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  • From Lar to Tukur: A floodgate of crises

    From Lar to Tukur: A floodgate of crises

    Despite its acclaimed winning streak, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been assailed by protracted leadership crises in its chequered history, EMMANUEL OLADESU and AUGUSTINE AVWODE examine the multiple crises, which drew the curtains on the turbulent tenures of the PDP chairmen in the last 14 years.

     

    Lar

     

    PDP was built on a solid foundation under theleadership of the renowned Middle-Belt politician, Chief Solomon Lar. The founding fathers were elder statesmen who, under the auspices of G-34, recommended a terminal date for the military rule. As the Provost of that college of elders, the lot fell on Lar to deliver the message to the late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. Curiously, he went to the lion’s den and returned alive. His vast experience as a First Republic federal legislator, Second Republic governor and former minister adequately prepared him for the task of leading a big party. PDP’s beginning was beautiful because the fold was a mixed grill of conservatives, progressives and repentant military apologists.

    The former Plateau State governor wielded the fold together. He had taken the baton of leadership from the interim chairman, the late Senator Sunday Awoniyi, the Aro of Mopa. In 1999, the acclaimed largest party in Africa won federal and state elections without rigging. The two parties that competed with it, the All Peoples Party (APP) and Alliance for Democracy (AD) originated, in part, from the PDP. The AD arrowhead, the late Chief Bola Ige, was among the eminent politicians who wrote the PDP constitution. It was after he left the group that Major-General David Jemibewon (rtd)became the chairman of the party’s Constitution Committee.

    Lar’s calculation was that, since the public opinion favoured power shift to the Southwest geo-political zone, either Chief Olu Falae or Ige, was well positioned to fly the PDP presidential flag. It was distressing to him that the two of them hurriedly left for the APP, and later, AD. Following their departure from the group that was about to metamorphose into the PDP, the conservative forces in the group, especially the members of the polarised PDM, backed by rich and influential retired Generals, raised a search team to discuss with the former military Head of State, Gen. Olussegun Obasanjo (rtd). Although presidential hopefuls, including former Vice President Alex Ekweme and the late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, still slugged it out with the Ota farmer at the inaugural party primaries, he emerged as the candidate and later won the 1999 presidential election.

    Lar, a disciple of the Great Zik of Africa, is a celebrated democrat for President Obasanjo, a retired soldier battling with adjustment difficulties, the transition from soldering to politics was hard; hard for a man who relished the hierarchical military dictatorial order and command. His first move was to get the title of the “National Leader’ of the PDP.” Few months after he assumed office, he agitated for the change of baton at the party’s national secretariat. That was necessary to limit the party’s influence and moderation on presidential activities. It was clear that Lar, the former Police Affairs minister, had to bow out honourably for the relatively younger elements. He spent barely a year in office.

    During his tenure, crises were minimal and the party was supreme. Reflecting on Lar’s ouster, one of his aides, Dr Solomon Dalung, who teaches Law at the University of Jos, said that “immediately Obasanjo was inaugurated as the President, he disbanded Lar’s cabinet and the disbandment of that cabinet remains PDP’s waterloo today.”

     

    Gemade

     

    Lar had a second term ambition. But former President Obasanjo had a different agenda. The old politician was not indifferent to the tendency of the soldier-turned politician. he understood the body language. He therefore, decided to show interest in his successor.

    The position was zoned to the Northcentral geo-political zone. The contestants were the former interim chairman, Awoniyi, and Gemade, former member of the Interim National Government (ING) led by Chief Ernest Shonekan. Awoniyi, a Yoruba, was from Kogi State. Gemade hails from Benue State. Other contestants were Senator Ahmadu Ali, Yahaya Kwande, and Sule Usman from Kogi State.

    Awoniyi, who had often described himself as a Yoruba-Northerner, got the shock of his life when Obasanjo from Ogun State declared that, in the PDP, Yoruba could not produce the President and National Chairman as the same time. He fought back, saying that, by geographical factor, he was a northerner. But there was logic in Obasanjo’s thinking. That reality jolted the minority Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi from the illusion that they were northerners and fuelled the subsequent agitation s for the a new geographical design that would make them re-unite with their kit and kin in the Southwest.

    Many believed that the former federal Permanent Secretary, who was a former Private Secretary to the late Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the defunct Northern Region, was a tough politician who could challenge Obasanjo, if he undermined the party leadership. Awoniyi insisted on his candidature for the national chairmanship, but the Obasanjo forces overwhelmed him. He was harassed out of the party he co-founded. On his way out, he lamented the collapse of the party’s due process and derailment of the vision of its founding fathers. Awoniyi said that he was leaving the party of sinners. There was a determined attempt by him to float a new party, along with some aggrieved foes, but without success. In subsequent years, he became a moral voice in the North as the Chair

    man of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).

