A former Senate president, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has refuted the claim by a former governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, that he informed him (Saraki) before withdrawing for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during the 2022 presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement by his media office signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki, while responding to the claim by Tambuwal in an interview aired on Arise TV Programme titled ‘Untold Stories With Adesuwa’, said he was also surprised, like everybody present at the PDP presidential convention, that Tambuwal returned to the podium to announce his withdrawal after he had addressed the delegates seeking their votes to fly the PDP presidential flag in the 2023 general elections.
“I need to set the record straight. When I saw Tambuwal returning to the podium after he had earlier addressed the delegates to canvass for their votes, I wondered what was happening. His announcement that he had withdrawn from the race and that the delegates who were supporting him should vote for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar took me by surprise.
“Tambuwal is my friend, but he should take responsibility for his decisions and actions. He never discussed withdrawal from the race with me. I never contemplated withdrawing my candidature from the race and had nothing to do with the decision process that led to his withdrawal in favour of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,” Saraki stated.
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In the interview monitored by Daily Trust, Tambuwal said he agreed to step down for Atiku “because I believe if you talk about capacity and all of that, when you look at the other candidate and all of us, I believe I could step down for him. And I didn’t just do that; I told Senator Bukola Saraki before stepping down for Atiku.”
When asked to respond to the claim by former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, that he betrayed former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, at the convention, Tambuwal said, “You think I will take what Fayose said seriously? Even the people of Sokoto that he appealed to not vote for me didn’t take him seriously. They voted for me to be their senator.
“He called me a betrayer; he didn’t say where I betrayed him as Ayo Fayose. He called me a hypocrite. He didn’t say where I went and did anything against his person. And he said he wished I would lose. But God, who sees our hearts and knows the truth, didn’t let me lose. I am in the Senate. Where is Ayo Fayose?”
Tambuwal’s decision to step down for Atiku at the convention was seen as a watershed in the race for the 2023 presidential election. Analysts believed that Wike was on course to clinch the ticket, but Tambuwal’s endorsement of Atiku changed the outcome.
With Tambuwal’s endorsement, Atiku polled 371 votes to defeat Wike, who polled 237, while Saraki came in a distant third with 70 votes.
Many observers were left stunned by Tambuwal’s decision because he was considered one of the strongest allies of Wike among the candidates, with their history dating back to the 2018 presidential primary of the party, when Wike supported the former Sokoto State governor, who came in second behind Atiku.
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