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Tag: Bamanga Tukur

‘Why I can’t be removed from office’

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Bamanga Tukur has told President Goodluck Jonathan why he cannot be removed from office now.

His explanation is informed by speculations about plans by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to sack him.

Tukur, in a January 13 letter by his lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, addressed to President Jonathan, said he cannot be removed because there was a valid subsisting order of a Federal High Court, Abuja, issued on April 25, last year asking the party to maintain the status quo.

In the suit he filed for PDP against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Justice Adamu Bello ordered parties to maintain status quo by not taking actions that would lead to the removal of the then national officers.

PDP, in the suit, sought, among others, a declaration that the tenure of the National Officers elected at the 2012 National Convention could not be truncated.

This was after the INEC alleged irregularity in the election, saying that the nominations of the officers who were unopposed at the 2012 convention were invalid because they were affirmed by voice votes instead of “open secret ballot”.

Tukur said he wrote Jonathan because he is the constitutional leader of the PDP and that it was reported that he (Jonathan) attended the BOT meeting where the plan to remove Tukur was hatched.

The letter reads: “My attention has been drawn to reported proceedings of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party, which culminated in the decision to remove Dr. Bamanga Tukur from the position of Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“This removal is to be achieved either by pressurising him to resign or by some vote of lack of confidence to be procured against him at a planned National Working Committee meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“This letter is addressed to you because you are the constitutional leader of the PDP and it was reported that you were in attendance at the BOT meeting.

“That order is still subsisting, valid and binding on the PDP and INEC till date and especially as at the time the BOT meeting decided to procure the removal of Dr. Bamanga Tukur.

“The position of Nigerian Law is that anyone, though not directly bound by an order of court, who aids or abets the negation of such an order is liable for criminal contempt and all contemptuous actions taken by contemnors are null and void and liable to be set aside by the court.”

Oluyede said he decided to write the president to forestall a breakdown of order and to prevent the PDP from falling into a booby trap.

“In the circumstance, we find that the deliberation by the BOT on a plan to remove the National Chairman of the PDP and the decisions and resolutions reached at that meeting are null and void and anything built on it will be equally null and void.

“More importantly, we must point out that INEC, which is a party to the proceedings in which the order was made, cannot recognise any new appointment or installation of a replacement for Dr. Tukur arising from the decision taken at the said BOT meeting or that of any other organ of the Party during the subsistence of the order for status quo.

“This would mean that any nomination forms submitted or signed by such a replacement would be equally null and void. The ramifications of this chain of illegalities are easy to imagine.”

The letter went on: “We have written, inter alia, to draw your attention to the taint this illegal process could be on an otherwise legitimate nomination process for the candidates of the PDP at the forthcoming general elections.

“This can be avoided now by mere attention to detail and compliance with due process.

“Due process in the circumstances dictates that any legitimate demand for the termination of Dr. Tukur’s tenure as National Chairman of the PDP be subjected to the procedure and processes prescribed by the Constitution of the Party for removal, only after the court has determined the pending action or otherwise vacated the subsisting order aforementioned.”

Also yesterday, Tukur insisted that he could only be removed through a properly conducted national convention of the party and that until that takes place, he remains the legally-recognised national chairman.

He dismissed reports that President Jonathan had asked him to resign, saying that the party’s constitution did not vest the President with such powers. According to him, the report was the handiwork of the opposition.

Tukur said: “I am an elected national chairman. I have my certificate of return. I cannot resign. The 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 that some members of the National Woking Committee (NWC) were asked to go recently because the election that brought them was flawed. So Mr. President can not tread that route again.”

January 14, 2014
Forum decries gang up against Tukur

•’Only party convention can oust him’

Oyo Senatorial District Elders Forum of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned attempts to remove the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, from office without recourse to due process, as provided for in the party constitution.

A statement in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, by the Chairman of the forum, Otuekong Sonny Jackson Udo, said the aim of those fighting Tukur is to make Goodluck Jonathan a lame duck President next year by denying him the party nomination.

He described the “scheming to force Tukur out of office without the mandate of the national convention as illegal, undemocratic and unacceptable to the silent majority of loyal members of the party,” adding that the forum was speaking for the silent majority in the PDP.