    Since Lar knew that the so-called restructuring of the party mooted by Obasanjo was targeted against him, he supported Gemade against Awoniyi. That led to friction between the two politicians and founding chieftains. Obasanjo made Lar “adviser emeritus”, without any role. But when pressure was mounted on him, he made him the Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Board. For the former chairman, the journey to irrelevance begun.

    The chairmanship election was not a walk-over for Gemade. A committee of elders from the Northcentral, led by PDP vice chairman from the zone, Alhaji Kolo from Niger State interviewed him and other aspirants at the Agura Hotels. Other members of the committee included Isaac Shaanu, Shaaba Lafiagi. Lar was chairman between December 1999 and November 1991.

    Gemade inherited a party ruptured by post-presidential primaries. His first move was to pacify the aggrieved presidential aspirants. But crisis had started brewing at the state chapters in many states because of the presidential directive that the pioneer chairmen should hand over to other chieftains in the party. The national chairman went on tour of the troubled chapter. Many of them were polarised. Party men and women looked to Obasanjo, and not the party chairman, for solutions to the intra-party crisis. It was evident that the idea of the national party caucus could not be sustained by the PDP. Suddenly, there was a push for the extension of the tenure of the members of the National Executive Council (NEC) from two to four years.

    The national chairman wanted to run the affairs of the party as a democrat. That meant mustering the effort to assert himself. But he was handicapped. Following disagreement with the National Party Leader on party issues, his days in the office were numbered. He complained that certain powerful forces in the party were making unreasonable and unethical demands from his office, adding that it was suicidal to grant the requests. Gemade predicted that the fate that would befall his successors would be worse. Reflecting on his tenure, he said: “ It was clear to me that the mindset of the people who had the party and the government in their control was such that the meddlesomeness that we were experiencing as the leadership of the party would not change”.

    At a special convention organised by a committee chaired by Senator David Mark, Gemade was replaced the chairman.

     

    Ogbeh

     

    Ogbeh rose to prominence in the Second Republic when he served as the Minister of Communications under the Shagari Administration. He is a man of impeccable character. When he was made the national chairman, he was a nominal member of the party. The former minister did not nurse a chairmanship ambition. But when the responsibility was entrusted upon him, he embraced the call to service. All those who wanted to succeed Gemade were edged out for him to emerge.

    It was very hard for the chairman to blend with Obasanjo. He felt that the President was elected to run the country and the chairman, in consultation with him, was meant to run the party. Ogbeh became the chairman as the party was preparing for the 2003 elections. The party was in turmoil. The state chapters were crisis-ridden and the divisions had weakened the fold. The crisis in Anambra State chapter drew a wedge between him and the President . Both canvassed opposing solutions.

    In Lagos State, there were three camps. Efforts to promote harmony failed. The feeling was that the former President was behind the dominant camp, which was bent on rusticating the members of other factions.

    In Osun State, the party was engulfed in a crisis of nomination. Ige, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, had been murdered. The former deputy governor, Otunba Iyiola Omisore, a defector from the AD to PDP, was standing trial for an alleged involvement. Therefore, Ogbeh counselled that he should not be fielded as the senatorial candidate for Ife/Ijesa District to preserve the image of the party. The President allegedly disagreed. Some party leaders supported him, explaining that, since Omisore had not been found guilty, he can contest while still in the custody.

    However, the parting of ways became imminent between Obasanjo and Ogbeh when he publicly advised the President to pay more attention to the sliding economy and the cries of the populace for improved welfare. As the Special Adviser to Obasanjo on Agriculture, he addressed some cogent issues related to governance, based on public outcry. The former President took exception to washing the administration’s linen in the public. The party chairman told the President that he was not his boy. “I told Obasanjo that I was not his cook”, he later reminisced. Ogbeh was advised to resign. He dragged his foot. But when he was harassed by security agents, he saw the danger coming. He resigned in 2005 in controversial circumstances and later joined the Action Congress (AC).

