<\/p>\n
Embattled Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon, Aminu Tambuwal has
\nsuspended his campaign to contest the Presidential elections in 2015,
\nciting concerns from “party elders” of the All Progressive Congress, APC.<\/p>\n
Tambuwal who recently picked the Presidential nominations form for the APC
\nwas alleged to have been urged by the national leader of the party,
\nSenator Bola Tinubu to vie for the Presidential ticket of the opposition
\nparty.<\/p>\n
The Speaker’s Presidential ambition was said not to have gone down well
\nwithin the camps of General Mohammadu Buhari and former Vice President
\nAtiku Abubakar who became suspicious of some moves by some APC leaders.<\/p>\n
Announcing his withdrawal from the Presidential race in a press statement,
\nthe Speaker said the decision, a sacrifice, was in the interest of the
\nparty, so it can build cohesion and unity.<\/p>\n
The statement reads:
\nPROTOCOLS.<\/p>\n
A few days ago, precisely on Friday the 14th of November,2014 a group of
\nfriends , associates, colleagues and admirers cutting across all ages,
\nethnic, social, religious, political and geographical divides presented to
\nme the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for me to participate
\nin the presidential primaries of the All Progressive Congress ( APC ) for
\nthe 2015 Presidential Election.<\/p>\n
2. On that auspicious occasion, being profoundly humbled, I requested for
\na little more time to conclude my last round of the series of nationwide
\nconsultations
\nwhich indeed I was just about to conclude.<\/p>\n
3. Let me state that the 14th November event was neither an accidental nor
\nsudden happenstance, rather it was another high point of similar goodwill
\nsurprises I had experienced in the last two years when I started receiving
\nin audience, colleagues, individuals,groups and delegations of prominent
\nNigerians on this subject matter<\/p>\n
4. I wish to seize this occasion to commend, most highly, these patriotic
\nand selfless colleagues, admirers, individuals and groups for their
\nsacrifice, diligence and single-mindedness in the pursuit of what they
\nhonestly believe is in the best interest of our fatherland. I am fully
\naware of the physical, financial and intellectual resources all of you
\nhave expended in this regard besides the sheer volume of valuable time and
\nthe travel risk of crisscrossing to compare notes and confirm projections.
\nIndeed I can not thank you enough.<\/p>\n
5. When upon genuine conviction I decided to commence extensive
\nconsultations towards taking a decision as to whether or not to
\nparticipate in the contest for the office of President of the Federal
\nRepublic of Nigeria, it was not to actualize a personal ambition,but
\nrather to actualize our dream for a new Nigeria.<\/p>\n
6. Ever since news of the possibility of my participation in the
\npresidential contest got into the public domain it has generated
\nmonumental interest, analyses and commentary. I have also, both personally
\nand through prominent leaders across party lines and beyond, consulted
\nextensively and I must say that I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of
\nsupport and interest. On my part and with the greatest sense of modesty
\nand responsibility I wish to assure Nigerians that I am fully prepared,
\nready, willing,determined, available and armed with the requisite plans,
\nprograms and ability, to undertake the great mission of rescuing our dear
\ncountry from the clutches of institutionalized corruption,gross
\nincompetence, greed and divisiveness. I am prepared for the great task of
\nrescuing Nigeria from the security problems, the scandalous youth
\nunemployment, and the economic and social malaise that plague her.<\/p>\n
7. Given the opportunity, ours would be a clean, corrupt- free, competent
\nand purposeful government : to deal with the inexplicable paradoxes that
\nhave held us hostage for over a hundred years : the paradox of ever
\ngrowing abject poverty in the midst of plenty; the paradox of ever growing
\nmenace of corruption in the face of the collective capacity of Nigerians
\nto eradicate same, the paradox of decaying infrastructure especially
\nepileptic power supply in the face of abundant natural resources; the
\nparadox of glaring internal insecurity in the face of a gallant
\nmilitary,police and other security agencies that have excelled in peace
\nkeeping and enforcement abroad. Indeed a government that would deploy
\nextraordinary ways and means where such becomes inevitable within the
\nambit of the law.<\/p>\n
8. The problems I speak about are real and glaring. Over the past three
\nand a half years of presiding over 359 equals, I often had occasion to
\ndiscuss peculiar constituency problems with my colleagues but most
\nimportantly I have visited over 300 hundred Federal constituencies across
\nthe country and seen for myself abject poverty of our people particularly
\nthe majority of the population that reside in the rural areas, I have
\nexperienced, first hand, total absence of essential social facilities and
\ndecaying infrastructure, where they exist at all, and observed
\nhopelessness in the eyes of millions of citizens. I deeply feel the pulse
\nof dejection of our people.<\/p>\n
9. I am convinced that with the progressive spirit and teamwork these
\nobjectives are attainable under an All Progressive Congress ( APC )
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
10. I have carefully considered the the concerns expressed by some of
\nour leaders, whom I deeply respect and whose support and counsel I
\nenjoy,to the effect that my entry into the presidential race at this
\npoint may necessitate having to rework some equations on the political
\nchessboard of the party.<\/p>\n
11. Having consulted widely, taking into consideration the concerns of
\nsome elders of the party, I have decided to suspend my participation in
\nthe presidential contest for now. I have done so as a sacrifice for the
\nthe cohesion and unity of the APC. I am suspending my participation in
\nthe presidential race for now because I do not have any inordinate
\nambition to occupy any office. Nigeria is a country too great to
\nsacrifice on the altar of partisan politics and personal ambition. What
\nany one becomes in life is exclusively in the hands of God. Only God
\ngives power to whoever he pleases.
\n12. I came into the APC to enhance and build, Therefore in the interest
\nof our great party the APC and indeed in the overriding national interest
\nI wish to appeal to all my associates, colleagues, supporters, admirers
\nand friends nationwide to show some understanding. It has not been easy
\ncoming to this decision and I very well understand the frustration,
\ndisappointment and disbelief of many who have committed so much to the
\nproject including sacrificing not only their physical, financial and
\nintellectual resources but indeed their personal ambitions in the 2015
\nelectoral contest.<\/p>\n
13. I pledge my loyalty to our party the APC and cooperation with my
\nuncles and senior brothers and colleagues who are already in the race for
\nthe APC Presidential ticket : I refer to; General Muhamadu Buhari, Alh
\nAtiku Abubakar, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Governor Rochas Okorocha
\nand Mr Sam Ndah- Isaiah. There is no doubt that they are all eminently
\nqualified.
\n14. To all my associates, colleagues, friends,admirers across Nigeria who
\nhave faith that I am that instrument for the change we all desire, I
\nassure you that your faith is not in vain, it is noble and will endure
\nuntil this great nation of ours is rescued from the clutches of
\ninstitutionalized corruption, gross incompetence, greed and divisiveness.
\nI charge you to be comforted that your strength lies not in the limited
\ncapacity of a single leader, but rather in the collective capacity of the
\nmillions of great citizens of this nation. One day, and I believe not too
\nlong away, this formidable collective capacity will be ignited and the
\ngood Lord will lift Nigeria high up where she belongs.<\/p>\n
15. God bless you all and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
\nRt. Hon. AMINU WAZIRI TAMBUWAL<\/p>\n
SPEAKER, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
\nFEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Embattled Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon, Aminu Tambuwal has suspended his campaign to contest the Presidential elections in 2015, citing concerns from “party elders” of the All…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n