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Why I Won’t Support Wike Presidency – Tambuwa
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.
Despite a notion of cordial alliance between Wike and himself, the former Rivers state governor, back in 2023, had criticised Tambuwal and Atiku and Bukola Saraki.
The reason, according to Wike, was the trio’s failure to honour an agreement by the PDP leadership over zoning the presidential candidacy to the South.
“There’s nobody contesting for the presidency from the north that I do not have a relationship with…that I don’t support,” Wike said.
“And there’s no one of them who has not come to me, Wike, and said, ‘with you, I think I’ll have my way…but if you ask some of my friends, the problem I have with friendship is that if we agree on something, let’s keep to it.
Wike further claimed that he backed Tambuwal’s running for speaker of the House of Representatives when the party had another choice in mind.
However, Tambuwal still speaking on his decision to support the former vice president in the 2023 PDP presidential race, clarified that his political disagreements have never been personal
He noted 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.
