The presidency and National Working Committee of the People’s Democratic Party are angry that anti-zoning members of the House of Representatives are inching closer to embarrassing the party by acting contrary to its decision to zone the position of speaker to the South West. The presidency has therefore planned a counter move to unsettle the anti zoning group that is fronting for the election of Deputy House Leader Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker, Daily Trust has learnt.
A presidency source said Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo has been saddled with the responsibility of backing the acting na-tional chairman of the party Dr. Bello Haliru to ensure that the interest of the PDP in the new leadership of the National Assembly is achieved to the latter.
“They are worried that Tambuwal has allowed himself to be used by the opposition to embarrass the party during the inauguration and the presidency is saying it is not acceptable,” the source said yesterday.
As part of the plot, the Vice President met last week with newly elected House members under the aegis of the Seventh Assembly Group in Abuja to persuade them to respect the zoning formula. At the meeting which was attended by some top party leaders including the National Vice Chairman, South-West, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, the Vice President harped on party discipline and stressed the need to respect the zoning formula agreed on by the party’s caucus of PDP.
But according to the source, attempts to sit with Rep Tambuwal whose electioneering so far has unsettled the presidency has proved very difficult as he has made himself ‘incommunicado’. Rep Tambuwal could not be reached at press time but a close ally who preferred to speak off record confirmed that the lawmaker has not met with the party’s leadership so far.
He described the Tambuwal project as a popular movement that emerged from among members in view of his sterling leadership qualities.
Meanwhile, the presidency source said three lawmakers being touted to replace the current House leadership last week had an interactive session with some top officials in the villa. Though the party had earlier endorsed Rep Ajibola Muraina, who is believed to be sponsored by former president Olusegun Obasanjo, the leaders who engaged the aspirants last week were said to have expressed some reservation about his candidacy after the interaction.
The source said the leaders may have started looking the way of Rep Mulikat Adeola, also from Oyo State as Muraina to stick to the zoning arrangement even though Obasanjo has stamped his feet on the godson of his late political ally, Lamidi Adedibu. Adeola was also said to have met with the leaders at the villa.
The leaders are said to have approved Rep Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi State to team up with the speaker as Deputy Speaker believing that he would serve as a stabilising force for the leadership.
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