A former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has said that he would support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, if it came down to a choice over the future of Nigeria.
Speaking in an interview on Politics Today on Friday, Tambuwal said that his political choices are guided strictly by principles of leadership and not personal relationships.
‘’When it comes to leadership of this country and leadership of the people, tomorrow, not even today, I would rather support Atiku than Nyesom Wike.’ he said.
He clarified that his political disagreements have never been personal, noting that he has maintained cordial relationships with past and present leaders across party lines.
“It is a collaboration; it is not something difficult. Once it is about being altruistic and nothing personal. You have never seen me going against President Bola Tinubu personally, you have never heard of me going against Nyesom Wike personally,” he said.
According to him, past political differences with leaders such as former President Goodluck Jonathan were strictly based on principles and policy direction, not personal grievances.
“We disagreed on principle, the way, and the direction things are going. I had no problem personally with Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, but we disagreed, and I left PDP for APC,” he explained.
Emphasising the separation between friendship and leadership, the former governor stated: “It is not about my friendship with you, and I am saying this with all sense of responsibility. If Atiku Abubakar comes in here and Wike requests my phone, which is personal to me, I will personally give it to Wike as a personal friend.
He claimed the APC and Tinubu are internationally working against the fall of the opposition.
“When you look at what is happening in various political parties in Nigeria today — you don’t need to be told, no matter the amount of denial by whoever, including President Bola Tinubu, that they are not involved in destabilization efforts of opposition parties. It is incorrect,” Tambuwal said on the current affairs show.
“I am not accusing them. I am saying they are involved in efforts aimed at destabilisation of opposition parties,”
When asked about facts to back up his allegation, Tambuwal insisted, “I am saying, I am not suspecting. They are involved in all of this,” the former Speaker of the House of Representatives told the host Seun Okinbaloye.
Tinubu was elected as president in 2023, defeating ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) among others.
While these parties produced governors, members of the National and state assemblies, most of the opposition political leaders have decamped to the APC, raising concerns about the country’s democracy.
Governors under the PDP, LP lawmakers and others have in recent months left their parties for the APC. Some of the parties are also having internal squabbles, a development Tambuwal alleged that the ruling party is responsible for.
