Don't Contest Presidency in 2015, Ebute Tells Tambuwal

Former Senate President Ameh Ebute has advised the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, against contesting the country's presidency in 2015 saying it is a dream that is not achievable.
Ebute, in a letter to Tambuwal made available to our correspondent, said those urging the Speaker to contest the presidency are only misleading him.
"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. I remember not long ago Gen. Ibrahim Babangida publicly advised you to seek 'higher office', understandably meaning the presidency," he stated.
The former senate president called on the Speaker to declare the seats of the 37 House of representatives members that defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) vacant saying the Speaker's inaction is akin to holding the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ransom.
Ebute in the open letter entitled: "Aminu Tambuwal, defected 37 PDP members, impunity, treachery and INEC", said Tambuwal did not act appropriately when the members defected and that even after the court advised that they should vacate their seats, the Speaker chose to look the other way.
He called on INEC to guide the Speaker appropriately so he could act 'appropriately' by declaring the seats of the 37 members vacant.

REF  http://allafrica.com/stories/201404221657.html

Abuja explosion: Tambuwal, Saraki donate blood to victims

Mohammed Lere

Published: April 15,2014

Mr. Tambuwal donated the blood at the National Blood Transfusion Centre, Abuja.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday donated blood to be used for the survivors of the Abuja explosion.
Mr. Tambuwal donated the blood at the National Blood Transfusion Centre, Abuja.
Before Mr. Tambuwal’s donation, a senator and former Kwara governor, Abubakar Saraki, had also donated blood at the centre.
Nigerians have been urged to donate blood at various centres to assist in blood transfusion for victims of the Monday morning attack.

At least 71 people were killed, and over 124 injured in an explosion which rocked a motor park in Nyanya, Abuja on Monday morning.
The injured have been admitted at various hospitals around the Nigerian capital.



REF  http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/158805-abuja-explosion-tambuwal-saraki-donate-blood-victims.html

Scores feared dead as explosion rocks Nyanya bridge in Abuja

Scores have been feared killed after bomb explosion rocked Nyanya overhead Bridge along Abuja/Keffi Express way, Monday morning.
Report says the early morning explosion was said to have occurred at the motor park of Abuja Urban Mass Transport Agency, operators of the popular El-Rufai buses.
At the time of filing this report, several of the El-Rufai buses were said to be on fire.

Several passengers were reportedly killed while several others sustained several degrees of injuries and were taken to undisclosed hospitals.
DailyPost gathered that the Abuja-Karu road has been blocked with heavy traffic.
Details and pictures shortly…










REF    http://dailypost.ng/2014/04/14/scores-feared-dead-explosion-rocks-nyanya-bridge-abuja/

Defection: Only Tambuwal Can Sack Members – Rep

Edegbe Odemwingie And Adesuwa Tsan

— April 11, 2014

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Albert Sam-Tsokwa, has declared that only the Speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, and not the courts, can vacate the seats of the 37 lawmakers that defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmaker further stated that there was the need for northern governors to address the issue of terrorism and herdsmen/farmers clashes.
The Taraba born lawmaker, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, warned that the herdsmen/farmers clashes were a time bomb which if left unchecked, had the tendency to transform into the Boko Haram challenge the country is grappling with.
Tsokwa (PDP), who represents Donga/SSA/Takum/Special Area federal constituency of Taraba State stated this yesterday during a press briefing at the National Assembly.
Reacting to the PDP Governors Forum’s demands for the sack of the defecting lawmakers, Tsokwa said aggrieved persons should approach the courts for a (writ of) mandamus if they felt the law was not being adhered to in the case of the 37 defecting lawmakers.
Tsokwa said, “Let me begin by saying the court is not Father Christmas, a court has no jurisdiction, a court has no right, a court has no power to give what is not asked for.
“Now as to next course of action, the constitution is very clear, that power (to declare seat of any member vacant) is vested in the senate president or the speaker of the House of Representatives, and no other person in Nigeria have that power not even the court. If I am aggrieved that the senate president has not done what  he should have done or the speaker has not done what he should have done the only way we can involve a court is go to the court and ask for an order of mandamus to compel him to do what the law requires him to do”.
He further said, “What we call farmer/grazer conflict is akin to insurgency against the farmer. A grazer is a farmer. The young cultivator is a farmer. Just as I cannot walk up to your land and begin to make heaps because your land is good and I want to plant rice there, a grazer too has no right to walk into my land no matter how conducive for grazing and begin to graze there. If he has no land, I have land. I have no animal. Come, buy my land, give me money and graze there.”
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REF:   http://leadership.ng/news/365293/defection-tambuwal-can-sack-members-rep

Tambuwal Will Be the Nightmare Scenario for PDP

Written by Jideofor Adibe pcjadibe@yahoo.com (08112661609 texts only)