Udo said Tukur was elected at a national convention and could be removed only by a vote of party members at another convention.

The forum said: “Removing the national chairman from office on bogus charges through a gang up will set a dangerous precedent, which can harm the party in the run up to the next national election.”

It added: “Allowing Tukur to be removed will lead to a copycat treatment for future chairmen and other leaders of the party by a few powerful individuals, who may always want to impose their will on the party through undemocratic means.”

The forum demands to know from Tukur’s detractors, what the national chairman has done against the interest of the party, which warrants the gang up by people with hidden agenda, who are against the interest of the party.

It urged “party members in the six geopolitical zones to rise up and stop a few powerful people in the PDP from victimising leaders, whose only offence is their desire to enforce discipline and democracy in the party.”

January 14, 2014
Group endorses Akpabio for Senate

A group, the Ikot-Ekpene Patriots in the United Kigndom, has endorsed Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio for the Senate in 2015. The group said that the governor will bring his wealth of experience to bear on his legislative duties in the National Assembly, if elected as a Senator.

At a birthday party organised in honour of the governor in Manchester, the members noted that he has brought “unparalleled development” to the state.

Akpabio is being endorsed for the Senate at a time a crisis of confidence has broken out between him and President Goodluck Jonathan over the agitation for the removal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, by some PDP governors. The President wants Tukur to keep his job, but, it has been alleged that the Akwa Ibom governor is opposed to the chairman’s continued stay in office. Some supporters of the President have also alleged that Akpabio is backing the “Tukur must go project.” But, the governor has denied the allegation, saying that he is loyal to the President.

A leader of the Ikot-Ekpene Patriots, Mr Francis Okoemu, hailed Akpabio for his transformational programmes, noting that he has brought hope to the state.

He said that the governor is too young to retire from politics at 51 years of age, urging him to ignore threats and intimidation from political detractors. -performing” current holder of the Senate seat, Senator Aloysius Etok, by vying for the seat.

“We believe in the governor. We are eternally grateful for the uncommon transformation in Akwa-Ibom and the developmental strides taken under your governorship. We support you without reservation,” Okoemu added.

January 14, 2014
Tukur begs Obasanjo: Please, don’t leave PDP

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday pleaded with former President Olusegun Obasanjo to rescind his decision to leave the party.

The PDP, Tukur said in a statement, needs Obasanjo’s fatherly role and experience to get it on strong footing and make it more formidable.

Obasanjo had, in a January 7, letter to Tukur and President Goodluck Jonathan indicated his intention to withdraw from the activities of the party citing in particular the ‘imposition’ of Alhaji Buruji Kashamu as leader of the party in the Southwest.

The party chair said that Obasanjo’s withdrawal from the party at the approach of the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States would not do the PDP any good.

He added that the party needed Obasanjo’s support and contribution in the struggle to reclaim lost grounds in the South West geopolitical zone.

But he exonerated himself from the PDP crisis in the Southwest, saying: “We came in when we were threatened with contempt of court charges for not obeying the court’s order to dissolve the south-west zonal Executive and remove some officers of the party.

“We complied with the court’s orders because of our belief in the rule of law and to avoid consequences of disobeying such orders.

“It is my wish and prayer that such cordial and positive relationship will continue between your good self; former President and former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of our great party on one hand, and my humble self, the National Chairman of our party on the other hand.”

On Kashamu, Tukur said the man “came to limelight in politics as a result of the role he played in the politics of Ogun State where both of you come from. He later became a rallying point in the Southwest following court orders in the series of cases brought about as a result of disagreements among leaders of the party in the Southwest and Ogun State in particular.

“In my opinion, Buruji became a rallying point because of the absence of a zonal executive in the Southwest. This vacuum in the Southwest has made him the person to whom many members in all the chapters of the party in the zone approach for one form of assistance or the order”.

Kashamu himself replied Chief Obasanjo, saying the former president was a beneficiary of his (Kashamu’s) wealth.