     

    Ali

     

    Perhaps, the only chairman who had a smooth relationship with the former President was Dr. Ahmadu Ali, a retired colonel, former Federal Commissioner for Education and Third Republic senator. He hails from Kogi State. The two soldiers understood themselves perfectly. Of course, Ali had been described as a chairman-on-waiting, since he contested against Gemade. When he was inaugurated as the chairman, Obasanjo said: “Now, Ali has come. Ali must stay”, a vague reference to the call for his removal as minister by students who insisted that “Ali must go”. Ogbeh was absent at the ceremony which held at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja. Unlike his predecessors, he spent his full term.

    Initially, former Governors Fidelis Tapgun (Plateau) and Lafiagi (Kogi); Senators A.T. Ahmed, Alex Kadiri and Abdulazeez Farouk were interested in the job. But they stepped down for him.

    Ogbulafor

     

    The emergence of Prince Vincent Ogbulafor as the fifth national chairman of the PDP followed the usual high wire politics in the party. He was the dark horse. He emerged, following the refusal of two implacable power blocs at play in the party to step down for each other.

    He did not bother to print many posters, neither did he campaign.Even though he was a former national secretary of the party, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim and former Ebonyi State Governor Dr Sam Egwu were clearly the front runners.

    The politics of the ruling party is often mercurial and generally unpredictable. While Obasanjo supported Egwu, the anti-Obasanjo forces queued behind Anyim with an unbending resolve to thwart whatever agenda Obasanjo had up his sleeves. In the end, Ogbulafor emerged as a consensus candidate. Other aspirants stepped down for him at the party’s national convention in Abuja.

    Forty days after he assumed office, Ogbulafor declared that the PDP would rule Nigeria for 60 years under a one-party arrangement. Besides, he enunciated the plan by the party to monitor the performance of the 27 state governors on the platform of the party then.

    “I expect that every Nigerian will join the PDP. I don’t care, if Nigeria becomes a one-party state… We want to rule this country for the next 60 years and we meant it”, he had declared.

    But typically, Ogbulafor’s tenure at Wadata Plaza, Wuse, was not devoid of the intrigues that often consume its occupants. It is what analysts love to call the ‘banana peel’ of Wadata Plaza. He was forced to resign barely two years after taking office on May 10, 2010.

    As the stormy debate over zoning of the 2011 presidential ticket in the party took off, Ogbulafor made no pretence about his stance that the Presidency was zoned to the North.

    Soon, things began to fall apart for him. The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) took on him, alleging that he had perpetrated a fraud while he was a minister. He was dragged before an Abuja High Court to face 16-count criminal charge. His Southeast governors soon abandoned him. They mounted pressure on him to vacate office. He was also alleged to have handled, in a shabby manner, the crises in some states, particularly, Plateau, Anambra, Imo and Bauchi.

    A pressuere group within the party, the PDP Reform Forum with former Senate President Ken Nnamani, ex-Speaker, Federal House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari along side other stakeholders was also calling for a better and more operational National Working Committee that would drive the PDP in line with the ideals of the founding fathers.

    He resigned on May 13, 2010.

     

    Nwodo

     

    Former Governor of Enugu State and former National Secretary of the party Dr Okwesileze Nwodo took over form Ogbulafor on June 10, 2010. He emerged based on consensus arrangement and tacit blessing of the Presidency.

    Nwodo’s first major job as the National Chairman was to oppose zoning. Nwodo, at an interaction with the media, declared that the formula was ldead. However, he said that if party members wanted the issue revisited, he was ready to do so.

    Six months after, an Enugu State High Court presided over by Justice R N Onuorah ruled that he should vacate office immediately and stop parading himself as chairman, pending the determination of the substantive suit, which queried his eligibility for the post. Besides, he had gotten himself involved in the politics of the state and fell out with Governor Sullivan Chime. Southeast Governors rallied round their colleague and passed a vote of no confidence on Nwodo.

    Nwodo was forced to resigned and his deputy, Dr Haliru Bello Mohammed, took over as acting national chairman.

     

    Bello

     

    Bello was first elected PDP National Vice Chairman (North West Zone). By March 2008, he won the election into the position of the Deputy National Chairman of the party.

    Bello took over the rein of the party at a very crucial time. The 2011 general election was just at the corner. He successfully led the party to victory in the April 2011 general elections. But it must be said that Bello played an outstanding balancing game as he stood in the middle of the party that was torn in two between the pro-zoning elements and the no-more-zoning adherents. It was particularly interesting as he happened to be from the North where the majority were in support of zoning. Having helped President Jonathan to power, he was rewarded with the portfolio of the Minister of Defence . He was, however, dropped a year later in June 2012 folowing the crisis of the Boko Haram sect.

