Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

Aminu Tambiuwal

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has asked Aminu Tambuwal, the Speaker of the House of Representatives to resign following his defection to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC on Tuesday.

The ruling party asked the Speaker to resign since his new party is a minority in the House. It was gathered that the National Working Committee of PDP had met with its members in the House at an emergency session shortly after today’s sitting of the lower chamber.

“The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has met with PDP leaders in the House of Representatives concerning the defection of the Speaker, His Excellency, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to the APC”, Olisa Metuh, National Publicity secretary of PDP said in a statement after the meeting.

“After a thorough consideration of the matter, the NWC came to a conclusion that the Hon. Speaker, as a responsible elected officer, knows full well what is needful and honourable of him since his new party is in the minority.

“We are not unmindful of the fact that Hon. Tambuwal became Speaker on the platform of the PDP as the political party with the majority of seats in the House of Representatives and that this incontrovertible fact has not changed,” PDP NWC concluded in the statement.

Supporters of the Tambuwal had ahead of his defection argued that the Constitution did not stipulate that the Speaker of the House must be elected from the majority party.

Hence, they argued that Tambuwal will not resign in spite of his defection to a party which is in minority in the House.

Femi Gbajabiamila, the leader of APC Caucus in the House said the defection of the Speaker will motivate the House to work harder.

He added that nothing has changed in the House as all members would work together for the benefit of the legislative chamber and greater good of the Nigerian people, implying that the Speaker may not vacate his position with the defection.

The Speaker had after today’s session adjourned the plenary of the House to 3 December, a move seen as a ploy by to stop the likely rumpus his defection may cause in the House dominated by the PDP.

Tambuwal had on Tuesday formally announced his defection from the PDP to APC.

The Speaker who had been known to be close to leaders of the opposition party formally announced his defection to the admiration of members of APC in the House.

In a short speech at the end of plenary, he said was defecting to the APC for political reasons adding that he only responded to the yearning of his people in Sokoto State in taking the decision.

He added that his decision to leave PDP followed months of consultations he had embarked on.

Tambuwal is expected to contest for the governorship of his native Sokoto State. His months of denial is believed to have been informed by his concerns about losing his position as the speaker.

It was believed that the Speaker who was once ranked among the presidential hopefuls of APC is now gunning to become the next Governor of Sokoto, his home State.

Governor Aliyu Wamako, the incumbent Governor of the State defected to APC alongside five other governors of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP late last year.

Wamako is believed to be the political godfather of Tambuwal and he is said to favour the governor as his successor.

Though the Speaker has long been rumoured to be a closet member of APC, rumours of his eventual defection reached its peak when it was reported last week that he attended the meeting of APC in Sokoto convened to choose a consensus candidates for the state’s gubernatorial and other elections.

Tambuwal was said to have told the gathering to accept him as “one of you starting from today”.

It was gathered that with today’s announcement, Tambuwal would be able to attend the extra ordinary convention of APC scheduled for tomorrow.