FORMER Sokoto State Governor and ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, has openly declared that he would support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike if faced with a political choice between the two.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme monitored by News Point Nigeria, on Friday, Tambuwal said his political loyalty is guided strictly by principles of leadership and the future of Nigeria, not by personal friendships.
“When it comes to leadership of this country and leadership of the people, tomorrow, not even today, I would rather support Atiku than Nyesom Wike,” he said.
Tambuwal, who is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stressed that he separates personal relationships from political decisions. According to him, his disagreements with leaders—past and present—have always been about policy direction and governance principles.
“It is a collaboration; it is not something difficult. Once it is about being altruistic and nothing personal, you have never seen me going against President Bola Tinubu personally, you have never heard of me going against Nyesom Wike personally,” he said.
Citing history, Tambuwal recalled his exit from the PDP during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, explaining that it was a matter of principle.
“We disagreed on principle, the way, and the direction things are going. I had no problem personally with Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, but we disagreed, and I left PDP for APC,” he said.
He added that while he remains friends with Wike, leadership choices are different:
“It is not about my friendship with you, and I am saying this with all sense of responsibility. If Atiku Abubakar comes in here and Wike requests my phone, which is personal to me, I will personally give it to Wike as a personal friend.”
Beyond his stance on Atiku and Wike, Tambuwal took aim at President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing them of systematically destabilising opposition parties in Nigeria.
“When you look at what is happening in various political parties in Nigeria today—you don’t need to be told, no matter the amount of denial by whoever, including President Bola Tinubu, that they are not involved in destabilization efforts of opposition parties. It is incorrect,” Tambuwal declared.
He insisted the ruling party is not just suspected but actively involved:
“I am not accusing them. I am saying they are involved in efforts aimed at destabilisation of opposition parties. I am not suspecting. They are involved in all of this.”
Tinubu, elected in 2023 after defeating Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), has since presided over a wave of political defections. Several governors, lawmakers, and key figures from opposition parties have crossed to the APC in recent months, raising fears about the strength of Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.
While the PDP and LP still control a number of states and legislative seats, internal divisions have weakened both parties. Tambuwal suggested these divisions are being fuelled deliberately by the APC to consolidate power.
Tambuwal’s latest remarks position him firmly in Atiku’s corner amid the PDP’s lingering internal cracks, particularly between Atiku loyalists and allies of Nyesom Wike, whose defection from the PDP leadership mainstream remains one of the most divisive issues in the party.