Wike-Tambuwal Feud May Favour Ningi As Senate Minority Leader

Political feud between immediate Governors of Rivers and Sokoto states may cost both camps the Senate minority leader seat as the leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and other minority parties may support another senator.

While Wike holds no political position in the current dispensation, Tambuwal was elected a senator and is eyeing the leading role in the minority caucus, the position of Minority Leader.

The political association between both politicians which broke down in 2022 due to the conduct of the party’s presidential primary had festered as Wike is backing a Cross River Senator, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, as the candidate of his bloc.

Although not in the senate, Wike has a handful of faithful loyalists in the 10th Assembly, among which is Agom, the senator representing Cross River North in the current assembly.

They are pushing for Jarigbe to take the position to deny Tambuwal, who initially enjoyed the support of the PDP leadership the position to settle political scores.

It was gathered that, as of Monday morning, the PDP leadership has decided to back out of the Tambuwal Senate Minority Leadership and has shifted their support to Abdul Ningi, the Bauchi central senator.

According to sources in the PDP leadership, it is to enable a senator without a political score to settle to emerge in order to properly galvanise the minority caucus.

The feeling that both Wike and Tambuwal camps are compromised and have seen the race to lead the minority caucus as a battle between them, making the party feel it would not augur well for the minority caucus.

This view is reportedly being shared by other parties in the minority caucus. They have therefore given their support to Ningi, who at various times served as deputy majority leader of the Senate and House Majority Leader.

However, the PDP leadership which meets on Monday (today) to iron out its position and send forth the name of its preferred choice has been beset with the struggle for the position as both sides are engaged in proxy war.

A group loyal to Wike called Citizens Network for Peace and Development in Nigeria, CNPDN, has risen against Tambuwal saying he betrayed then president Goodluck Jonathan.

The National Secretary of the group, Francis Wainwei, noted that, “Tambuwal should not be allowed to emerge as the minority leader of the senate because of his antecedents of selfish and acrimonious politics.

“Tambuwal and some senators are trying to recreate the acrimonious relationships between the national assembly and the executive that rocked the boat of governance in the past, that greatly slowed down the pace of governance and negatively affected the effectiveness of those administrations,” he noted during a press conference in Abuja.

But a pro-Tambuwal group called Generation Next Collective, GNC, faulted the accusation and is rooting for the former Sokoto State governor noting that he possessed the quality required to be a Senate Minority Leader.

A joint statement by co-conveners, Ruth Edehemon and Malam Rufai Abdulahi, warned that, “The ruling party and external forces sweating to stop Tambuwal should stop fretting about his emergence, but rather prepare to give Nigerians the kind of responsible leadership they deserve.”

The Senate reconvenes on Tuesday for a full legislative session after it adjourned sitting following the conclusion of its elections into the principal positions.