Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State has said it is too early to start talking about 2019, noting that the future is in God’s hands.
He stated this yesterday at a media chat to commemorate the 2016 Democracy Day in Sokoto.
Tambuwal, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, was responding to a question on his rumoured 2019 presidential aspiration.
“We will discuss 2019 when 2019 is around the corner; it’s too early to be talking about that, I believe that we should face what we are facing now that’s governance and the mandate given to us by the people of Sokoto State”, he said.
The governor, who insisted that 2019 was not in the hands of any man, recalled how some unnamed persons threatened not to support his future political aspirations if he did not back down from supporting some candidates for the leadership of the National Assembly last June.
The former number four citizen reportedly played a key role in the emergence of Yakubu Dogara as his successor in the House of Representatives on June 9, 2015 to the consternation of the All Progressives Congress, APC, which had already penciled Femi Gbajabiamila for the position.
Recounting his experience at the time, Gov. Tambuwal said: “During the process of establishing the leadership of the National Assembly, some people came to threaten me that I may have interest in 2019, and if I do what I was doing, their group won’t support me. I told them, 2019 is in the hands of God, not in your hands, not in my hands. In any case, who is sure of getting to 2019?”
He, therefore, advised Nigerians to always hold their leaders accountable based on their campaign promises, saying President Muhammad Buhari had done wonderfully well in his first year in office.
He noted that the president had kept to his promises of fighting insurgency and corruption and has succeeded in inculcating the culture of cautiousness and discipline among public officers.
Tambuwal further noted that people were now cautious of appending their signature on fraudulent papers because of Buhari’s zero tolerance for corruption and corrupt practices.
