……prevent him from imposing Senator Aminu Tambuwal, a former Sokoto State Governor, as the Senate Minority leader.
By Mustapha Bello:
Prior to the resumption of the 10th Senate on Tuesday, July 4th, Senators elected from six opposition political parties have made arrangements to oppose the efforts of Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the previous February 25th Presidential election. They aim to prevent him from imposing Senator Aminu Tambuwal, a former Sokoto State Governor, as the Senate Minority leader.
The Senators who are dissatisfied have vowed to use all available means to resist Atiku’s attempt to enforce Tambuwal on them. They draw parallels with their previous fight against the imposition of Godswill Akpabio by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu, where a significant number of opposition Senators voted for Senator Abdulaziz Yari, the former Governor of Zamfara State, during the Senate leadership contest.
Some Minority Senators, speaking after a meeting on Wednesday, expressed their concerns. They believe that Tambuwal’s actions against the PDP indicate that he will use the minority leader position to negotiate and apologize to President Tinubu, whom they perceive he betrayed after making him Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Apart from the position of Senate Minority leader, other positions include Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip, and Deputy Minority Whip.
Following the elections, the APC holds the majority with 59 Senators, while the major opposition party, PDP, has 36. The Labour Party (LP) has 8 Senators, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has 2, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has 2, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Young Progressives Party (YPP) each have one Senator.
Although a PDP Senator from Rivers State, another Senator from the North, and a ranking Senator from the South West have expressed their opposition to Tambuwal, they preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue. They are determined to resist any attempts to impose Tambuwal on them. The group is ready to vote for any other candidate and insists that Tambuwal has a history of betraying his political allies to serve his own interests. They doubt his ability to provide the necessary leadership as the minority leader.
The Senators have unanimously decided to vote for any other ranking Senator instead of the former Sokoto State Governor. They believe that Tambuwal’s intention as the minority leader is to secure his own interests and potentially run for the Presidential election in 2027, as his tenure in Sokoto State has come under scrutiny.
