Nigeria: Why Senate President, Sokoto governor left APC – Tinubu

The National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has offered a political-philosophical analysis on why Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal left the APC.

Share this trending news with friends

In a major analysis of the political situation in Nigeria, titled “They go away because we go the Right Way,” which he also tweeted, Tinubu said the two defectors left the APC because they “wanted automatic tickets and sharing of the national wealth which the APC could not guarantee.”

He said the duo quit because the APC could not offer them what they wanted.
“The rest of the defectors were given similar assurances by the PDP as to their offices. The APC refused to make such bargains as they are part of the ancient regime; these bargains are not of our democratic new way.’’

They “left the party to return to a motley agglomeration that would promise them what true democracy could not: automatic tickets, sharing of the national wealth and other offices and privileges.”


“Governor Tambuwal’s exit can be distilled to one cause. He covets the presidency. However, he had not the stomach to challenge President Buhari in a primary.”

“But for the promise made by PDP hardliners like Rivers State Governor Wike that he would have the PDP presidential nomination, Tambuwal would not have left. His exit had nothing to do with the governance of the nation. It was about forging a personal ambition predicated on the defeat of progressive reform not the advancement of it.”

“Much the same for Senate President Saraki, returning to the PDP, he harbors dreams of the presidency but Tambuwal’s ambition will dwarf Saraki’s when the two collide. If Saraki had remained in the APC, he would be unable to reclaim his Senate seat let alone the Senate Presidency. He thus bolted because he lusts for the presidency but was promised by the PDP, at least, a return to his position in the Senate.”

Asiwaju Tinubu asked the people to go beyond the debate on the numbers in the Senate or House of Representatives, saying “we must pull back from the shallow headlines to recognize that something fundamental is at stake.”

“Nigeria is undergoing a historic transition. Sometimes awkwardly, tentatively, yet inexorably, we nurture political and governance reform. We steadily close the door on the old malpractices that have caused a rich nation to reside in the tenement of the global poor.”

“In the final analysis, the reason for the defections is as clear to see as it is crooked in its motives. The APC seeks to reform governance and politics. However, many powerful people believe the established system assures their maximum benefit. Progressive reform would defeat them. They must fight reform and never be allied to it. Thus, they had to leave the APC.”

About the Author

Michael Onas
Africa - Online Founder & Senior Editor Africa - Online.Com was founded by Michael Onas in 1997, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in African news sector, with millions of readers around the world and followers on social media.