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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday night, hinted that he would not contest the presidential race under the All Progressives Congress (APC) for now. Making this disclosure in a press statement, Tambuwal said that “having consulted widely, taking into consideration the concerns of some elders of the party, I have decided to suspend my participation in the presidential contest for now. I have done so as a sacrifice for the the cohesion and unity of the APC. I am suspending my participation in the presidential race for now, because I do not have any inordinate ambition to occupy any office. Nigeria is a country too great to sacrifice on the altar of partisan politics and personal ambition. What any one becomes in life is exclusively in the hands of God. Only God gives power to whoever he pleases.”
Tambuwal, who recently defected from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition, had earlier been linked with the presidential race, as well as governorship race of his home state, Sokoto.He was, however, silent on his governorship ambition. According to him, “I wish to seize this occasion to commend, most highly, these patriotic and selfless colleagues, admirers, individuals and groups for their sacrifice, diligence and single-mindedness in the pursuit of what they honestly believe is in the best interest of our fatherland. I am fully aware of the physical, financial and intellectual resources all of you have expended in this regard, besides the sheer volume of valuable time and the travel risk of crisscrossing to compare notes and confirm projections. Indeed, I can not thank you enough.
“When, upon genuine conviction, I decided to commence extensive consultations towards taking a decision as to whether or not to participate in the contest for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it was not to actualise a personal ambition, but rather to actualise our dream for a new Nigeria. Ever since news of the possibility of my participation in the presidential contest got into the public domain, it has generated monumental interest, analyses and commentaries. I have also, both personally and through prominent leaders across party lines and beyond, consulted extensively and I must say that I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and interest.
“On my part and with the greatest sense of modesty and responsibility, I wish to assure Nigerians that I am fully prepared, ready, willing, determined, available and armed with the requisite plans, programmes and ability to undertake the great mission of rescuing our dear country from the clutches of institutionalized corruption, gross incompetence, greed and divisiveness. I am prepared for the great task of rescuing Nigeria from the security problems, the scandalous youth unemployment and the economic and social malaise that plague it.
“Given the opportunity, ours would be a clean, corrupt-free, competent and purposeful government: to deal with the inexplicable paradoxes that have held us hostage for over a hundred years: the paradox of ever growing abject poverty in the midst of plenty; the paradox of ever growing menace of corruption in the face of the collective capacity of Nigerians to eradicate same, the paradox of decaying infrastructure, especially epileptic power supply in the face of abundant natural resources; the paradox of glaring internal insecurity in the face of a gallant military,police and other security agencies that have excelled in peace keeping and enforcement abroad.
“Indeed, a government that would deploy extraordinary ways and means where such becomes inevitable within the ambit of the law. The problems I speak about are real and glaring. Over the past three and a half years of presiding over 359 equals, I often had occasion to discuss peculiar constituency problems with my colleagues but most importantly, I have visited over 300 federal constituencies across the country and seen for myself abject poverty of our people particularly the majority of the population that reside in the rural areas. I have experienced, first hand, total absence of essential social facilities and decaying infrastructure, where they exist at all, and observed hopelessness in the eyes of millions of citizens. I deeply feel the pulse of dejection of our people.”
In another development, Tambuwal has confirmed that the House of Representatives would reconvene tomorrow to consider the request by President Goodluck Jonathan for the extension of partial emergency rule in troubled states of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno. The Speaker recalled the members in a statement personally signed by himself, entitled, “Special Session of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Notice to Reconvene the House.”
The statement read in part: “On Tuesday, November 18, 2014, I received a communication from the President, Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, requesting for the extension of the existing state of emergency in Adamawa , Borno and Yobe states by the House of Representatives. Pursuant to the powers conferred on me by Section 305 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, which requires me to ‘forthwith convene or arrange a meeting of the House’ and in order to treat the extension before the expiration of the current state of emergency, in accordance with Section 305(6)(c) of the Constitution, I hereby reconvene the House of Representatives, currently on recess.”
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