    Following that appointment, former National Secretary, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, took over as acting National Chairman to complete the tenure which remained the one single most troubled chairmanship tenure for the PDP. In all, four people served during the tenure.

     

    Tukur

     

    On March 23, 2012, former governor of old Gongola State Alhaji Bamanga Tukur emerged as the next national chairman of the PDP. But in the last one year and one month that he has been in office, it has not been smooth sailing for the consummate businessman turned politician. It has been one crisis after another.

    He has been having a running battle with the party’s governors who are said to be bent on removing him. For the record, Tukur could not be said to be the most popular aspirant from his Northeast Zone to which the party had conceded the chairmanship. In a test of strength three days before the national convention which produced him, Dr Musa Babayo had beaten Tukur to the ticket at a Northeast Zonal Convention in Bauchi. But the national body reversed it, saying it was unknown to the party tradition and constitution. And, apparently supported by the Presidency, Tukur emerged, again, via consensus arrangement.

    At the convention ground, Alhaji Shettima Mustapha announced the withdrawal of all the other 10 aspirants, leaving only Tukur in the race. And with only a voice vote by the delegates in the Eagles Square, they affirmed the choice of the Presidency for the top job.

    Tukur started off with steps that came as new, but controversial. On assumption of office as chairman, he appointed aides numbering about 15.

    Last week, however, he sacked all of them in one fell swoop. Tukur, before he sacked them, had a Chief of Staff, Special Adviser on Security Matters, Special Adviser on Independent National Electoral Commission and Electoral Matters, Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters. Besides, his salary, alleged to be N2million monthly, became the talk of town. Insiders say no chairman before him earned salaries other than sitting allowances.

    Tukur made reconciliation of all aggrieved old members of the party his campaign slogan and he has pursued that with much zest. As part of the plan to realise his vision, he selected some chieftains of the party and constituted them into an “advisory committee”. The committee, he claimed, would assist him in running the party.

    But when he inaugurated the committee on May 30, it was obvious that the chairman never had the support of members of the NWC. They stayed away on the ground that it was an illegal body, unknown to the constitution of the party.

    The committee has former Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme as chairman.

    Even two members of the NWC were listed on the committee, Deputy National Chairman Sam Jaja and former National Secretary Olagunsoye Oyinlola did not honour the inauguration too.

    Tukur also got involved in Adamawa State PDP internal affairs. He is from the state.

    Today, the Southwest PDP has been dealt a major blow. Now, the Rivers chapter of the party is enmeshed in crisis. His reconciliation tour was regarded even by party stalwarts as a flop, hence, the drafting of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih to kickstart another reconciliation.

    But, despite the fact that Tukur rode on Jonathan’s back to the office, some party chieftain said that he meant well for the party. He has embarked on reforms. He has also shown example by embracing the rule of law. As shown by the steps he had taken so far, he has demonstrated that PDP can be repositioned. And the first step, in Tukur’s view, is respect for the party’s constitution and enthronment of fairness, equity and justice.

     

  • PDP panel cautions Tukur, Nyako on Adamawa crisis

    PDP panel cautions Tukur, Nyako on Adamawa crisis

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has endorsed the recommendation of a truce committee asking its national Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako to sheath their swords in the festering Adamawa PDP crisis.

    The committee, headed by Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido blamed Tukur and Nyako for the escalation of the crisis.

    The crisis erupted as a result of disagreement between the national chairman and the Adamawa Governor. The two chieftains were said to be scheming to position their children for the Adamawa governorship race ahead of the 2015 election.

    A statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh yesterday said the leadership of the party agreed with the Lamido committee’s position.

    The party said the committee recommended that the existing Executive Committees at the ward and local government levels should remain as contained in the NWC ratification of 29th August, 2012.

    The committee also recommended that the divided State Working Committee in Adamawa State should be harmonised to accommodate all interests.

    “In the same vein, it (committee) recommended that stakeholders, including the National Chairman and the Governor should, in the interest of the party and progress of the state, soft-pedal on their previous positions, and work towards ensuring harmony among all PDP members.

    “The party leadership described the speedy resolution of the Adamawa crisis as a product of the forthrightness of President Goodluck Jonathan as well as a testament to the ability of the PDP, as a truly democratic party to accommodate the interest of all in the handling of its issues”, the statement added.

