Defecting Lawmakers: Ex-Senate President Ameh Ebute Writes Tambuwal, Accuses Speaker Of Holding PDP To Ransom

BEVERLY HILLS, CA, April 17, (THEWILL) â€' Former Third Republic Senate President and elder statesman, Senator Ameh Ebute has written a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, warning him to retrace his steps in working against the party and asking to declare vacant seats of the 37 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ebute, a founding member of the ruling PDP in the letter dated April 14, 2014 titled 'Aminu Tambuwal, defected 37 PDP members, impunity, treachery and INEC' and addressed to the Speaker, also chastised Tambuwal for allegedly working in tandem with the opposition to 'bury' PDP.

The Idoma elder from Benue State also accused the Speaker of master-minding the defection of the 37 PDP lawmakers yet staying put within the party with the sole intent of causing disaffection. He berated the Speaker for not being an original member of the party but just 'an appendage of Governor Matagarwa', who, according to him is bent on 'holding PDP to ransom.'

The letter read in part: 'My brother, you coerced and cajoled 37 members of the PDP to defect to the APC while you the hatchet leader of the plot decided to remain in the PDP so that you can finally bury the PDP. You instituted courts cases against your party, the PDP. You refused to attend party rallies and other party functions and yet you remain in the PDP.

'Honourable Tambuwal, are you aware that these defected PDP members should not be allowed to participate in House matters and can therefore not be paid salaries? I therefore seize this opportunity to declare these seats vacant. The failure of the speaker and the INEC to act in accordance with the laws could breed anarchy. This is a serious threat to our budding democracy.

'As a former Senate President, my colleagues and associates were very worried at the inception of the current House, when you Hon. Tambuwal connived with the opposition, entered into agreement with the now defunct ACH and CPC, hoodwinked a good number of the members of the House in order to scuttle the plan of the PDP to install a South West member of the House in accordance with the agreed zoning arrangement.

'It was obvious to all that the intention of the opposition and yourself was to cause disaffection in the polity as your emergence as Speaker disenfranchised the South West. The South West has been very aggrieved that the position zoned to them was taken away. And they erroneously blame Mr. President for this predicament. The marginalisation issue became one of the reasons for which they demanded a National Conference.

'By agreeing to partner with the opposition, you have inadvertently made yourself a traitor, somebody treacherous, somebody capable of derailing the course of Nigeria and somebody who can never be trusted. Nigerians now see you as a willing tool ready to be used for treacherous activities.'

Ebute berated the Speaker of planning to run for president on the platform of the APC, saying :'It is instructive and laughable when I hear you dream of the APC presidential ticket. You have been mindlessly misled to believe this is achievable. Time will prove you wrong.

'You have been gallivanting the whole length and breadth of the country visiting where you are not wanted attending obituaries, birthday parties, and generally doing 'notice me' all in an effort to earn the appellate of 'President in waiting'. Some of your backers nudged you on. I remember not too long ago, Gen. Ibrahim B. Babangida publicly advised you to 'seek higher office', understandly meaning the Presidency.'

The former Senate President urged the Speaker to retrace his steps, saying 'my brother, recall that you are a young man, recall also that you have political future ahead of you. No one can be bigger than his party and or Nigeria. Your personal interest cannot be more important than the interest of all Nigerians. I urge you to have a rethink and retrace your steps.'

Speaking on corruption, Ebute said: 'For some time now, I heard you talk about corruption in the body polity of Nigeria. You even had the effrontery to say that the body language of Mr. President supports corruption. Unfortunately, you did not answer the former President Obasanjo when he called you an 'Armed Robber'. You also did not respond when the suspended Governor of the Central Bank Sanusi Lamido Sanusi alleged that you misappropriated and misapplied 50 percent of the nation's recurrent expenditure budget.'

But reacting to the letter, the Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, described Ebute as 'a lone voice in the wilderness,' adding that he 'is entitled to express his own opinion,' adding 'Unfortunately, Nigerians collectively disagree with his rantings.'