By Abdul Lauya
Former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has rejected mounting pressure to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring he would not seek political “forgiveness of sins” through the ruling party.
Tambuwal spoke defiantly in Sokoto on Friday, days after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) questioned him in Abuja over alleged fraudulent cash withdrawals totaling ₦189 billion.
“I do not want my sins to be forgiven, so I can’t join the APC. I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be blackmailed. No one can tarnish my records,” Tambuwal told supporters.
The former governor insisted his visit to the EFCC was voluntary and dismissed allegations that he withdrew over ₦2 billion monthly from state coffers as “blatant lies.”
“My visit to the EFCC was voluntary. I was quizzed and released on self-recognition, as a Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR). The allegation that I withdrew over ₦2 billion monthly is pure falsehood. How much is even the state’s monthly allocation?” he asked.
Tambuwal’s comments strike at a growing narrative: that the APC has become a sanctuary for embattled politicians facing corruption probes.
Across Nigeria, a pattern has emerged where investigations are quietly dropped or muted once opposition heavyweights switch allegiance to the ruling party, a phenomenon critics describe as “political baptism.”
By refusing to decamp, Tambuwal has positioned himself against what many see as a creeping strategy of intimidation designed to hollow out the opposition and consolidate APC’s dominance.
Political observers warn that this trend is not just about defections; it is about the survival of multiparty democracy. If high-profile opposition figures are routinely hounded until they switch sides, Nigeria risks drifting toward a one-party system where dissent is delegitimized and accountability eroded.
Tambuwal, one of the few vocal opposition figures left standing, has thrown down the gauntlet, framing the political divide starkly: “between those who stand with President Bola Tinubu’s government and those who stand with the people.”
His defiance may galvanize opposition ranks, but it also sets him squarely in the crosshairs of a ruling party adept at turning political battles into survival games.
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