     

  • Between Tukur’s altruism and Anenih’s subterfuge

    Between Tukur’s altruism and Anenih’s subterfuge

    The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) put up a contradistinctive show on Monday when two of its leading lights gave us insight into the party’s expectations in 2015. In Abuja, the party’s chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, told the Southwest caucus of the party led by Professor Taoheed Adedoja that it was necessary for party members to gird up their loins to ensure the party won 32 states in the 2015 elections compared with the 23 states they now have. Whether we believe his altruism or not, Tukur actually spoke unambiguously and with a decent measure of civilised honesty and logic. According to him, “We have to show electoral strength this time. In doing it, we will work hard and work well. We will move with the speed of jet and we will deliver without any foul antics. I use this opportunity to appeal to our members to bury the hatchet and cast away whatever forlorn hope they nurse about the future. I appeal to our members to begin to invest in the future right away and doing so involves hard work, diligence and dedication to the cause of PDP.”

    On the other hand, Chief Tony Anenih, chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), gave hint that the party was likely to play hardball in the 2015 polls. Together with top PDP leaders, including a few governors, Anenih had visited Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, at his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State on the same day Tukur was acting coy in Abuja. Since Anenih is not given to niceties or diplomatese, he predictably spoke invidiously about the strength of the party and its chances in the coming polls. Said he gravely: “PDP is not dead in Ogun or any part of the country. PDP is the party to beat. When the time comes, I assure you we will do what we know how to do best.” There is of course a chance, given the elementariness and accessibility of his terse language, that all he is suggesting is that the PDP is so big and strong that it invariably and naturally wins elections – against all odds. But there is also the discomfiting possibility that what the man with the drawn and sometimes sepulchral visage is saying is that his party knows how to subvert popular will through electoral chicanery.

    Yes, Tukur shocked Nigerians by alluding to a presidential directive to the party faithful to win nine more states than the party has at the moment, but it is Anenih who is likely to attract more attention, if not revulsion, with his offensive and mocking assertion that the next polls would be a cakewalk. Pressed to clarify what he meant by his party doing ‘what it knows how to do best,’ the BoT chairman would readily explain that his statement was a mere indication of confidence rather than subterfuge. But far more disconcerting to everyone is the appalling inability of the ruling party to gauge public mood, its apparent detachment from reality, and its overestimation of its modest record of achievements. The public will find it hard to understand why the party hopes to make political gains in 2015 when it has demonstrated nothing but sheer incompetence in the face of mounting insecurity.

     

  • Tukur: candidates ‘ll be judged by integrity, performance in 2015

    •Says Amaechi is PDP’s Ambassador

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has declared that integrity and performance would be the yardstick for picking candidates for the various elective positions in the 2015 general elections.

    He stressed that the impact of the ruling party would better be felt when its elected officials continue to showcase great achievements that touch the lives of the Nigerian people.

    Tukur, in a congratulatory message to the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on the Vanguard Newspapers’ Man of the Year 2012 award, yesterday described the governor as an ambassador of the PDP in terms of integrity and performance, adding that the award would spur him into doing more for the people.

    Describing the award as inspiring, the chairman urged other PDP governors and public office holders on its platform to double their efforts in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.

    He said integrity and performance, more than anything else, would be the yardstick for determining who gets the ticket of the party for elective offices in 2015.

    “For me, I prefer that we use evidence of performances by our governors, ministers and other public office holders in form of the award just bagged by Amaechi as a tool for engaging and silencing the opposition who continue to grope in the gross illusion of edging the PDP out of power in 2015”, the chairman said.

    According to him, the award just bagged by Amaechi was not a fluke. The Governor, he said, had earlier been appreciated by reputable media organisations such as Thisday Newspapers, Independent Newspapers, The Leadership and others.

    Said he: “I have at one point or the other verified the stewardship of the Rivers State Governor with personal visit to the state. Amaechi has excelled in the provision of sound education, health services, infrastructure development, urban development projects and welfare packages for workers in the state among others.

    “The achievements and stewardship of Amaechi in Rivers State have been quite phenomenal”.

    Describing the Governor as his son, Tukur said Ameachi truly deserved the award and that the recognition would spur him into doing more for the people of Rivers State.

    “I call Amaechi my son and he has been acting as my son. I am proud of the award given to him by the management of Vanguard Newspapers. He deserved the award because I have personally verified most of the achievements credited to him. When you enter Port Harcourt, Amaechi’s hands are quite visible.

    “My son has revolutionised education and health delivery services in River State. He has been turning around the entire state with urban renewal projects.

    “I don’t get to know that workers in Rivers State are picking quarrels with him as he has been level headed, focussed, hard working and always very eager to make the difference.

