What Tambuwal Told Ayu, Saraki, Bala Mohammed Before Stepping Down For Atiku

The identity of the people Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State consulted before withdrawing from the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party for former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has been revealed.

The decision of Tambuwal to withdraw from the presidential primary of the main opposition party changed the contest on Saturday.

According to Premium Times, the Sokoto State Governor consulted the National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu before he made the announcement.

It was stated that Tambuwal met with a former governor from the North-Central, and walked with him to one of the northern aspirants, Bala Mohammed, to inform the Bauchi governor that he had decided to step down for Atiku.

An official of the party who attended the convention disclosed that the decision of Tambuwal took Mohammed by shock.

The source claimed that Mohammed tried to stop Tambuwal from withdrawing from Atiku but he stated that he had made up his mind.

Tambuwal after meeting Mohammed walked to Bukola Saraki and passed the same message to him.

A witness said Saraki was not pleased with Tambuwal’s decision, having requested that the two of them should step down only for each other.

The source said, “But Tambuwal responded by saying there was no such agreement and that he had considered all factors and made up his mind to shelve his ambition and throw his weight behind Atiku.”

It was gathered that Tambuwal thereafter met the National Chairman of the party and informed him that he was withdrawing from the race.

The source said Ayu patted Tambuwal on the back with a sigh of relief. The Chairperson of the convention was then informed that Tambuwal has an important message to deliver to delegates before the commencement of voting.

Tambuwal then returned to the stage to announce his withdrawal from the race and support Atiku.

With Tambuwal’s last-minute support for Atiku, he defeated Wike (371 votes to 237 votes) to clinch the party’s presidential ticket.