Kashamu, in a statement, said Obasanjo was engaging in “wicked campaign of calumny and blackmail in his perceived loss of political relevance in Ogun State and the South West.”

He denied allegation by Obasanjo that he is “a wanted habitual criminal…for whom extradition has been requested by the US Government…”

He said the former president has made him a target following “his (Obasanjo’s) perceived loss of political relevance in Ogun State and the South West.”

January 12, 2014
Claims of defection unsettles Bayelsa PDP

•’APC’s claims are laughable’

There was agitation in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bayelsa State chapter, yesterday, following reports that two million of its members had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

PDP leaders were said to be angry that the report mentioned aides to Governor Seriake Dickson among persons, who dumped PDP for APC.

The Richard Kpodo-led APC on Sunday claimed that two million people, including unnamed aides to Dickson, had joined the party.

Interim Secretary of the APC Mr. Godwin Sidi said the new members would be received this week after the inauguration of the party’s secretariat.

He said: “We have over two million supporters in Bayelsa State. If the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP manipulates President Goodluck Jonathan to run in 2015, nobody in Bayelsa will vote for him besides Dickson and a few of his executive council (exco) members. Some of the SAs and commissioners have indicated interest to join the APC.

“Although we are mindful of black legs trying to infiltrate into the party, we have taken a decision to allow people from other parties join in order to defeat PDP in 2015.

“Arrangements have been put in place for the APC. My humble self, Kpodo and other members find it expedient to defect to the APC with our supporters.

“The decision to move to the APC was taken due to the fact that every peace talk within the PDP has failed. We have also found out that PDP is on life support and it will soon die.

“We do not want to witness such a tragedy in a party we have tried over the years to build.

“The APC secretariat will be opened this week. We are on ground.”

But PDP dismissed APC’s claim, describing it as frivolous. It insisted that no exco member could defect to a party that had yet to find its feet in the state.

PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osom Makbere described Kpodo and his group as a bunch of miscreants and disillusioned persons.

He said the claim of APC that it had above two million supporters was laughable, considering the state’s population.

January 7, 2014
Tukur’s fate shaky as PDP NEC meets Jan. 8

Worried by the degenerating crisis in its fold, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has summoned a meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC).

On the agenda are National Chairman Bamanga Tukur’s fate and report on the talks between President Goodluck Jonathan and some aggrieved governors whose number has reduced from seven to two in the last three weeks.

The meeting is scheduled for January 8.

But while the party is preparing for an epic NEC session, about seven of the remaining 18 PDP governors have reached out to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo for direction on the party’s future and the 2015 poll.

The NEC is expected to deliberate on issues bordering on the crisis in the party, the defection of five governors to the All Progressives Congress(APC), whether or not it is expedient for Tukur to step aside, and how to reposition the party for the 2015 elections.

It was gathered that the agitation for and against Tukur’s exit might take the centre stage.

There had been disagreement between the Presidency and some PDP governors who have been calling for Tukur’s removal.

The governors about two weeks ago, recommended a choice ambassadorial posting as an exit package for Tukur.

But some governors, the strategists of the President and First Lady Patience Jonathan were said to have kicked against Tukur’s removal.

They said those calling for Tukur’s ouster were setting booby traps for the President to deny him a second term ticket on the platform of the PDP.

A top member of the party, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “We have received the notice of the January 8 NEC meeting. This will be preceded by a meeting of the Board of Trustees on January 7.

“This meeting is crucial because of events of the past four months, which led to the defection of five governors and some members of the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly.

“The NEC will consider a report or brief from Jonathan and his perspective on the way forward for PDP. It is on that day we will know his terms for peace with the aggrieved governors.

“If the President is amenable to reconciliation, it may set a new tone for the party, but if otherwise, it may lead to more defections.

“The President’s peace terms are likely to determine the position of Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Babangida Aliyu (Niger) who are yet to leave the PDP.”

The NEC may also revisit the threats to its strength in the National Assembly because more lawmakers may defect to APC in March.

“It is going to be a dangerous precedent to lose the control of the Senate and House of Representatives to the opposition,” a source said, adding:

“Yet, we cannot pretend that APC is not a threat, irrespective of our attempt to underplay the unfolding scenario.

