The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ahmed Gulak

  • I’m authentic NGF chair, says Amaechi

    I’m authentic NGF chair, says Amaechi

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has urged the Presidency to dissociate itself from the utterances of its officials capable of causing disaffection among governors.

    Amaechi said the Presidency must desist from misleading Nigerians, saying there is only one leader for the 36 governors. He added that his re-election as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) was accepted by majority of the governors.

    The governor was reacting to a statement credited to Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, the Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Goodluck Jonathan, referring to governors as “Amaechi Governors Forum”.

    In a statement yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, David Iyofor, the governor said Gulak’s ignorance of basic democratic tenets could damage the credibility of the Presidency and make it a body that lacks respect for people’s mandate.

    The statement reads : “It is certainly rude, uncharitable and nonsensical for Gulak, an appointed aide, to derisively refer to elected governors as ‘Amaechi Governors Forum’. Gulak and his co-travellers in the Presidency must be told in unambiguous terms that the Governors’ Forum is an internal business of governors and who becomes their chairman can only be determined by the governors alone.

    “It is a known fact that in the election for chairman of NGF held on May 24, Governor Amaechi got the mandate of the majority of his colleague-governors to continue to serve as their chairman when 19 governors voted for him as against 16 that voted for Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang. We know that 19 is always greater than 16.

    “But for the Jonathan Presidency, according to Gulak, 16 is greater than 19. We, like most Nigerians, are further saddened that the likes of Gulak in the Presidency are so ignorant and totally bereft of substance that they lack the capacity to comprehend the quantum of damage their comments do to the President.

    “This is why it is imperative for the Presidency to dissociate itself and President Jonathan from the unbefitting, perverse and delinquent comments of Gulak on who is the authentic chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.”

  • ‘New PDP’ does not exist , says presidential aide

    The Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Ahmed Gulak has said  that there is only one Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in existence in the country under the Chairmanship of Bamanga Tukur.
    Some members of the Nigeria Police Force on Saturday sealed off the ‘New PDP’ Secretariat in Maitama, Abuja, while Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and armed policemen have remained on standby at the Secretariat to ward off any intruder.
    The new group, under the Chairmanship of the Abubakar Baraje, broke off from the main PDP during the 2013 Special Convention of the party last month in Abuja.
    Speaking with The Nation on telephone o on the sealing of the ‘New PDP’ Secretariat, Gulak insisted that the only PDP Secretariat is at Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.
    On the questions that the Police’s action is anti democratic principles and will work against on-going peace process, he said: “There is no new PDP. There is only one PDP and that is all I know. And the Secretariat is at Wadata Plaza and the Chairman is Bamanga Tukur.”
    Justice Elvis Chukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on Friday ordered the two parties to maintain the status quo as he fixed September 12 for the hearing of the motion on notice.
    To resolve the crisis, elders of the party including ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih and two former national chairmen of the party-Chief Barnabas Gemade and Dr.Ahmadu Ali met with the two factions in Abuja on Friday.
  • PDP: Sack Tukur for incompetence – Wamakko

    PDP: Sack Tukur for incompetence – Wamakko

    … Says, ‘We’re not fighting the party, but injustice’

    Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto state Wednesday night urged President Goodluck Jonathan to order the removal of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party for incompetence.

    The governor also came down hard on the former federal commissioner of information, Chief Edwin Clark, Ahmed Gulak, and the ex-Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo.

    He said Nigerian leaders and the citizens must come together to safe the nation’s democracy.

    Wamakko explained that he and other like- minded governors as well other democrats are not fighting the party but the recurring injustices in order to have “a united Nigeria.”

    The governor spoke in Sokoto while addressing his supporters shortly on arrival from a two- week trip to the Netherlands where he attended an economic summit with his counterparts from other states.

    He said, ‘’ As leaders, there is no retreat no surrender on our pursuit towards stabilising the confidence of the citizenry for a prosperous nation. ’

    ” Our pride should be to defend the course of justice and fair play for the desired unity, strength and progress.”

    The governor, who spoke publicly for the first time since his suspension by the party’s National Working Committee, said their collective believe was to ensure the rule of law and unity of Nigeria as a nation.

    ‘’ We are law abiding democrats who respect the rule of law and rights of others in the course of ensuring that the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians are me, “ he told the gathering.

    On Tukur, Wamakko said the PDP national chairman cannot bring fame to the party.

    “He (Tukur) is a political boot licker who cannot bring fame to the party. We don’t have confidence in him anymore. A chairman cannot be running the party as his private entity without due consideration for the party’s status,” he said.

    While reaffirming that he remains in the PDP, Wamakko maintained that Tukur who have lost the confidence of his people in Adamawa should not be allowed to stagnate the party whose mission and visions were in the best interest of a vibrant and more objective politicking.

    He described Clark as a colossal liability than asset to the government, saying ‘’ I was unhappy with a development where Gowon and former president Shehu Shagari were given lesser prominence to Clark. This action should not be allowed to happen again in this country because it is wrong and painful.”

    He also called for the arrest and prosecution of Asari Dokubo.