Tinubu Using Judiciary, EFCC To Intimidate Governors – Tambuwal

Former Sokoto State Governor and Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Tambuwal, has accused President Bola Tinubu of using the judiciary and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intimidate and harass state governors into defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Abia Radio News reports that Tambuwal made the allegation on Sunday while speaking on the occasion of his birthday, claiming that the alleged strategy was aimed at securing President Tinubu’s second term in office.

According to the former governor, the Presidency has been actively manipulating judicial processes to pressure governors into aligning with the centre.

He alleged that the move was not only to consolidate political power but also to shield the President from scrutiny ahead of the next general elections.

Tambuwal further claimed that there exists what he described as a “political I.O.U.” between President Tinubu and some governors who were returned to office despite unresolved legal disputes arising from their elections.

Raising serious concerns about the state of the judiciary, Tambuwal alleged that judicial outcomes in some election-related cases were influenced by political negotiations.

“This clearly means that the Supreme Court is compromised. Even where there were clear cases of injustice, it was clearly negotiated, and the intervention of the presidential movement led them to continue,” he said.

The former governor argued that such practices were inimical to democracy and eroded public confidence in democratic institutions.

“That is not democracy. That is not politics but pure intimidation and harassment, and such acts undermine Nigeria’s democratic principles,” he added.

Speaking on his own political history, Tambuwal recalled that although he defected while serving as governor, he deliberately refused to join the ruling party under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He explained that his decision was driven by deep disagreements with the policies of the Buhari-led government.

Instead, he said he chose to align with the opposition as a way of strengthening democratic governance and resisting attempts to manipulate political outcomes for personal or partisan advantage.

Tambuwal, however, warned governors defecting to the ruling party solely to align with the centre not to assume that future election outcomes would be predetermined in their favour.

According to him, Nigerians are prepared to resist any attempt to manipulate the electoral process.

“Nobody is going to write any result this time around. Nobody. We are ready and prepared to go through an electoral process that must be free and fair, and any attempt to manipulate it will be resisted lawfully and constitutionally,” Tambuwal insisted.