    “I use this medium to congratulate Amaechi, who I very well know will be spurred to do more by this award as a leader and as a faithful PDP Ambassador. I also congratulate other PDP governors who had won similar awards in the past since they have been making us proud at the national secretariat”, Tukur stated.

    The party chair added that the PDP and indeed, President Goodluck Jonathan have always been pleased with high performances on the path of public office holders.

    Alhaji Tukur said he was particularly happy that the award went to a PDP governor, more so as many governors of the party, according to him, had carted away nearly all awards reserved for highly effective, performing and dependable political office holders by appreciative corporate organisations both within and outside Nigeria.

    He said Jonathan would open more award winning projects in many of the PDP controlled states between now and 2015.

    Tukur urged opposition parties to ensure same level of performance among their governors in the interest of progress and development of the country.

    Also yesterday, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih described Amaechi as a force and one of the leaders of the ruling party.

    Anenih, who led a delegation of BoT members to the Government House, Port Harcourt, said they were in Rivers State to consult with Governor Amaechi over important national and party issues.

    Anenih said: “We are here this morning to meet the governor of Rivers State to discuss issues that are important to the corporate existence of this country, issues that will help us stabilise the system, issues that will make the PDP stronger and issues that will make us live in a decent society. We are here to consult with him as one of the leaders of the party and again I think I am a part of Rivers State. “

    He praised Amaechi for bringing good governance to the people of Rivers State.

    He said: “I want to say that, I was here last year and inspected most of the projects and the ones that were ongoing I’ve seen on my way from the airport that some of the projects have been completed. We are here also to appreciate the governor for what he is doing for the people of Rivers State”.

    Responding, Amaechi said the PDP in Rivers State is peaceful.

    He recalled that the PDP supporters gave two million votes to President Goodluck Jonathan during the last election and assured that his administration would encourage the people to continue to vote for the PDP during elections.

    He said: “Chairman, we formally welcome you and your delegation. There was no welcome over there; it was just straight to the point. Now, it is the time to welcome you before my colleagues in government and my friends in the party. Like we did say to you, PDP in Rivers State is peaceful. We also have told you that we produced two million votes for the President. So, we thank you for coming. All we are saying to you is tell the party to please treat us well so that we can encourage our people to continue to vote for PDP. We are members of PDP and we will remain members of PDP. We wish you God’s blessings and to say have a safe trip”.

     

  • ‘Why some governors want Tukur to go’

    ‘Why some governors want Tukur to go’

    The insistence by some state governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the removal of the national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, for peace to reign in the party has been attributed to the struggle for the party’s 2015 presidential election ticket.

    A chieftain of the party from one of the Southsouth states told The Nation on condition of anonymity that the governors involved in the plot are actually locked in the stifling battle with the chairman over his perceived favourable disposition toward President Goodluck Jonathan flying the party’s flag in 2015.

    It was learnt that most of the governors elected on the platform of the party are clearly averse to the ‘moves’, which seem to indicate the intention of the President to scheme for a second term, although he is yet to openly declare his ambition.

    “The national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, is strongly in favour of the President flying the party’s ticket and he has been doing everything to drum support for him at every opportunity. For instance, the chairman has not allowed the governors to seize the control of the party in their states; he rather thinks the Presidency should take absolute control of the party, no matter whose ox is gored.

    “It is this iron cast position of Alhaji BamangaTukur that has locked him in a battle of wits with the PDP governors. This is novel. It has never happened in the history of this party before. The governors want Bamanga sacked so that they can take absolute control of the party and its soul so that they can dictate to the President and frustrate his ambition of having a go at the Presidency in 2015. After all we know those who are bent on succeeding the President by hook or crook among the governors” the party stalwart said.

    When reminded that the President has not told anybody he is interested in 2015, he dismissed it as ‘political naivety’ to say that the President is not interested in 2015. According to the source, all was well between the governors and the national chairman of the party until he came up with the idea of the Presidency having full control of all the organs of the party. For him, it is the only guarantee for the President is to succeed with his 2015 agenda.

    “Initially, when information filtered out about the plans of Alhaji Tukur taking control of the national organs of the party for the sake of the president’s ambition, most of the governors considered him as a joker because the National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party are populated by nominees of the governors.

    “However, following a court decision on the congresses of the party in the Southwest as illegal and the swift reaction of the national executive of the party to the court decision, and replacement of the National Secretary of the party, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, then the eyes and ears of the governors in the party executive, got the governors to climb down on their high horses. The battle line was drawn and part of the plot is to get Bamanga Tukur out at all cost,” the source revealed.

