Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has come out to clear the air on the relationship between himself and the former Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal.
Speaking on “Straight Talk with Kadaria”, an interview program on Channels Television, Gbajabiamila said he was betrayed by Tambuwal, and has not spoken with him since the tussle for the Speakership started between himself and eventual winner, Yakubu Dogara.
He said: “When I won the first election, Tambuwal, who is my friend, never called to congratulate me. He never sent a message. And I have not spoken to him since then. You can make whatever meaning from that.
“To sit here and say there is no sense of betrayal will be hypocritical. Of course, there is a sense of betrayal but it’s not something I dwell on. Betrayal seems to be the order of the day in Nigerian politics. So, I felt betrayed. Tambuwal and I are very good friends. He was my closest friend from the North when I joined the House.
“When he contested the speakership, this may sound vainglorious; I, single handedly, pushed his speakership bid, not to talk of his presidential bid. But he must have reasons for doing what he did.”
Speaking on the current travails of the former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, Gbajabiamila said he does not have a personal relationship with Fashola, and as such cannot vouch for him.
He said: “Even if you have a personal relationship with someone, you may know him but you may not know him to the fullest extent that you should. Based on my knowledge and my experience with people, it would be foolhardy of me now to vouch for anybody.
“Fashola, by all standards and from what people say, has showcased himself, his potential and what he can do as an administrator. I don’t know whether he is guilty of the charges or not. You can only prove that based on evidence.
“The accusations remain allegations. I am not holding brief for him. For all I know, he may be guilty but as of today, I have not seen any of such.”