“We may also seek a working alliance with some parties in the National Assembly, like the defunct accord between the defunct National Party of Nigeria(NPN) and the Nigeria Peoples Party((NPP).”

Ahead of the NEC meeting, seven of the remaining governors of the PDP have reached out to Obasanjo for direction on the future of the party and the 2015 poll.

The governors are from the Southsouth, Southeast, Northcentral and Northwest.

It was learnt that the governors discreetly opened talks with Obasanjo following the tough attitude of the Presidency on the crisis in PDP and the 2015 poll.

One of the governors from the Southsouth was said to have resented the development in the country and tabled some issues for Obasanjo to address to guide him to decide on 2015.

A source said: “Some of them, who endorsed the contents of Obasanjo’s letter, also explained why they could not come out early to state their position.

“Obasanjo’s advice will guide them to make their mind on or before March 2014. You can see that not all the governors in the party are fixated on the situation in PDP or the senior prefect attitude of the Presidency.”

January 1, 2014
Saraki: I advised Tukur not to fight Nyako

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, at the weekend said he advised the embattled Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to avoid conflict with Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State.

Saraki spoke in Ilorin when he explained his defection and that of other defunct New PDP members to the APC.

The former governor, who addressed party members at Ile-Arugbo, explained that instead of ensuring an harmonious relationship with Governor Nyako, Tukur became vindictive by dissolving the party’s Excos in his home state.

The senator traced the problems in PDP to undue intervention of the party’s National Executive Council in the internal affairs of state chapters.

He named the most affected states as Adamawa and Rivers.

The senator told his supporters that the defection to the APC was necessitated by the need to sustain the collective interest of the people and not out of selfish interest.

Saraki urged party members and supporters to register when APC begins the exercise next year.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said the non-reinstatement of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the party secretary, despite a court judgment, was among reasons the PDP had become retrogressive and devoid of respect for the rule of law.

The governor promised the people that his administration, in 2014, would create 6,000 jobs.

December 17, 2013
PDP has lost focus, says ex-Governor Ladoja

•Why my pact with Alao-Akala isn’t working’

Former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja yesterday said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost focus.

Speaking with reporters in Ibadan, the state capital, on a variety of issues in the country, Ladoja said the PDP has abandoned its founding objectives and is now “peopled with mostly politicians, who are opposed to the principles of democracy”.

On the crisis in the party and past crises, including the one that led to his impeachment in 2006, the Accord leader said they were the reasons he could not consider returning to the PDP for now.

Ladoja cited the recent Anambra State election as a window through which one could assess the party. He said owing to many problems, the PDP could not conduct a primary poll to produce a candidate until a week before the election.

In Ladoja’s view, PDP National Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur means well for the party, but the undemocratic elements in the PDP majority are frustrating his efforts to put the party back on the right track.

He said: “Tukur came in to correct these ills, but I think he is seeing more than he expected. It is difficult. May be God will be kind to us one day, such that we can have democrats in the majority in the party, because whatever they do largely affects the country.”

He likened his impeachment in 2006 to the current travails of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, stressing that governance must have stopped in the state since the beginning of the crisis as Amaechi would be battling to save his political career.

The former governor said the recent partnership between him and his successor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, is not working because the latter is not willing to join the Accord.

He said the joint committee set up by the two groups could not work because Alao-Akala did not show any sign that he would soon abandon the PDP.

Ladoja said: “Alao-Akala approached me if we could work together. We did not even talk or think about what happened in the past. Yesterday is gone. We can only learn lessons from it to plan for tomorrow. All I want is to work for the benefit of Oyo State. We set up a committee, but personal interests changed many things. Bayo is not ready to get out of PDP. Our party does not have any privileges to offer. I think he does not want to leave PDP because of the privileges he enjoys there. As far as I am concerned, our doors are open

“We want to work with Alao-Akala, but we cannot fold our arms and keep watching. PDP has factions and we cannot concentrate on only one while other factions are moving, and the Alao-Akala group is not showing enough commitment. We know what we want. Our door is open at all times for whoever wants to work with us or join us.”

