Tambuwals Defection: Setting a dangerous precedence A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if - being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected; - Nigerian constitution, Section 68, 1(g) Following the defection of the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal to the APC and the events that followed it, I think its safe to say that Alhaji Tambuwal let down a lot of people (myself included) with the way he handled issues. I dont take words of most Nigerian politicians seriously, and those who know me can attest to that. But somehow, Alhaji Tambuwal won me over. Ive always been impressed with the manner in which he handled issues in the house and the way hes not scared of tongue-lashing his own party when they erred. It was therefore a shock to me when Alhaji Tambuwal left the PDP for the APC and 24 hours after, his resignation was yet to be received. It was even more shocking to hear him criticise the NPF for adhering strictly to what the constitution stipulates. Look, when politicians that we are conversant with their notoriety commit such acts, we can let it go because we dont hold them up to any standard and so expect no good to come out of their samaria, but when a Tambuwal that some of us have utmost respect for, look up to and see as impartial and straightforward commits such acts, it has devastating effects. A Mimiko can defect to the PDP and refuse to relinquish his position and well overlook it because we expect nothing from him. Even when he was in the Labour Party, he had always worked assidously to protect the interests of the PDP. Other Governors, Honourables and Senators may do it and well just shake our head and move on, but Tambuwal, a man we repose so much confidence in? No. Other people who have no clean records and who have never hidden the fact that politics to them is meant to be played dirty, may do it and we ignore, but Tambuwal? No! As things stand, Alhaji Tambuwal wants to be the next Sokoto governor on the platform of the APC. But with his flagrant disregard for the nations laws, he has set a bad precedence that may sink this nation even further. Whats the point of change built on rotten legacies. Alhaji Tambuwal should do the honourable thing and vacate the position. An honourable man should not hold on to a post waiting for 2/3 of the senators to impeach him when the constitution states clearly that the moment he defected, he lost the seat. James Ogunjimi Ogun State, Nigeria November 2014 Follow me on twitter: @hullerj; Google +: James Ogunjimi; Email: ogunjimijamestaiwo@gmail
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 10:18:40 +0000
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