by Chi Ibe

Opposition members were giddy this morning with media reports that  Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal,was at a meeting of the five governors who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Reports claims the speaker briefly attended the meeting which held Monday night at the Kano State Governors lodge in Asokoro Abuja. Those at the meeting include APC leaders Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu.

To that, the speaker says – hell no.

“The speaker went to see his governor who sought to see him and he went there before the meeting commenced and it did not commence before he left the lodge,” his spokesperson, Imam Imam said. The speaker is from Sokoto and the governor referred to is the governor of his state, Aliyu Wamakko.

Premium Times reports:

He said it was wrong to assume the speaker was at the Kano lodge to attend the meeting when it was clear he left before the meeting started.

 

Mr. Imam said there was nothing wrong for the speaker to go and see his governor anywhere, just as he could go anywhere to see the President if requested to do so.

 

Mr. Imam also clarified recent reports that Mr. Tambuwal is facing pressure from members to resign because of the expected mass defection of lawmakers from the PDP to the APC following the defection of five governors last week.

 

“There is no iota of truth at all on these insinuations; he has never considered resignation and it has never been discussed,” Mr. Imam said.

 

He said Mr. Tambuwal was elected to serve a mandate and he is focussed on that mandate.

 

Reports also suggested that Mr. Tambuwal may be forced to resign because of his insistence of $79 oil benchmark for 2014 budget projections.

 

However, the House of Reps on Monday held a closed door session where it was agreed that the House would accept whatever decision the Harmonisation committee set up by the House agreed upon.

We have heard.