December 11, 2013
PDP: Battling to prevent more defections

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been jolted out of its delusion that a vacancy does not exist in the Presidency in 2015, following the recent explosion that shook the party to its foundation. Now, embattled party leaders are strategising on how to prevent more defections to the opposition, reports Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU.

Had President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, taken decisive steps to avert the doom, perhaps, the explosion in the ruling party would have been averted.

How to halt the spate of defections from the ruling party to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is now the concern of members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Working Committee (NWC), who have acknowledged that electoral disaster looms, ahead of the next general elections. As the PDP tries to prevent more defections, the APC is wooing more aggrieved chieftains, promising to address their grievances under the progressive platform.

Party sources disclosed that the PDP is exploring a number of options to prevent more embarrassment. A former minister, who craved for anonymity, said that key party leaders have woken up to the reality that power shift is imminent, unless the PDP puts its house in order. ‘There have been defections before from the PDP, but this is going to have a significant effect”, said the party stalwart from the Northeast.

Apart from threatening a legal action against the governors and other elective office holders who called it quit, chieftains loyal to the President and Tukur have been persuading federal legislators in the aggrieved governor’s camps to sheath their swords.

The legal option, a party source said, was turned down, when some lawyers doubted its efficacy. A former member of the NWC from the Southwest, who spoke on the issues said that lawyers advised the party to explore political solution to prevent the escalation of the crisis. “We were reminded that some governors have previously defected to the PDP from other parties in the past”, he said.

Also, the founding fathers and some BoT members have been dispatched to the six geo-political zones to arrest the drift to the main opposition camp. “What we are doing now is to identify the states not affected by the major defection and consolidate our hold there. But we also appreciate that, if we cannot resolve this crisis in a way that will make them return, we should ensure that we minimise acrimony across the chapters”, said the minister.

A PDP elder from Lagos State, who expressed disgust at the poor handling of the crisis, lamented the split. “Governors are state leaders and they are powerful. We have not produced any PDP governor here, Therefore, we are not happy that we are losing more governors to our opponents. The crisis was not managed”, he fumed.

However, he disagreed that the defection was final, saying that there is nothing that cannot be reversed in politics. “In 2007, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar left the party. But he later came back. Therefore, if the demands of those who left are met, under the right atmosphere, they will return to the fold. That is why we should not relent in this reconciliation effort, I mean, genuine reconciliation”, he added.

The handwriting was bold on the wall. But gullible PDP leaders dismissed the anticipated explosion as a feeble threat. When the ‘G7’ governors protested the chairman’s leadership styles, he branded them as rebels. Tukur advised them to embrace reconciliation. But, as Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso, one of the protesting chieftains pointed out, the reconciliation was a shallow step, repeated window dressing and ill-focussed game plan orchestrated to make it appear that the acclaimed largest party could undergo a rebirth.

To observers, PDP’s crisis is proportional to its size. State and local government chapters are not insulated from the logjam. Thus, when the aggrieved party faithful realised that the so-called reconciliation lacked the elements of candid dialogue, they withdrew their enthusiasm. Wielding the big stick, the NWC wanted to whip them into line by asking them to appear before the party’s disciplinary committee headed by Second Republic Transform Minister Dr. Umaru Dikko. The panel was still expecting them at the trial when five out of the seven ‘rebel’ governors -Kwankwanso (Kano), Muritala Nyako (Adamawa), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Rotimi Ameachi (Rivers)-left the platform.

Also, the departure of party big wigs, who worked for the party’s electoral victory in 2011, including Senator Bukola Saraki, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Alhaji Kawu Baraje and other New PDP chieftains, decimated the ruling party.

What is worrisome to the PDP is the analysis of the previous presidential election results, which revealed that the APC now has a better prospect. In the 2011 election,President Jonathan polled 22,495,187 votes as against General Muhammadu Buhari’s 12,214,853 votes. The result revealed a margin of 10,280,334 votes, which gave the President victory, despite Buhari’s impressive showing in the North.

While Dr. Jonathan obtained the required 25 per cent in 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FTC), Buhari had 25 per cent in 17 states.

