite celebrating Tinubu's 'alleged' transfer of Support from Buhari to Tambuwal. Now, we now know what the nomenclature, 'Buhari' causes in the camp of the enemies, whenever it's mentioned!

Wat is wrong wit this tambuwal guy sef...today tambuwal will decamp....next month tambuwal will leave the pdp....now na tambuwal for president today...tambuwal for governor tomorrow

Tambuwal

This is why I respect his judgement. Though I will have prefer him to other candidates but I also think is not the time for him, he has made the right decision.

mikeansy:
I thought he said he was the next best thing since sliced bread?

Make him come contest Presidency na?

please!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry! I can feel your pain!

Sai Buhari!

Sai The Clean Man!

Sai Maigaskiya!

He made the right decision. Other contestants are no threat to gej except Buhari. Buhari go go go go go

hmm

I will always been saying it here GMB will win almost all d key state in this country. Cos' he's d man to beat GMB will be elected in d primary come DEC 2

T

Buhari would lose to gej, Apc shudnt loose this opportunity

Tambuwal needs some executive experience.

This Abooki is wiser than I thought. He knows that he has a more realistic chance of winning the governorship election than the presidency. After all, "executive governor" would certainly sound much better than "former presidential aspirant".

Then again, even the governorship seat is not carved in stone for him. A Muktar Shagari candidacy should win Sokoto for the PDP.

He is going to win