I had a tough argument with a reader who had a very dim view of my last week's article in which I opined that APC would be making a mistake if it opts for a Muslim-Muslim ticket as was being speculated in the media.
After fending off his charge that my supposed bias against APC beclouded my judgment in the said article, I also put him on the spot by charging that his obvious uncritical APC sympathy made it difficult for him to see the party's potential missteps, including those that could literally amount to the party digging its own grave. We eventually agreed to disagree on a number of issues. On his suggestion that I should recommend a 'winning' ticket for the APC, I demurred, arguing that it would be unethical for a columnist to try to force the hand of a party on its choice of candidates or influence voters' preferences. The way I see it, our duty as public intellectuals, is to provide enough analytical information and clarify the issues at stake sufficiently enough for policy makers or voters to make their own choices.
Based on the above, my zeroing in on a putative Tambuwal presidential candidacy does not amount to an endorsement or forcing the hands of APC. My interest is to show the likely implications of his candidacy in the 2015 race against President Jonathan, who is yet to formally throw his hat into the ring. This will of course be without prejudice to other potential presidential candidates in the party, several of whom are eminently qualified for the job.
There are reasons I believe that a Tambuwal presidential candidacy will bring unusual excitement to the campaigns and will valorise the base of both parties. In saying this, I am assuming that Tambuwal, who was helped to the Speakership with opposition votes and has remained 'grateful' ever since, is either a closet APC chieftain or could be easily co-opted into the party. He is young and boyish - only 48 years old. He is also courageous, charismatic, speaks well and has been able to hold the House together for some three years. His greatest strength is that while he has a national name-recognition by virtue of being the Speaker of the House of Representatives, he does not have the baggage that other potential presidential candidates, who have held high public offices in the past, have. The PDP will therefore struggle to find a major attack line against him that can stick.
If Tambuwal, who is from the North-west is endorsed by Buhari and Atiku, chooses as his running mate an older Christian with the requisite governmental experience (to make up for his lack of real administrative experience and to allay the anxiety of those who may be worried about his relative youth), then the campaign for 2015 will get really exciting. He may not win but such a ticket will effectively forestall the emergence of a third relatively strong party in the North. My instinct tells me that any major misstep by APC, (which must be given credit for holding together for so long against all odds and predictions), will lead to mass defections, not of individuals as happened to the PDP but of the various groupings and tendencies that came together to form the party and give its current swagger. Defections of such groupings are unlikely to be back to the PDP - as it will amount to one swallowing one's vomit. If such disaffected groupings move to any party, especially if the defections include one or two governors who will bring with them a good war chest, the beneficiary political party will become bolstered overnight.


 REF  http://allafrica.com/stories/201404100573.html

Sultan To Turban Tambuwal As Matawallen Sokoto

The Sultan of Sokoto and President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday divulged that he will soon turban Speaker House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as Matawallen Sokoto.
The traditional chieftancy title which is going to be the first of its kind in the Seat of the Caliphate, according to the Sultan, was because of Tambuwal’s outstanding leadership qualities exhibited over the years in both the homefront and at the National Assembly.
The chieftancy title, according to an elder whom LEADERSHIP sought interpretation from, is Hausa term for s Head of Works Department who always ensures that projects are executed well.
Though, the Sultan did not   announce any date for the turbanning of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, however, LEADERSHIP gathered from informed sources that both Tambuwal and the Sokoto State House of Assembly Speaker, Muhhamed Zayyanu, will be turbanned in October this year.
Zayyanu would be turbaned to replace his late father as the district head of Gwadawaba in Gwadabawa local government of the state.
Speaking at the occasion, the  Sultan urged leaders at all levelsa to see the led as veritable companion whom, collectively, they can move their respective entities forward.
While insisting that the 21 newly turbaned district heads should keep off from politics, Sultan urged them to embrace everybody without discrimination.
The revered traditional cum religious leader further stressed that, leadership is a call to service. And maintained therefore that, anybody whom God has bestowed with the mantle of leadership at whatever capacity should and must imbibe the culture tolerance and all inclusiveness.
Sultan said, “We turbanned you people today to serve the people and not the other way round. In this your new responsibility, you should therefore embrace transparency and sympathy for the people you are serving.
“Be transparent in all your dealings and always learn how to carry everybody along. As a leader, you don’t discriminate against anybody. Try as much as as possible to keep away from politics but don’t discriminate against any politician. Embrace all of them hence is God that has ordained you leaders today. And you should note that, God has bestowed mantle of leadership on you today which explains why you are been trubanned.
“You are turbanned today  based on merit. You should therefore strive not to jeopardise the confidence and trust repose on you”. Sultan advised
Governor, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko represented at the occassion by the Head of Service, Umaru Shinkafi urged the newly turbanned District Heads to work with the fear of God.
It will be recalled that, governor, Wamakko had earlier announced the inclusion of 23 additional Districts to already 66 ones existing in the State.



REF    http://leadership.ng/news/364117/sultan-turban-tambuwal-matawallen-sokoto

Tambuwal Stops PDP's Plot To Forcefully Remove APC Reps

A quick intervention by the leadership of the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday doused tension between the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress members.

The PDP Caucus in the House was bent on enforcing “relevant aspects” of Monday’s judgement by an Abuja High Court, which said the defection of 37  PDP lawmakers in the House to APC is unconstitutional.

The APC Caucus in the House had on Tuesday opposed the judgment on the grounds that the judge granted “reliefs” not sought by the PDP in its originating suit.

The caucus had argued that the “import of the judgment is that the lawmakers cannot remove the leadership of the House, nothing more, nothing less.”

Speaker Aminu Tambuwal got wind of the secret plot by PDP and immediately called for an executive session soon after the sitting began...

At the executive session, Tambuwal preached peace to both sides. The PDP Caucus members were told to in all issues place “national unity above party affiliation.”

Both camps were advised to allow the court cases run their full course rather than trying to interfere. The PDP caucus still resolved to meet again after the sitting to review the decisions taken at the executive session in a bid to decide on the way forward.

The Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Victor Ogene, later confirmed at a news conference that the executive session was devoted to the court judgement.

According to him, the session observed that it was the tradition of the House not to interfere with ongoing cases in courts. Ogene said, “We decided to talk (frontally) among ourselves; to get each other’s viewpoint.

“We also talked on the need to allow the different court cases on defection to run their full course. We have had instances where members who defected earlier before now are still participating in the activities of the House. So, let us allow the cases to run their full course.”



REF  http://www.olufamous.com/2014/04/tambuwal-stops-pdps-plot-to-forcefully.html