    The source named the recent revelation of the alleged agreement signed by the President to do only one term and the prominence given to the crisis in the Adamawa State chapter of the party as some of the immediate reactions of the governors in their bid to “harass and brow beat the chairman are all part of the strategy of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang”.

    But the embattled national chairman is said to be enjoying the confidence and backing of the Presidency. “What those who are against the leadership of Tukur has failed to realise is that any revolt or opposition against Tukur is an open declaration of supremacy war on Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 ambition.

    “Clearly, all the so called transgression of Tukur for which they have vowed to get him removed are all to the benefit of the President. Therefore, he has all the support he needs from the Presidency to take on those opposed to the desire of Goodluck Jonathan to contest in 2015,” the source said.

     

  • My actions in best interest of PDP, says Tukur

    My actions in best interest of PDP, says Tukur

    •’I’ve done nothing to warrant gang-up’

    Embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur yesterday dared critics of his leadership style, saying all his actions had been in the best interest of the party.

    In a statement, Tukur said he would continue to serve the interest of the party to the best of his ability, stressing that his reconciliatory moves had yielded fruitful results.

    According to him, his doors are open to all aggrieved groups and members to lay their grievances, assuring them that such complaints will be treated strictly on merit.

    The chairman decried alleged moves by certain groups and individuals in the party to ease him out, saying that he had done nothing wrong to warrant the current gang up against him.

    Tukur, who is currently holidaying abroad, blamed his travails on certain groups within the party who did not like the open and transparent manner in which he has been conducting the affairs of the party.

    The statement reads: “But the truth remains that openness and transparency remain the best tool for making the PDP to progress. I have been resolute in ensuring that all members of the party get carried along in the party’s programmes and policies.

    “As the chairman, I love my party. If I am serving PDP at my age, the reason is not because I want anything as gains. The reason is that serving the ruling party amounts to serving my nation.

    “I have my nation to serve and diligently too, because the country has made me.

    So, for me, it is a pay back time for the country that made me who I am. So, why would I complain in the face of stiff challenges.

    “As the chairman, I had taken decisions which had metamorphosed in the reconciliation moves we have been making. We want every member to see the party as his or her own and as a party that bestows pride on all.

    “Many people would not like such. In that case, I have no apology for doing good to PDP. I appreciate Mr. President who has been a major pillar of support for the PDP.

    “The President had endorsed every action we took with the conviction that they were all in the good interest of the PDP. The governors have been supportive too. We have been in touch and they keep on assuring me of their support.

    “While I take care of my health, I urge party members to continue to support the National Working Committee (NWC) in its drive towards re-launching PDP into a more formidable structure capable of wining and winning elections without stress”.

    Tukur thanked members of the PDP for being steadfast, most especially in the face of threats by the opposition groups to “pull down PDP at all costs”.

    He said the agenda by the opposition in that regard would always come to naught if PDP members all over the country do not succumb to its “antics“.

     

  • Opponents list Tukur’s sins as PDP crisis goes on

    Opponents list Tukur’s sins as PDP crisis goes on

    All is still not well with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as forces opposed to National Chairman Bamanga Tukur plan to convene an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

    Backed by some governors, the anti-Tukur party chiefs are compiling breaches allegedly committed by Tukur.

    The party’s last NEC meeting was held in July, last year, contrary to the quarterly provision in the PDP Constitution.

    Tukur has been avoiding a NEC meeting, following an alleged plot to pass a vote of no confidence in him.

    A source close to the planners of the NEC, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “Some powerful interest groups within the Peoples Democratic Party are said to be pushing for the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party.

    “They want to invoke the relevant sections of the PDP Constitution in an attempt to make Tukur address issues affecting the party.

    “They are also planning to make Tukur to account for alleged breaches of the PDP Constitution.

    “If Tukur does not convene NEC meeting, they will seek the consent of two-thirds of party members to call for the session.

    “The move becomes necessary in view of Tukur’s leadership style in the last one year, which has fragmented the party, which prides itself as the largest in Africa.

    “The proponents of the management audit of Tukur’s style asserted that this is in line with the national chairman’s belief that PDP is greater than any individual and party members should subject themselves to the rules and regulations of the PDP.”

    Another top source listed Tukur’s alleged breaches as follows:

    •deliberate failure to convene the PDP NEC meeting and removal of some NWC members;

    •operation of a parallel National Working Committee(NWC);

    •shifting of the party’s official functions to personal residence;

    •polarisation of the NWC;

    •alleged refusal to operate the principle of accountability which would allow stakeholders of PDP to be carried along; and

    •disobedience of court order and refusal to honour the provisions on freedom, equality and justice; violating the independence of the Judiciary and fundamental rights of members of the party, as well as promoting divisions among various interests in the PDP.

