Tag: tickets

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Bamanga Tukur dropped yesterday a bombshell for lawmakers – no automatic second term tickets.

But he made a request – Senators should continue to back the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, which, in his view, is doing well with its transformation agenda.

The senators told the party leadership to stick to the provisions of the PDP constitution before taking any disciplinary action, especially suspension of members.

Tukur spoke in Abuja while responding to some issues raised at a meeting with PDP senators at the National Assembly.

Although the closed door session was described as a “family” meeting, it was learnt that the senators raised many issues.

Some of the issues are:

•Keeping PDP united,

•carrying members of the National Assembly along in all decisions;

•sticking with PDP Constitution without fear or favour;

•automatic ticket for National Assembly members in 2015 to promote cohesion in the party; and

•Stopping arbitrary suspension of members.

Tukur, it was learnt, shocked the senators when he said: “One thing I can assure you is that there won’t be automatic ticket for any member seeking elective positions.

“I will ensure free and fair primaries so that the party can present the best candidates in 2015.

“If in the course of conducting primaries, someone has to dictate who gets what; that is no democracy.”

Tukur also said his insistence on due process to allow democracy to thrive led to the conflict he had with G-7 governors, some of who had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“We won’t allow anyone to hijack the party structure to determine who gets what. I am happy that majority of the legislators are in favour of free and fair primaries,” the PDP chairman added.

He said he visited because the PDP Senate Caucus is the “first family of PDP”.

But senators reportedly decried what they described as the abuse of the party’s constitution by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) and arbitrary suspension of members.

A Senator said: “We asked the party leadership to do its best to keep PDP united because we are not happy with the way things are going.

“We advised the party leadership to avoid crisis as much as possible in line with the vision of the founding fathers of PDP.

“We also stressed the importance of adhering to the party’s constitution before suspending any member.”

Another senator added: “Tukur assured us that he would take to our advice and pass our observations to the President and the party.

“I think he came on a confidence-building mission to ensure that the PDP retains its firm control of the Senate.

“We succeeded in telling ourselves the home truth. The party leadership also left with a big relief that we are intact.”

Asked if issues of defection of PDP governors and budget benchmark were raised, the source said: “The meeting did not touch these aspects.”

The third Senator said: “Tukur came around with a body language presentation. He wanted total support for the President because of threats from the APC. We understood him better and we also told him to change his style by being democratic.”

The meeting, which lasted for more than three hours was said to have been convened at Tukur’s instance.

Tukur was said to have been alarmed by unending pockets of protests by aggrieved Senators and decided to initiate the meeting to put the party’s house in order ahead of the 2015 elections.

Senate President David Mark led the senators to the meeting. Four party officials accompanied Tukur.

Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba told reporters that “the national chairman listened attentively and responded and gave us words of reassurance.”

Ndoma-Egba said the meeting discussed “domestic issues”. He gave no details.

Asked whether the planned defection of PDP senators to the APC was discussed, Ndoma-Egba said: “No it (defection) never came up and I can say categorically that at this point in time no Senator has indicated that he is going anywhere. So, the issue never came up.

“We discussed the provisions of the Constitution and emphasised democracy. Our party is called Peoples Democratic Party and we reminded ourselves that we must be democratic at all times.”

Tukur said :”You’ve heard already from the leader. We did not talk about people who want to go or want to stay or defection. No. I came here because this is the first time I am coming to meet my family. They are my members.”

Asked whether he came because the Abubakar Baraje-led New PDP was at the National Assembly recently, Tukur replied: “Of course not. This is PDP and they are part of PDP.”

On whether the meeting discussed the impact of defection of five PDP governors to APC, he retorted: “Have they? They have not gone yet.”

A source saida Senator from Anambra State was also said to have told the chairman that members of the party in the state were betrayed during the governorship election.

The lawmaker was said to have told Tukur that if the party knew that it was not interested in the Anambra election, its loyalists should have been informed.

The source said Tukur did not respond.

A senator from Taraba State was said to have told the chairman that the PDP should declare its stand on the crisis rocking the state government.

He noted that the Taraba Senator did not mince words in telling the party leadership that time was running out for the party in the state.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Paul Mumeh, said Mark, in his opening remarks, admitted that the party is facing some challenges but promised that the PDP was capable of addressing the issues like a family matter.

President Goodluck Jonathan and governors will not have the right of first refusal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for the 2015 election, the party said yesterday.

There have been speculations that the party plans to amend its constitution for the President and governors to be offered the ticket first before throwing the race open – if they refuse to run.

“The truth is that NEC (the National executive Committee) cannot seek such amendment. It is above the powers of NEC,” party spokesman Olisa Metuh said in Abuja.

For such an issue, it must come to the National Convention. There is no proposal on the table.

“Nobody in the Executive, nobody in the party has ever told me about the amendment on the Right of First Refusal. I have also not heard it from anybody. So, I have never heard, it has never been discussed.

