Jonathan Moves to Save Tukur

Insideafrik
NEWS, NIGERIA

President Goodluck Jonathan has launched several initiatives to save the embattled National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, from being consumed by the crisis in the Adamawa State chapter of the party.

The crisis, which had pitted Tukur against the PDP governors, took a turn for the worse on Tuesday when 10 out of 12 members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party met without Tukur to rescind the decision dissolving the state executive council (SEC) of the party.

The meeting reinstated Alhaji Umaru Mijinyawa Kugama as the chairman of the party in the state.
At a previous meeting presided over by Tukur, the PDP leadership had dissolved the Adamawa executive and appointed a caretaker committee to run the affairs of the party in the state.

THISDAY learnt that the palace coup against Tukur was masterminded by the governors who were instrumental to getting the NWC members their positions on the party’s Exco.

It was learnt that a worried Jonathan, who is opposed to the governors’ stance on the Adamawa PDP crisis, on Tuesday night during the meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, set up a committee to find a way of resolving the crisis.

Members of the high-powered committee included the president, Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, House of Representatives Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, former BoT Chairman, Chief Anthony Anenih, former National Chairman, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Canada, Chief Ojo Maduekwe.

The president followed up on the rescue mission yesterday with a meeting with the NWC members and PDP governors where he urged the feuding parties to bury the hatchet in the interest of the party.

Sources told THISDAY yesterday that the president decided to intervene in the festering crisis during the BoT meeting, where many of those in attendance, condemned the crisis in the NWC.

One party source said a presidential fact-finding committee, headed by Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji  Sule Lamido, mandated to resolve the Adamawa crisis could not do so, because Tukur refused to obey the stay action directive of the committee on his home state.

THISDAY gathered that Tukur even dared the governors in one of their meetings, reminding them that he was also a governor when some of them were nowhere.

Fed up with Tukur’s alleged stubborn stance, the governors directed the NWC, most of whom were nominated by them, to work against him, otherwise, they will all be removed from office.

The governors’ directive, the source added, prompted the NWC members to reverse the dissolution of the Adamawa State executive council by denying that such a decision was ever taken by them in the first place.
The source said the governors had notified Jonathan that they were no longer disposed to working with Tukur and that he should be persuaded to resign.

However, despite the high-powered committee he set up to save Tukur from being removed from office, the president yesterday met with parties involved in the crisis and urged them to bury the hatchet and work together for the progress of the party.

THISDAY learnt that Jonathan, as the leader of the party, summoned the meeting of all the NWC members and PDP governors for a resolution of the crisis in the state chapter of the party. Others who attended the meeting included Sambo, Mark and Tambuwal.

The president at the meeting, which ended at about 5.30 pm, was said to have told the NWC members, including Tukur, to go and work together as he would not accept disunity within the party.

He told them that PDP could not afford to have a divided leadership and urged them to bury the hatchet.

Briefing State House reporters after the meeting, Tukur who admitted there was a crisis in the NWC, said as the father of the party, he would work diligently to resolve the differences.

He explained that the disagreement between him and the other NWC members had been resolved.

When asked what the resolution was, Tukur who did not give a categorical answer, said there were misunderstanding and that this was why yesterday’s meeting was convened.

He said: “PDP NWC is the first family of PDP. I can assure you that like any other family, there may be disagreements, but based on principle, not disagreement for anything.
“We have resolved all our differences. Some differences, you will bring them to light, examine them and find out why there has been disagreement and you go back and do what you believe is right.

“I am here with the secretary of the party, the deputy national chairman, the women leader and our mouthpiece. I am the father of the party. I am the family head and therefore, I am here to tell you everything you want to know. I can tell you that we are one and the same.”

On the party’s position on the Adamawa State executive council, Tukur declined to speak on the issue.

But the spokesperson of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, who was with him quickly interjected, stating: “The NWC will brief you accordingly from tomorrow.”

However, Prof. Jerry Gana, who is the chairman of the special committee set up by the BoT to align the membership of the elite party conclave, said the party would raise a team to find a lasting solution to the problems in Adamawa State.

But before the NWC members left for the meeting with Jonathan, a mild drama played out at the Wadata Plaza headquarters of the party when Tukur snubbed some of his colleagues who were on their way out when he came in at about 10.58 am.

Tukur also told reporters at another forum yesterday that he felt betrayed by the action of some members of the NWC, but in a bid to avoid being accused of bias in the matter, he had allowed his deputy, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, to preside over matters related to the crisis in Adamawa.

“This is just a case of betrayal of trust. The documentation and correspondence in this matter will justify that the congresses in the state were approved by the NWC,” he insisted.
Documents obtained by THISDAY showed that on December 5, 2012, both Tukur and PDP National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, in a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had notified the commission of the various dates for the congresses in Adamawa, commencing from December 27, 2012 to January 8, 2013.

The letter titled, “Notification of Party Congresses in Adamawa State”, read: “In keeping with the provisions of Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010, we write to inform the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the National Working Committee of our great party has approved the conduct of the following congresses in Adamawa State, sequel to the upcoming party congresses in the state.

“Ward congresses, December 27, 2012; LGA congresses, January 3, 2013 and state congresses, January 8, 2013.”

In another letter dated December 6, 2012, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, wrote Tukur to approve the dates for the congresses as indicated in the letter to INEC.

The letter that was copied to the chairman of PDP in Adamawa State, Ambassador Umar Damagum, further said: “In adherence to the stipulations of Section 85 of the Electoral Act 2010, INEC has accordingly been notified of these congresses.”

Meanwhile, the governors of the party, rising from a meeting last night in Abuja, endorsed the reversal of the dissolution of the Adamawa Exco.
In a communique read by Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, the governors approved the NWC's decision disowning all congresses in Adamawa and declared same null and void.

The governors affirmed the reconstitution of the Kugama-led executive as elected in March 2012 and as ratified by the party's national convention.
They also called for quarterly meetings of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party as and when due.

After the meeting, Oyinlola was said to have held another private meeting with the governors of Niger, Rivers, Jigawa, Kano and Adamawa States, but it could not be ascertained what transpired at the meeting.

Yet the crisis in the state PDP remained unresolved yesterday as Kugama and Chief Joel Madaki, who emerged as chairman from the state congress held on Tuesday, both laid claims to being the party’s chairman.

Kugama and Madaki at separate press conferences yesterday flexed muscles over who is in control of the state machinery of the party. They both claimed to be the legal occupant of the post.

Madaki, who debunked claims that his faction of the party is not recognised by the NWC, said the position taken by the NWC was not in tune with the reality on the ground.

“The appointment of the Ambassador Umar Damagun-led caretaker committee was made by the NWC. The approval to conduct ward congresses on the 27th December 2012 was done by the NWC.

“Also, the local government congresses held on the 3rd of January, 2013 and the state congresses held on the 8th January, 2013 were all approved by the NWC. 

“All these approval by the NWC where carried out by the Damagum-led caretaker committee without any alteration of date,” he said.

According to him, if democracy is about the rule of law, “then what is happening at the national secretariat is beyond Adamawa State.”

On his part, Kugama apologised to the NWC and promised that the incident that led to the dissolution of his executive council in the first place would not recur.