In the breakdown, Buhari’s strongholds were as follows: Northwest- Jigawa: 663,994; Kaduna: 1,334,244; Kano: 1,624,543; Katsina: 1,162,919; Kebbi: 501,453; Sokoto: 540,769 and Zamfara: 624,515. The total vote cast in the region was 6,453,437.

Northeast- Borno: 909,763; Yobe: 143,179; Bauchi: 1,315,209; Gombe: 459,898; Adamawa: 344,526 and Taraba: 257,986. The total was 3,430,561. The total votes cast from the two zones was 9,883,998.

President Jonathan’s strongholds were the Southsouth and Southeast. The breakdown of his votes is as follows: Southsouth- Edo: 542,173; Delta: 1,378,851; Rivers: 1,817,762; Cross River: 709,382; Akwa Ibom: 1,165,629 and Bayelsa: 504,811. The total was 6,118,608.

In the Southeast, the analysis is as follows: Anambra: 1,145,169; Abia: 542,173; Ebonyi: 480,592; Enugu: 802,144 and Imo: 1,190,179. The total vote was 4,160,179. The total for both zones was 10,278,865.

Although the PDP strategists had envisaged a scenario where the aggrieved governors would opposed the President’s bid for a second term, they did not anticipate their defection to the APC. It was also evident that the PDP had lost hope in Zamfara, Borno and Yobe, the pre-dominantly Muslim states controlled by the APC.

In the North, religion is a crucial factor in political calculation. Therefore, Kebbi, Katsina, Bauchi, and Gombe votes may not go to a candidate not from the North. Some analysts have disputed this, saying that it did not work in Buhari’s favour, as widely anticipated. These states had 4,176,485 votes. Thus, if it is subtracted from Dr. Jonathan’s 22,495,187 votes, they pointed out that the President would still have smiled away with 18,319,702 votes against Buhari’s 12,214,853 votes. By this calculation, they reckoned that Jonathan would still have won with 6,104,849 vote difference.

However, in the Southwest, it is a different ball game. The calculation dill definitely be altered. Although the region voted for the President in 2011, it is doubtful, if he can repeat the feat in 2011. The analysis is as follows: Lagos: 1,281,688; Ogun: 309,177; Oyo: 484,758; Osun: 188,409; Ekiti: 135,009 and Edo: 542,173. The Southwest and Edo had 2,941,214 votes, giving the President 3,163,635 votes.

“In 2015, we can build these scenarios. Northwest and Southwest, which usually have the highest number of votes, may tilt the pendulum towards the APC, to the disadvantage of the PDP. In the Northeast, the calculation is foggy. Boko Haram problem may result into voter apathy”, said analyst, who added: “Even, in Kaduna, the home of Vice President Nnamdi Sambo, the PDP may not do well. If it does, it is will not be due to the influence of the Vice President because he is not perceived as a strong man”.

But, the PDP’s calculation also is that the Middlebelt is not in hot romance with the APC, despite its footing in Kwara and Benue. “PDP may want to rely on the votes from this area to neutralise the votes coming from the Northwest and Northeast zones. But, now that Kwara is not for the PDP, it is dicey”, said a PDP member from Lagos, who also craved for anonymity.

In 2015, the expectation of the PDP may be dashed in the Southeast, owing to what observers have described as the ‘Okorocha factor’. The Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, is consolidating his hold in the state, ahead of the poll. This may undermine PDP’s projection in the region.

In 2011, the sentiment in the Southsouth was that Dr. Jonathan needed a home base to launch himself to power. But, it is a disunited region today. Although Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and parts of Delta will gravitate towards the Presidency, it is not certain that Rivers will fall in line.

Both PDP and APC have returned to the drawing board. The original APC states remain a no-go area for the PDP. The performance of APC governors have sealed the hope of the conservative bloc to bounce into reckoning. The APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said that the tempo of achievement will be sustained in the interest of the party and the electorate.

In the spirit of the merger, proposals for the harmonisation of party structures are being considered by the party leadership. Lagos APC chieftain, Alhaji Abiodun Sunmola, said the governors will not regret their defection. Echoing the Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, who said the APC will be a party of equal founders and joiners, he said there will be no discrimination against the new members.

