The
embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur, has intensified moves to stave off his removal from
office.
The latest is the constitution of a
committee comprising PDP elders in his home state, Adamawa, to plead
with Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Jonah Jang (Plateau)
to help him save his job.
The committee is made up of Air Commodore Dan Suleiman (retd.), Anthony Hanaiya, Umar Ardo and Wilberforce Juta.
Our correspondent gathered that the
outcome of the committee’s interactions with Akpabio and Jang would
determine whether or not Tukur would remain in office or quit before
the PDP National Executive Committee meeting on Thursday (tomorrow).
Tukur had on Monday dared President
Goodluck Jonathan by declaring that he (Jonathan) lacked the power to
ask for his resignation.
He had boasted, “I am an elected
national chairman; I have my certificate of return and I cannot
resign. A convention brought me; so it has to take the convention that
brought me for me to resign.
“So, not even the President can ask me
to resign. Remember, some members of the National Working Committee were
asked to go recently because the election that brought them was flawed.
So, Mr. President cannot tread that route again.”
It was learnt that the decision to set
up the committee to meet the two governors was arrived at after a
meeting Tukur had with PDP stakeholders from Adamawa State.
Sources at the meeting, which started at
about 10. 54am at the Wuse 2, Abuja residence of Tukur and lasted for
about 90 minutes, said the two governors were picked for strategic
reasons.
The reasons, according to
investigation, included the fact that Jang is heading a faction of the
Nigeria Governors’ Forum, which is recognised by Jonathan while Akpabio
is the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum.
A source close to the meeting said the
Adamawa elders advised Tukur not to adopt a confrontational posture
until they meet with Akpabio and Jang.
Ardo, who confirmed the setting up of
the committee, said the need to approach the two governors became
necessary given their positions in the party.
He said, “ We decided to explore this
option with the national chairman as we agreed that it would not be
right to take any action without hearing from them since they hold key
positions on behalf of the party and our position would be decided by
the outcome of the meeting with them.”
But the division among members of the
National Working Committee of the party, which Tukur heads, became more
pronounced on Tuesday.
The National Legal Adviser, Mr. Victor
Kwom, in a statement dissociated the PDP from a letter in which
Tukur’s lawyer, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, said the national chairman could
not be removed from office.
In the letter sent to Jonathan,
Oluyede also said since Tukur was elected at a national
convention, he could only be removed through the same process.
The lawyer, who advertised the letter,
also maintained that there was a subsisting court order,which asked
that the status quo be maintained.
The said order, according to him, was issued on April 25, 2013 by Justice Adamu Bello.
Kwom, however, said in a statement that Oluyede did not have the mandate of the PDP to issue the statement.
Kwom’s statement reads in part, “The
attention of the NWC of the PDP has been drawn to a media advertorial in
which one Mr. Ajibola Oluyede adduced certain opinions claiming such to
be the position of the PDP constitution on some recent developments in
our party.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the NWC of the PDP wishes to state as follows:
“That Mr. Oluyede has no mandate or
authority to issue the said advertorial. That the position adduced in
the advertorial does not in any way represent or correspond with the
position of the constitution of the PDP.
“The PDP has a National Legal Adviser
whose duties under the party’s constitution include advising the party
on all legal matters, conducting all litigation; prosecuting and
defending actions on behalf of the party, including its organs and
officials in so far as the subject of the litigation affects the
interest of the party; and interpreting the laws, regulations and
Constitution of the Party in the event of any ambiguities.”
Meanwhile, Tukur has said he is not in the position to tell Jonathan on what to do concerning the crises in the PDP.
PUNCH NG
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