By Danlami Nmodu
As the plot against governors considered rebellious within the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP thickens, insiders have caution the party against the latest wave of suspension being handed out to state governors ,because it may back fire with delibilitating consequences .There are strong fears already that the recent suspension of Sokoto State Governor State Governor Aliyu Wammako may hurt the party in the North West.
An insider in Sokoto who spoke with Newsdiaryonline.com on condition of anonymity warned PDP, saying :”It is either they put their house in order or they lose Sokoto,Kebbi,Zamfara all together in 2015.”
The insider who anchored his warning on what he described as the popularity of the governor and the growing resentment against the party, also revealed that Wamakko has been outside the country and he is expected back home very soon.
According to the source the resentment by the people against Wamakko’s suspension will be expressed through an “unprecedented” reception for him by a mammoth crowd of his supporters in Sokoto.
“The people are waiting for him to return and the kind of sympathy gathering he will receive will be unprecedented”.He quipped further “may be PDP has decided in deed to give up on Sokoto in 2015.”
These remarks came as Newsdiaryonline.com sought reaction to an alleged further plot by Abuja forces against Wamakko .It was learnt that there may be more troubles for Wamakko as Abuja forces are said to be exploring the possibility of “resurrecting”past election case against the Sokoto State governor. Lawyers are believed to have commenced work with a viewing to advising whether the controversial legal issues against him can be revived.
Another insider who is also worried that the on-going intrigues may destroy the party said, this latest attempt to use the legal tussle against Wamakko may not necessarily be aimed at removing him as governor.”They just want to harass him into submission so that he may do Abuja’s bidding”. Whether this will produce any positive result for the PDP remains to be seen.
Already, Sympathisers of Wamakko have identified what they call the weaknesses of the alleged clandestine attempt to use threat of legal moves against him. First ,one source argued, “if you say you will try to remove or deal with Wamakko by claiming he didn’t win, that means you will be reviving yet another controversial issue- which is the feud between Justice Salami and the former Chief Justice Katsina Alu.Can PDP afford that? he asked”
Another pro-Wamakko insider dismissed as of no use ,any hint that a legal plot may be used to remove or harass the governor. “How can they revive any legal issue when Wamakko’s case got to the Supreme Court and the apex court ruled on the matter? May be those who are thinking like that don’t know what the law says.”
This source insists “Whatever they do, they will lose.Maybe they have decided to forgo Sokoto indeed.”.
Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi was the first to be suspended.There have been yet to be successful moves to impeach him using some of the state’s lawmakers.
The suspension of Amaechi was followed by that of Wamakko.In fact, Newsdiaryonline.com had reported a day before Wamakko’s suspension that the party was moving to suspend Speaker House of Representatives,Aminu Tambuwal because of his alleged closeness to opposition party members .His attendance of Osun State launch of e-learning initiative was seen as the zenith of the speaker’s rebellious streak.
Interestingly, the party chose to hit Wamakko first .But insiders insist the plot Against Tambuwal remains on the card.Hitting the governor was like getting at the speaker indirectly as a “prelude to the main issue”.
There were also strong hints at the weekend that another governor is expected to be suspended. Reports said this could be either Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu or Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako. “At least one more governor will be suspended soon,” a PDP insider said.
