IT emerged at the weekend that the demand for the removal of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur by members of the party’s National Working Committee(NWC) was a collective decision among several organs of the party.
Following the development, it was confirmed that President Goodluck Jonathan has agreed to back the “decision of stakeholders” in handling the Tukur issue.
Sources close to the party and the presidency said on Sunday that the president has given the go ahead for Tukur’s ouster adding that the upcoming meetings during the week will only have to deliberate on the process of arriving at a reliable successor.
A source in the know confirmed that before Jonathan’s meeting with members of the NWC of the PDP, the Senate and House of Representatives caucus of the party had expressed similar sentiments and passed their messages to the President.
A meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum held late in December had also expressed lack of confidence in Tukur, based on the preponderance of crisis under his tenure.
It was gathered that members of the NWC who spoke at the meeting with Jonathan were echoing discussions held with some governors and members of the National Assembly.
One major sin of the embattled chairman is said to be his failure to carry members of the party along in the decision making process.
Other sources in the party said that the chairman appears to be quick in picking quarrels with stakeholders adding that he had disagreements with the Deputy National Chairman, Uche Secundus shortly after his emergence.
It was gathered that members of the Senate and House of Representatives caucuses of the party are angry that the Chairman could not guarantee automatic tickets to the loyal members in the wake of massive lobbying by the opposition All Progressives Congress(APC).
Sources further said that while the embattled National chairman had meetings with the Governors and the National Assembly caucus, he could not provide acceptable offers to the divergent interests.
“The governors are opposed to automatic tickets to National Assembly members. But the National Assembly caucus wants automatic tickets, so the chairman was caught in the milieu. He sided with the governors that there would be no automatic tickets but they appeared unconvinced by the promise. The lawmakers were also unhappy that he could not defend their interests even with modifications to accommodate local arrangements,” a source stated.
Based on the contentions in the party, the President was said to have decided to follow the dictates of the majority of the party’s stakeholders and allow the chairman to give way for an acceptable successor, sources confirmed.
It was gathered that two camps have already emerged with a group canvassing the appointment of an experienced elder, while others are canvassing the election of a vibrant and energetic politician from the North East zone.
The president is also said to have put in place measures to address the fears of some of his loyal governors in the zone who are relunctant to produce a national chairman from their states.
While a group of members are said to be rooting for Wakilin Adamawa, Alhaji Hassan Adama, who is also in his late 70s, others are canvassing the election of a younger politician from the zone.
“The President is weighing options on Tukur’s successor. It is no longer news that the chairman would be eased out, while the deputy national chairman would take up the seat in acting capacity until the mid-term convention,” a source said.
Tukur fights back
Meanwhile, as top leaders of the ruling party meets over the state of the party, the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur is fighting for his political life with his loyalists already storming the Federal Capital Territory.
According to reliable reports, Tukur has broken into the ranks of the governors with those loyal to him reportedly vowing to stand by him at tonight’s meeting as well as the series of meetings holding this week.
Findings revealed that Tukur is also mobilizing some state leaders of the party who are to further his cause when the meetings commence. As part of his plan,Tukur is reported to have also reached out to some members of the National Working Committee who did not oppose him in the presence of the president.
As of the time of filing this report,the Tukur team is said to be meeting to finalist their strategies on the removal bid allegedly being led by a strong member of the NWC and a powerful state governor.
One of such meetings will reportedly precede the main meetings. According to a loyalists of Tukur, the chairman is upbeat that he would survive the current crisis even as sources within the party noted that the chairman has stepped on toes of powerful elements around the president.
A party chief said Tukur is premising his fightback on the slogan that his enemies are scheming to stop the President’s second term bid. Confirming that the chairman is reaching out to members of the NWC, a committee member noted that “the chairman is clarifying situation,” but admitted that the situation has degenerated.
“ The chairman is fighting for his political life. The matter is beyond the NWC”, the NWC member who does not want to be named said.
Source: Tribune