“As far as PDP constitution is concerned, there will be primaries for all those who want to contest for elective offices in 2015.”

Metuh spoke also on the NEC meeting, saying party chairman Bamanga Tukur and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) have agreed to have a NEC meeting.

The NEC meeting may hold this month. Likely to be on the agenda are issues affecting the party, including the crisis in Adamawa State, governors’ grouses, management of PDP, cases in court, removal of the National Secretary and two other NWC members and problems facing PDP in the Southwest.

Metuh said neither Tukur nor any of its members would quit, despite the call on them to step aside by some aggrieved governors and party leaders.

The party chief spoke at an interactive session with reporters in Abuja on the crisis rocking the party.

Metuh said: “As the longest serving member of the NWC, I am a bit embarrassed as to be explaining this issue of non-convening of NEC meeting. I agree, it is a constitutional issue that we should hold NEC meeting. But the embarrassment is to start explaining the breach of this constitution. We could not hold the NEC meeting because of what I may call force majure.

“There was no way we could convene NEC meeting before now because we have had issues with the reconstitution of the BoT. Normally, before we can hold a NEC meeting, we must have BoT and National Caucus meetings.

“But once the Easter break is over, I can authoritatively tell you that there will be NEC meeting. Definitely, not holding NEC meeting is not something we can be proud of.”

Regarding plans to remove Tukur and NWC members, Metuh said “such a plot is imaginary.”

He added: “We are not embattled with the President; we are not embattled with the governors we are not embattled with the legislature; we are not embattled with the BoT.

“This NWC has come to stay; it will conduct elections (primaries) for the 2015 polls; we will be in charge till our tenure ends in 2016. We understand all these issues because one or two decisions had been taken in the party.

“Definitely, we are united in being together to project the ideals and vision of our founding fathers.

“The NWC is under attack by non-party members, by people who are not at the helm of affairs of the party.

“We have full confidence in the executive arm, we installed, the legislature, we enjoy the confidence of the governors of the PDP. We are in direct touch with them. We are, therefore, at a loss that there is an imaginary war against PDP.

“These reports are orchestrated and calculated attempts to distract us. We want to appeal to the media and all Nigerians for more understanding and more objectivity in reporting and handling our affairs.

“If no wrong decision has been taken by the party and we read it in newspapers, it will affect the psyche of our members.”

Responding to a question, Metuh said the court would determine the fate of the sacked National Secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, deposed National Vice-Chairman (Southwest) Segun Oni and a former National Auditor, Chief Bode Mustapha.

He said: “I would have particularly wanted to speak on this but this is subjudice. As a lawyer, I am wary of making statements that might be contemptuous.

“As NWC, we have no interest in who occupies a position. We were elected by PDP members; nobody can remove any member of the NWC. There are constitutionally laid down procedures for removing NWC members.

“What has happened is causing serious concern to the NWC, BoT and the PDP Governors Forum. We all want to solve this crisis with whatever decision the court might talk out.”

On the duplication of reconciliation plans by the NWC and the BoT, Metuh simply said: “The more, the merrier. We are happy with the reconciliation tours being done by the BoT headed by Chief Tony Anenih. It is different from the one taken by the NWC.

“The idea of reconciliation is to ensure that every single section is visited and every person is reconciled. The BoT members are trying on their own and the PDP Governors Forum will soon embark on something similar too.”

In spite of the issues raised by Tukur and some NWC members, the PDP BoT chair continued his reconciliation tours with a visit to Sokoto State yesterday.

He met with Governor Aliyu Wamakko and power brokers in the party.

Anenih and his team have been targeting the Northwest because it is the stronghold of a former presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

A source said: “The target in the North is the Northwest where the opposition seems to have it stronghold. That is why Anenih and his team are putting in their best to reconcile the aggrieved governors and members in the zone.

“I won’t tell you what was discussed behind closed doors but the governors in the zone are certainly cooperating.”

There are fresh facts on why President Jonathan is in favour of reconciliation shuttles by Anenih and other BoT.

It was gathered that Jonathan is highly-disposed to Anenih’s team because Tukur is rated as “an interested party” in the PDP crisis.

A top source in the presidency, who spoke in confidence, said: “Whichever way you look at it, Tukur is an interested party in the PDP crisis . For instance, Tukur’s involvement in the crisis rocking the Adamawa State chapter of the party is not different from what a former National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, did in Enugu State.

“There is no way a leader, who is part of a crisis, can co-ordinate reconciliation in the party. How can those aggrieved in Adamawa State listen to him? Tukur needs reconciliation than any stalwart of the party.

“The whole objective of Anenih and other BoT members’ tours is to resolve nagging issues in the party and strengthen the party for 2015 poll. I think it is in the interest of Tukur and the NWC to manage a healthy party.”