“In Lagos, we are setting the pace. There is no tension among members of the merging parties. We have resolved to be one and we are acting as one and that will be the situation in other states”, he said.

In Kwara, the merger generated ripples. But the national leaders of the party have restored confidence by reconciling the Saraki and Dele Belgore forces.

In Adamawa, Nyako and Buba Marwa camps have also been reconciled. A party source said that efforts are being intensified to woo the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) chieftains led by Abubakar.

The APC reconciliation train has also rolled into Sokoto and Kano states for the purpose of uniting Kwakwanso and his predecessor, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, and Kwakwanso and former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau.

December 10, 2013
Defection: PDP plots against pro-APC Senators, Reps

•Tukur to write Mark, Tambuwal

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is launching a desperate last move to stop dissenting Senators and Reps from crossing over to the rival All Progressives Congress (APC).

In the event of failing to stop them from defection, the party has decided to get the leadership of the National Assembly to declare their seats vacant.

No fewer than 22 PDP senators are believed to be on their way to the APC. The number of reps is yet unknown.

The leadership of the PDP, according to sources, is highly scandalised by the recent defection of five of its governors to the APC and has sworn to stop its National Assembly members who are sympathetic to the governors by all means.

It was gathered that the embattled National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has already met Senate President David Mark and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal of the House of Representatives to prevail on senators and reps suspected of planning to defect to reconsider their move or forfeit their seats.

The affected lawmakers are adamant, according to sources.

The senators, largely made up of members of the defunct Kawu Baraje-led New PDP, had shunned a peace move launched by Tukur to dissuade them from defecting to the APC.

Twenty of the New PDP senators boycotted a peace meeting called last Wednesday by the national leadership of the party. Only two of them attended the parley which was meant to give the party an opportunity to convince the lawmakers of the need for them to stay in the party.

Also in the House of Representatives, scores of PDP legislators are reportedly putting finishing touches to their planned mass defection to the APC.

Sources said barring unforeseen circumstances, the lawmakers may officially announce their defection on the floor of the House this week.

“It is no longer a secret that nearly 80 legislators in the lower chamber are now APC members. What is left to be done is an official announcement and that may just happen this week in spite of pressure and intimidation from the ruling party,” a source told The Nation.

Investigation by The Nation revealed that the leadership of the two chambers in the National Assembly has been under pressure to move against the planned defections by threatening the lawmakers that all defecting PDP lawmakers will have their seats declared vacant.

It was gathered that both Senator Mark and Speaker Tambuwal have declined to make any such announcement on the ground that since no lawmaker has notified them of his or her intention to defect, it will be unwise to precipitate crisis in the National Assembly with such threat.

One source said: “Determined to intimidate the New PDP legislators in the National Assembly, the party has been urging the leadership of the two chambers to take a position on the declaration of the seat of decamping PDP legislators vacant.

“But the Senate President and the Speaker turned all such overtures down. They are both of the opinion that unless there is a notification to the effect that a lawmaker is defecting, it is not proper for them to be the one to start a crisis by making such statement.”

Determined to brow beat the lawmakers into abandoning their planned defection, the leadership of the PDP, according to reliable sources, may have decided on another approach to the knotly issue.

“After serious consultations, especially following the refusal of the federal lawmakers to honour the invitation of the national chairman last Tuesday, the PDP has resolved to take the fight to the lawmakers in the National Assembly by formally reminding the leadership of the need to declare the seat of any defecting PDP lawmaker vacant.

“The idea is to remind those planning to defect of the danger of losing their seats. The party has been saying this since the defection crisis started but we think it will be taken more seriously if it is announced on the floors of the House and the Senate.

“If the leadership of the National Assembly wants a letter before acting, the national chairman of the PDP is now prepared to give them a letter to be read to our members reminding them of their obligations to the party that gave them a platform to go and represent their people at the national assembly,” our source said.

The Nation learnt that the move was to pre-empt a situation where the APC will have the majority in the two chambers after the planned defection.

December 8, 2013