Former Senate President, Senator Ameh Ebute, has told the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal to forget any hopes of
getting the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
alluding that the leaders of the opposition party would use and dump him
eventually.
Ebute who came short of calling Tambuwal a mole for the APC in the PDP
chided the speaker for not declaring the seats of the defected members of
the House of Representatives vacant after a court ruling to that effect.
Ebute’s position was contained in an open letter to the Tambuwal which was
copied to the Senate President, National Chairman of the PDP, PDP BoT
chairman, INEC chairman, Inspector General of Police and Chief Justice of
Nigeria.
Ebute while berating the speaker said “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.”
A federal High Court sitting in Abuja, had admonished the lawmakers to
vacate their seats upon their defection from PDP to APC.
As such, Ebute said “when some members of the PDP in the Senate wanted to
defect to the APC, the Senate President handled it as a loyal party member
and a Nationalist with the interest of Nigeria at heart. Whereas, in your
case you engaged in deft political intrigues and legislative gymnastics in
the quest to please your opposition friends. Even after the court judgment
you have continued to dither in declaring vacant the seats of the 37
defected PDP House of Representative members.
“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?
He noted that Tambuwal in cohorts with the opposition hatched the plot to
ensure he emerges speaker against the zoning arrangement of the PDP.
He said “when the PDP zoned the Speakership to the House to the South West
it would be expected that all members elected on the platform of the party
would be loyal to it. The leadership of the PDP did not know there was a
mole in the PDP. The opposition represented by defunct ACN and CPC
supported you Hon. Tambuwal and deceived some honorable members of the PDP
in order to install you Speaker of the House.”
He further lambasted the speaker for having the effrontery to declare that
the body language of the president supports corruption.
He 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 misappropriate and misapply 50
percent of the nation’s recurrent expenditure budget.” He said
Find copy of the open letter below.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SPEAKER, FEDERAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RT. HON.
AMINU TAMBUWAL, (CFR)
April 14, 2014
The Right Honourable Aminu Tambuwal(CFR),
Speaker, Federal House of Representatives,
3 Arms Zone,
Abuja.
Your Excellency, My Dear Brother,
AMINU TAMBUWAL, DEFECTED 37 PDP MEMBERS, IMPUNITY, TREACHERY AND INEC
Greetings
In order to understand fully where I am coming from, it is good to give
you a little background about my group and myself.
As a lawyer, a Former Senate President, a Christian, a Northern Nigerian
and a Nigerian, in all humility, I can claim that I am a major stake
holder in this entity called Nigeria. I therefore feel comfortable and
justified to speak out when I observe that things are going wrong in this
country.
On the 28th of November 2013, I wrote an open letter to the Senate
President, Senator David Mark titled: National Assembly, National Budget
and the Presidency. In the said letter, I made my honest opinion known
concerning the role of the National Assembly on the National Budget and
the constitutional responsibilities of the President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
You know very well that Senator David Mark is a Christian and a Northerner
like myself. I therefore urge you not to look at this open letter with
bias if your conscience permits.
The Tambuwal I know was not a founding member of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP). He won election into House of Representatives in 2003 on the
platform of the ANPP. He was a strong loyalist of Gov. Wamakko of Sokoto
State. And when Wamakko abandoned the ANPP and grabbed the ticket of the
PDP offered him by General Obasanjo, Tambuwal an appendage of Wamakko
followed him to the PDP that was how Tambuwal won an election and became
the Deputy Majority Leader under the leadership of Hon Dimeji Bankole
(CFR) as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
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
ACN and CPC hoodwinked a good number of the members of the House of
Representatives 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.
When the PDP zoned the Speakership of the House to the South West it was
expected that all members elected on the platform of the Party would be
loyal to it. The leadership of the PDP did not know that there was a mole
in the PDP. The opposition represented by the defunct ACN and CPC
supported you Hon Tambuwal and deceived some Honorable members of the PDP
in order to install you Speaker of the House.
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 marginalization issue became one
of the reasons for which they demanded a National Conference.
You would recall that Gen. Obasanjo voiced the disappointment of the South
West when you emerged as the Speaker.
In fact, Obasanjo even issued you an ultimatum to vacate the seat of the
speaker of the House. Can you imagine that a so- called Yoruba leader
Ahmed Bola Tinubu will support you to deny the Yorubas the position zone
to them? The motive for the Tinubu’s support was definitely not altruistic
but devious, manipulative, disharmonious and destructive.
My brother that was a Greek gift then and it is still a Greek gift now.
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.
My brother, recall that you are a young man. Recall also that you have a
political future ahead of you.
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 nudge you on. I remember not
too long ago Gen. Ibrahim B. Babangida publicly advised you to “seek a
higher office”, understandably meaning the Presidency.
For sometime 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 misappropriate and misapply 50% of the
Nation’s recurrent expenditure budget.
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. This is according to the words of
Govrenor Nyanko of Adamawa State. You institute court cases against your
Party the PDP. You refuse to attend party rallies and other party
functions and yet you remain in the PDP.
When some members of the PDP in the Senate wanted to defect to the APC,
the Senate President handled it as a Loyal Party member and a Nationalist
with the interest of Nigeria at heart. Whereas, in your case you engaged
in deft political intrigues and legislative gymnastics in the quest to
please your opposition friends. Even after the court judgment you have
continued to dither in declaring vacant the seats of the 37 defected PDP
House of Representative members.
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?
As a Muslim do you think what you are doing to the PDP is right and
indeed do you think your actions are democratic?
You are simply holding the PDP to RANSOM.
What do you expect young Nigerians to believe is the correct way to behave?
Knowing you, the impunity and arrogance in you will not allow you make the
right decision. Of course your masters are watching you and you are a
willing tool in their soft, dirty and evil hands.
Since you the Speaker of the House of Representatives is compromised, it
is understandable that you will not declare the 37 seats vacant.
I therefore seize this opportunity to call on INEC to guide you
appropriately 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.
In conclusion, no one person 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.
Please accept the assurances of my highest esteem.
Yours sincerely,
Senator Ameh Ebute,
Former, Senate President.
Cc: The Senate President.
National Chairman, PDP.
Chairman BOT, PDP.
Chairman, INEC.
Inspector General of Police.
Chief Justice of Nigeria.