Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal paid a short visit to the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo at his Hilltop GRA Mansion residence in Abeokuta on Tuesday evening.
Tambuwal who came in around 6:15 pm in a convoy of SUVs cars was sighted by some journalists as he left the mansion.
Some reliable sources hinted that the visit, which was held behind closed doors, was part of Tambuwal's mobilization and consultation efforts for the 2015 presidential election.
Although he is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he is expected to seek the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which he has always identified with. “You can say that Tambuwal has effectively joined the presidential race, although he cannot make an announcement until INEC blows the kick-off whistle,” a member of the house of representatives, who is a close political associate of the speaker, said. The source said Tambuwal “will definitely defect to APC” in a short while. His defection will present a complex scenario in the house as PDP currently has the majority of members. The source refused to disclose if Tambuwal will step down as speaker if he defects to APC. Recently, posters appeared on major streets of Abuja purporting to campaign for Tambuwal for president, with the deputy speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, being the running mate. Tambuwal’s spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, thereafter issued a statement dissociating the speaker from the posters but he did not rule out the possibility of his principal joining the race.
When the Speaker’s media aide, Imam Imam was contacted, he confirmed the visit, adding that such visit to some respectable personalities in the country will be going on now.
Responding on what transpired at the meeting, Imam said the meeting was just the usual one occasionally paid to Obasanjo as the father of all.
According to him, “You know Baba is a father to all in the country.The meeting was a consultation. It is about rubbing mind on how to move the country forward and make Nigeria better”, he stated.
Asked whether it had any connection to the rumoured Presidential ambition of the Speaker, Imam said the meeting was a closed door one therefore he could not comment on that aspect.
On the Speaker’s political ambition, he said,”a decision would soon be reached on that”.
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