Tambuwal defects from APC with 18 of 30 House members

The Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on Wednesday, finally made official the long rumoured plan by him to leave the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).

His leaving became part of the wave of defections from the APC as he moved alongside 18 of the 30 members of the State House of Assembly to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Tambuwal alleged that the APC had been transformed into a sanctuary for the corrupt and into a rigging machine that has been unable to enthrone good governance.

Tambuwal’s defection from the APC was conveyed to a mammoth crowd of followers in Sokoto bussed to Government House from various local government areas of the state.

Speaking intermittently in Hausa and English, Tambuwal expressed strong disappointment in the APC federal administration saying that the expectations were not just met, but that the Muhammadu Buhari administration even compounded issues by failing to manage the inheritance from the previous administration.

Instead of the 3 million jobs promised, the Sokoto State governor said the administration superintended the loss of nine million jobs over three years, caused havoc to national unity through divisive religious and ethnic tendencies and despoiled political harmony within the governing party.

“I did not expect that the APC, which promised so much when the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) stood under the sway of impunity, could not maintain or manage whatever good it inherited.

“It has also not broken new grounds in any positive sense but has instead reached historically unprecedented heights of impunity in all manner of vices far above and beyond the challenges which made some of us to leave the PDP about four years ago to join others to form the APC. The party has brazenly turned itself into a sanctuary for the corrupt and a machine for rigging and for the rape of democracy.

“Let me also put it on record that all attempts to discuss the electoral promises of the APC-led government, including the restructuring of the country as promised Nigerians and as contained in the APC manifesto, have proved abortive.”

He also lamented the lack of Federal Government patronage to the state in terms of projects and appointments even as he bemoaned what he described as the Buhari administration’s disregard for traditional institutions.

Noting the spate of insecurity in the country, he said: “The recent attack in Tabinnii in Rabah LGA of Sokoto State, the routine invasion of Zamfara State by armed bandits, the now-regular killing of policemen by unknown gunmen all over the country, the regular massacre of innocent people in the North East axis and many similar daily incidents, do not attract much attention any more.

“Information from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that over nine million jobs have been lost in the last 3 years since the APC Government came into office. While youth unemployment rate was 11.70 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2014, it rose to 33.10 per cent in third quarter of 2017 under the APC Government. The economy is not showing any real signs of improvement.

“Our educational and health institutions are in retreat. Poverty is on rampage and still ravages the land. It is unacceptable that majority of those who voted for APC in 2015 should have nothing good to show for it.

“I return to the PDP with a clear conscience today, because the party has learnt some bitter lessons and noted what mistakes it must avoid in the future. It is now a repositioned and forward-looking political party to which I now pledge loyalty, in my resolve to contribute towards improving the lives of Nigerians and expanding opportunities for the youths.”