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The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Sunday said he had not instituted any legal action in court to stop the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) from meeting on his removal from office.
This came as a group urged the governors elected on the platform of the party to adduce reasons why they want Tukur removed from office.
In a statement signed by the Media Aide to the PDP national chairman, Oliver Okpala, the aide said: “The attention of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has been drawn to a wrong insinuation published in one of the national dailies today that he was filing a legal action to prevent the party’s NEC from removing him as the national chairman of the party.
“Tukur clearly condemns and disassociates himself from such a story as it was such complete falsehood of an idea that is unthinkable and unimaginable. He wondered how he could initiate such an action against a body he is part of and an organ of the party that has the highest say and is policy-making body in the party.
“How can somebody destroy his own house? The intended legal action only exists in the minds of the writers of the false story. I am a member of the PDP NEC and l respect the body and the members.”
In a related development, a group under the aegis of the Alliance for National Transformation (ALNAT) has called on all PDP governors and faithful to support Tukur’s leadership of the party.
In a statement by ALNAT’s National Secretary, Mr. Daniel Ohiomoba, in a meeting with the USA Coordinator, Dr. Vincent Okpala in Houston Texas, urged the PDP governors to stop disturbing the party’s transformational process and discipline with their selfish interests and ambitions of becoming president and vice-president come 2015.
“Tukur has good intentions to reform PDP and introduce discipline and party supremacy. The call for the chairman’s removal is senseless and uncalled for as Tukur has not faulted anyone or gone against the party’s constitution whatsoever.
“We demand all well meaning PDP governors and the party faithful to resist this setback by a handful of some overambitious governors who want to achieve their selfish aims at all cost. The Alliance for National Transformation demands these overambitious governors to tell the party faithful what the national chairman has done wrong that they so badly seek his ouster.
“From our investigation, the governors are only against Bamanga Tukur because he can’t be compromised. We believe Tukur seeks for fairness, peace, justice, equity and party discipline, so the governors should work with him to improve the standards of the party that gave them the platform that made them governors of their various states.
“It is time to put aside their differences and support the National Chairman, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, for the stability of the party because ALNAT strongly believes APC (All Progressives Congress) is not an option for Nigerians and Tukur stands for peace, unity and stability of Nigeria’s democracy.
“Our country leadership and followership should make sure they refrain from trying to solve their differences by letter writing which has become the trend and stop utterances that can really create problems for the leadership and the entire country, because if they continue, there shall be no peace in the country.
“Nigeria needs peace and this peace can only come from all of us, the youths, elders and the leadership — past and present! President Goodluck Jonathan will be operating within the ambits of the Nigerian constitution if he wishes to contest presidency in the 2015 general election,” the group said in their statement in Tukur’s defence.
Source: Thisday
