Tambuwal: How money, text messages failed PDP

Posted by admin House, Legislature, Top Stories Sunday, June 12th, 2011

Fresh facts emerged yesterday on the election of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto, North-west) last Monday in Abuja.

Members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House, who shunned all entreaties and threats to respect the zoning arrangement in the election of the Speaker have revealed how they were bombarded with text messages a few minutes before voting started inside the chamber.

The party had endorsed Mrs Mulikat Akande-Adeola from Oyo State as the official candidate in compliance with its zoning formula. She was, however, defeated by Tambuwal, who ran against the party directives. The Speaker, won with 252 votes while Akande-Adeola had 90 votes.

Few weeks to the end of the sixth session, the House had amended its rules concerning the election of presiding officers from electronic voting to open secret ballot, it was part of the strategies to protect members from intimidation in choosing the Speaker. Following the hard posture put up by members in the camp of Tambuwal before the inauguration of the new Assembly and election, PDP governors were mandated to meet with their representatives on the need to respect the zoning arrangement.

Not satisfied with members’ pledge, the party deployed a high-powered delegation to the gallery of the House to monitor voting proceedings on the floor. Led by the Acting National Chairman, Dr. Haliru Bello Mohammed and former chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Anthony Anenih, the delegation, which included governors of Abia State, Theodore Orji, Timipre Sylva, Bayelsa, took a vantage position to monitor how members would vote.

A member of the PDP from one of the states in the South-east revealed that his governor sent him text messages three times before the state was called up to vote by the Clerk of the House, Sani Omolori.
The member, who does not want his name in print, said he showed the text message to the person next to him and was surprised that a similar reminder, of the party’s directives on zoning formula was sent to him by his governor.

“When I received the text message reminding me that zoning remains the policy of PDP, I looked up towards the gallery and laughed. I later showed a member next to me and he also showed me the message he received from his governor and we all laughed.” Daily Sun gathered that many members received similar SMS either from their governor or national officers from their states to respect the zoning formula.
Midway into the voting, Bello and Anenih stormed out of the chamber when it was clear that members had voted their conscience against the directives of the party.

Another member, who took the oath of office as a member for the first time also revealed how the leadership of the party attempted to bribe them with money at the two-day retreat for National Assembly members held at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja. “When they brought the money in foreign currency, we asked what was it meant for and they told us it was for us to settle down in Abuja.

“It was $10,000 and was brought by a senator-elect and a national officer of the party, but they were shocked after some members collected the money and in their presence were campaigning for Tambuwals.”

-Sunwp_posts