Aftermath Of Tambuwal’s Defection: Presidency, PDP Move Against Emeka Ihedioha

Strong indications have emerged that President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) are unhappy with the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, over the latter’s private reception for Speaker Aminu Tambuwal a few hours after the speaker defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday.

The reception which was said to have taken place at the deputy speaker’s guest house on Pope John Paul Street, off Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja, few hours after the mini-national convention of the APC, was attended by most members of APC in the House.

Ihedioha has, however, dismissed the report as ‘not sensible’ while Tambuwal directed all enquiries on the matter to the deputy speaker’s men.

The reception, which was initially meant to be a private one for Tambuwal, was later ‘invaded’ by other members of the lower
chamber, including some PDP members, a reliable source told our correspondent.

A presidential aide told our correspondent yesterday in Abuja that the deputy speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, had been asked to explain which master he had elected to serve “because we cannot understand why he chose to host Speaker Aminu Tambuwal to a warm reception a few hours after he defected from our party to APC.

“Is the deputy speaker with us or he is planning to move to the APC with his boss? The PDP deserves an answer from him.’’

The presidential aide asserted that, at this ‘critical moment of political decision,'
President Jonathan wanted to be very clear
on whose side the deputy speaker belonged.

The presidential aide continued: “You know this man (referring to Ihedioha) cannot be trusted; he has consistently worked against the party in the past. He now appears to be working for the PDP because of his 2015 political interest. But even at that, we do not know where he truly belongs.”

When contacted, the media adviser to Tambuwal, Malam Imam Imam, said all clarifications on the issue should be referred to Ihedioha’s aides.

The chief press secretary to the deputy speaker, Oke Epia, however, described the report as inconsequential.

“This is a non-issue; are those behind this saying the deputy speaker would want to do that to show that he is in APC? I can tell you that this is not a sensible thing at all,”Epia said.