Tambuwal’s comments won’t go unanswered – Wike’s Aide

The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Lere Olayinka, has said his Principal will respond to comments made by former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, “accordingly”.

In a statement issued on Monday evening, the minister’s aide noted that Wike would not let Tambuwal’s recent remarks go unanswered, stating that the former governor had “cast aspersions” on President Bola Tinubu

“The FCT Minister won’t let Tambuwal’s latest diatribe against him and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu go unresponded to,” he said.

Tambuwal, who featured on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme last Friday, had stated that his disagreements with the former Rivers State Governor were not personal, and that his political choices were always guided by principles of leadership, adding that he would support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over Wike if he had to choose who should lead the country.

He had also stated that Tinubu could not deny his involvement in destabilising other political parties, and that the President had no knowledge of how to run the country, unlike Atiku, who had been Vice President between 1999 and 2006.

Olayinka said the minister will respond accordingly, and that Wike will “tell Nigerians what a betrayal is and what it means to have integrity.”

He added, “I have been inundated with calls, especially from journalists, seeking the Minister’s reaction. Apart from what he said against the minister, Tambuwal also cast aspersions on President Tinubu, and such will not go unresponded to.

“Therefore, what I can say is that the Minister will respond accordingly. He will definitely tell Nigerians what a betrayal is and what it means to have integrity. Till then, let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

The war of words between Wike and Tambuwal has its roots in the internal crisis that rocked the Peoples Democratic Party in the build-up to the 2023 general elections.

Wike, then governor of Rivers State, led the influential G-5 Governors’ bloc, which openly opposed the presidential bid of Atiku Abubakar after the party’s presidential ticket and national chairmanship both went to the North.

Tambuwal, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives and two-term governor of Sokoto State, played a decisive role in the PDP presidential primary of May 2022.

He stepped down for Atiku on the convention ground, a move Wike later described as a “betrayal,” accusing Tambuwal of conspiring with party leaders to deny him the ticket despite being a frontrunner.

The fallout deepened political divisions in the PDP, with Wike eventually aligning with the ruling All Progressives Congress after the elections. Tinubu later appointed him Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, cementing his political realignment.

Tambuwal, meanwhile, has remained a loyal PDP member and close ally of Atiku, continuing to defend the party’s position while criticising the APC-led federal government.

His recent comments questioning Tinubu’s leadership and dismissing Wike’s grievances as personal have reignited tensions between the two influential politicians.