Tambuwal Outwits PDP After Defection..Shutdown House Of Reps Till Dec 3rd

 In a deft move to stall any immediate move by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in the House, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, after announcing his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), adjourned the plenary session of the House till December 3.
Before his defection, it was learnt that Tambuwal had perfected what to do with a meeting with his loyalists in Kaduna, at the weekend.
Sources close to the House told the Nigerian Tribune that Tambuwal hoped to weather the storm and serve out his tenure, which ends in June 2015.
As a first step, the speaker adjourned the sitting of the House till December 3, as it was gathered that he intended to keep the members out of the chamber until after the primaries of the two major political parties, so as to weaken the camp of those who might call for his impeachment.
Sources in the House said the Speaker believed that with 195 members of the PDP to 168 for APC, it would be difficult for the ruling party to muster the 240 members needed to remove him. A two-third of members is required for his impeachment.
Besides, it was also gathered that the Speaker believed that many of the PDP members would be denied return ticket to the House, a development that may make many of them not to be interested in joining his removal bid.
Tambuwal, while making good the much talked about defection to APC, on Tuesday, announced on the floor of the House that he was dumping PDP for the opposition party.
At the Tuesday session, he said his decision was dictated by the politics of his constituency and the emerging realities of politics in Sokoto State.
While announcing his defection, the Speaker said: “Before I hit the gavel on the motion for adjournment, I want to make this formal announcement to this House.
“Based on the provision of the 1999 Constitution and having regards to the development of PDP in my own state, Sokoto, I hereby announce my membership with the All Progressives Congress (APC)...
“Let me register my profound appreciation to all of you my colleagues for the unflinching support you have continued to extend to me for the overall national interest and development of our democracy.”
On the floor of the House on Tuesday, the lawmakers of the opposition party greeted his announcement with shouts of APC!!!.
The PDP lawmakers, however, appeared caught by surprise, but some of them later responded with shouts of PDP Power, Power!!
Sources close to the PDP said the Speaker could be living on a borrowed time as the party was already in court over the plan to declare the seats of defected members vacant.
“There is an ongoing suit which the Speaker is a party. The suit is seeking to declare the seats of any member who defects from the PDP vacant and that suit could be done with in a matter of time,” a PDP lawmaker said.
House Leader, Honourable Mulikat Adeola-Akande, however, said the PDP was studying the situation, adding that as an affair of the party, the PDP would direct its members on the way forward.
“This is a party affair. Members take decision on the floor based on party. So, the party will take decision at the appropriate time,” she said.
Her deputy, Honourable Leo Ogor, while speaking with newsmen, also said the PDP would watch further and definitely react.
“Let’s look and see how he manages the House. We will watch him with eagle eyes and interprete every action that he takes.
“But, all said and done, he came through a political party, which was PDP so; by the provision of Section 68(g) of the constitution, which is still before a court of jurisdiction, we await the ruling of the court on the matter. And I think this is one great opportunity for us to call on the judiciary that justice delayed is justice denied,” he said.
Shortly after the sitting, APC lawmakers addressed newsmen on the defection of the Speaker.
House Minority Leader, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, told newsmen that the defection was long expected, adding that the APC welcomed the development.
“We welcome and applaud the Speaker’s decision. Ever since the crises started in PDP, which led to the formation of the ‘New PDP’ and the defection of five PDP governors and 37 PDP members of the House of Representatives to the APC, including the formal merger of the ‘New PDP’ with the APC, we had, all along, known that this day will come.
“We are proud to acknowledge that the Speaker remains not only a member of the House of Representatives but also its Speaker. This position is consistent with the law and practice in a presidential system of government.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the constitution requires only that the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be elected by members of that House from among themselves.
“Tambuwal has been a Speaker for all the members, all the political parties and for all Nigerians and will so continue.
“As a caucus, we pledge our continued support to the current leadership of the House of Representatives. We will not do anything to destabilise the institution of the House of Representatives, so that it will continue to deliver on the mandates given to its members by Nigerians.
“More than ever before, there is the need for vigilance and focus on the concerns of the Nigerian people who elected all of us,” Gbajabiamila said.
The minority leader also denied the claim that the Speaker adjourned the House till December 3 so as to avoid being unseated, adding that the members were behind Tambuwal.
Another APC lawmaker, Honourable Samson Osagie, said the adjournment would allow members participate in political activities, as well as some sensitive committee assignments.
According to him, the House had nothing to be afraid of, because the House was united.
Deputy Spokesman of the House, Honourable Victor Ogene, also said it was not strange for the minority party to lead the House, adding that in the Second Republic, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke of the defunct Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) served as Speaker of the House, though the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) had majority of members in the chamber.
He said members would not be swayed by political alliances to move against Tambuwal.
Can Tambuwal survive the plot?
Questions were being asked till late hours of Tuesday whether the PDP can sustain a big move against the defected Speaker.
It was learnt that leaders of the party, who were not really taken by surprise by the defection, were still asking questions as to why they allowed Tambuwal to land a huge slap on the face of the party.
It was gathered that a move to unseat Tambuwal sometime ago was botched when the member from the North-East bungled the exercise.
It was also learnt that the party was already tinkering with option to ensure the Tambuwal did not go unpunished.
Members of the party were said to be tinkering with two main options, which include landing a fresh suit against the speaker and pursuing the existing case to a logical end.
With the injection of Labour Party (LP) and members of All Progressives Congress (APGA), the PDP can now boast of some 215 members, a source said, adding that while it might be difficult to raise the 240 required for outright impeachment, it might not be out of place to try.
It was gathered that the PDP would also be banking on many APC lawmakers losing their seat in the primaries that would be concluded in November, with the hope of luring such members to join the move against Tambuwal.
Implications for 2015
It was revealed that the PDP will not allow the matter to go unnoticed, because of its implications for 2015 power configurations.
Sources said if Tambuwal is allowed to get away with the situation, it would mean that the opposition can either challenge for the seat of Speaker or Senate President in 2015.
The fear is that just like the opposition sponsored Tambuwal through the back door, it could perfect the ploy again in 2015 if there is no strong action against the current move.