Tambuwal in suspicious meeting with APC leaders
The suspicion that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, may join the five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors in defecting to the opposition All Progessives Congress (APC) ahead of 2015 elections was heightened on Tuesday as the speaker held a closed door meeting with the leadership of the APC.
The speaker is one of the key figures of the ruling PDP that have had open romance with the opposition group.
The speaker, who wended his way into the exalted number four post in Nigeria political hierarchy via alliances against the choice of mainstream PDP, has been rumoured as possible presidential aspirant in the coming 2015 elections.
Tambuwal was the first key figure of PDP to breach the brief suspension slammed on Aliyu Wammako of Sokoto state by the party earlier in the year.
He is one of those favoured by the kingpins of the Northern politics as possible presidential candidate because of his famed ability to forge alliances across creed and geography.
However, an APC insider who chose to remain anonymous because he was not in a position to speak for the party, said it might be foolhardy for the party to field a youthful candidate like Tambuwal on the strength of his being a speaker.
He thinks that only a very strong, and tested hand with broadbased appeal will have any chance of beating a sitting incumbent like Jonathan.
Reminded that Jonathan was yet to declare and pick the PDP ticket, he simply retorted that only a fool is deceived to believe that anything otherwise would happen.
Also in the APC meeting were the PDP governors who defected to APC last Tuesday.
Reports indicate that Tambuwal met with the APC leadership who were engrossed in a crunch meeting last night meeting at the Kano State Governor's Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja.
The meeting was attended by former Head of state and 2011 Presidential candidate of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, General Mohammadu Buhari and former governor of Lagos State and leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Others include governors Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti; Babatunde Fashola of Lagos; Bola Ajimobi of Oyo state, Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso of Kano; Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers; Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun; Murtala Nyako of Adamawa: Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, among others.
Tambuwal appeared for the meeting at Kano Lodge briefly after the commencement of the meeting.
Reports indicate that the meeting was convened to firm up the Memorandum of Understanding between the APC leadership and the defected PDP governors.