Defection: Gov. Tambuwal’s 252 aides resign, refuse to go to PDP with him; No we were sacked, say other aides

By Muhammad Nasir Bello
In what appears like a political earthquake,  252 Special Advisers and Special Assistants appointed by Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state have resigned  their appointments.

And they have returned to the All Progressives Congress, APC, instead of working under a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, government.

Alhaji Ibrahim Haske, a Special Adviser to the Gov. Tambuwal and spokesman for all the aides, announced this at a news conference in Sokoto on Sunday.

He said their decision followed the Governor’s defection from the APC to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“Our appointment is based on the position that APC is the political party governing the state and now that the government belongs to PDP, we have no option other than to resign.

“We are bonafide members of APC and our position has always remained same; we therefore resign voluntarily from the PDP government,” Haske said.

However, another group, also purporting to be speaking for the former aides said: “ contrary to a statement credited to us that we resigned from the services of the Sokoto State government, all appointees were actually relieved of their appointments by His Excellency Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, in his effort to reinvigorate government operations and services.”

In their statement, signed by Hon Umar Bature, former Special Adviser, Mustafa Shehu, former SSA Media, Maiakwai Abubakar, former SSA, Dr Aliyu Inname, former SA Contributory Health Scheme and Hon. Bashir Gidado, SA PPP, the group said that “the decision was officially communicated by the Director General, Media & Public Affairs to the Governor Malam Abu Shekara.

“We have accepted the decision in good faith and expressed our sincere gratitude and appreciation to His Excellency for giving us the opportunity to serve our dear state in different capacities.

“While we look forward to future opportunities to serve the state on similar or other capacities, we wish to place on record that we are solidly behind  the decision of His Excellency, Gov Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR, and all of us to join the PDP as the only viable political vehicle to achieve the goals of the people of Sokoto State.”

Haske, who was a former Sokoto South Local Government Chairman, further explained that their decision to resign was based on their desire to support APC to deliver on its mandate after the  2019 general elections.

Alhaji Abdullahi Sokoto, also a special adviser to Tambuwal, restated the former aides’ commitment and dedication toward ensuring the success of APC across the state.

“We will continue to remain in our party APC and as such we sacrifice our political appointments to clarify people’s doubt and show our stand on party supremacy.”

He restated the group’s loyalty and support to the policies and programmes of the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of APC.

In his reaction, the APC Chairman in the state, Alhaji Sadiq Achida, commended the former aides to  Gov. Tambuwal for their demonstration of  loyalty to the party.

He said, “the sacrifice of the Special advisers is highly recommended and will surely be rewarded by the people and APC in future.”