    The source said: “The consensus of some governors and PDP leaders is that Tukur should step aside and face the PDP disciplinary committee.

    “Furthermore, those angling for disciplinary action against Tukur have argued that there must be efficiency in a serious and credible political movement like the PDP for the party to continue to occupy the front seat in the political arrangement in Nigeria.

    “They alleged that PDP is being run as a fiefdom, in spite of the fact that its National Working Committee, which is responsible for the day-to-day management of the organization, is accountable to its supporters and sympathisers through the National Executive Council of the party.

    “ But no NEC meeting has been held since July last year following fears that the national chairman could be disgraced out of office, should the quarterly meeting be convened.”

    It is being alleged that following the removal of the three PDP national officers at the Party secretariat, the national chairman successfully intimidated other members of the NWC and took many unilateral decisions which are negatively rubbing on the image and administration of the Party.

    Tukur is said to have literally shifted the registered national headquarters of the PDP to his Wuse 11, Abuja home where all important meetings of the NWC and PDP have been holding since January. He reportedly took the decision as a result of his allegation that deliberations of NWC conducted at the party headquarters were filtering out of PDP national headquarters.

    “But what was the Acting National Secretary, Solomon Onwe, the current custodian of the rules and regulations of the PDP, looking at as the chief administrative and accounting officer? Could it be that he brought him in as a stooge, who is unsure of himself to do biddings of the national chairman; right or wrong? Onwe should be sanctioned alongside Tukur for not protecting the PDP Constitution and allowing the party’s name and image to be dragged in the mud,” another source said.

    He added: “Those pushing for disciplinary action against is alleging, through media interviews, that all his actions were approved by the Presidency, claiming that he meets with the President, who is the National Leader of PDP, 8.00pm every Monday.

    “His antagonists, however, assert that if he is truly meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, there is every likelihood that the national chairman was feeding the president with half-truths or false information, in an attempt to feather his own nest, as the President would not likely approve of measures that would promote disintegration of the party.

    “They say that they are sure that President Jonathan, noted for his respect for the rule of law, would never agree to any proposal to humiliate Justices of the Court of Appeal, through PDP’s respect of a ruling of the Federal High Court.”

     

  • Tukur jittery as Jonathan backs Anenih’s peace tour

    Tukur jittery as Jonathan backs Anenih’s peace tour

    Opponents renew anti-Amaechi battle ahead NGF election

    It was designed to bring peace and harmony, but the reconciliation tour in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to be opening another battle front.

    National Chairman Bamanga Tukur, who has just concluded a peace tour, is said to be jittery over the ongoing tour by Board of Trustees Chairman Tony Anenih.

    President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be strongly in favour of Anenih’s mission rather than Tukur’s.

    Anenih will today in Minna meet with the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, who has been passionate about the need for the President to respect the one-term pact he allegedly entered into with PDP governors.

    Tukur and his strategists are believed to be comfortable with the intervention of Anenih in rebuilding PDP.

    It was gathered that some Tukur strategists had made him to erroneously believe that Anenih might take over the control of the party, if he succeeded with the rescue mission.

    A source, who spoke in confidence said: “There is a sort of cold war between Tukur and Anenih over the peace and reconciliatory moves. The reunification was actually the idea of Anenih, but having been fed wrongly that the BOT chairman might hijack the party machinery, Tukur came up with a crash programme on reconciliation tours.

    “But Anenih avoided unnecessary controversy by coming up with a well-tailored work plan on how to woo strategic stakeholders back into the party.

    “It is now clear to all leaders of the party that Tukur’s peace moves have failed. Instead, the party is now more divided than before.

    “As Anenih is moving about with BOT leaders, Tukur and some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) are jittery.

    “The position of Anenih is that the party is bigger than all members. His plan is to reconcile and reposition the party for Tukur to manage. He is not competing with anybody.”

    Asked why Anenih embarked on reconciliation tours simultaneously with Tukur, the highly-placed party source said: “Most of our governors and leaders have rated Tukur’s tours as mere jamboree and the high rate of boycott was evident.

    “There is a big difference between Tukur’s peace plan and that of Anenih. Beyond mouthing reconciliation, Tukur did not offer anything to the aggrieved. He never placed anything on the table, not even in his home state of Adamawa.

    “On his part, Anenih and his BoT members listen to the aggrieved party faithful and agree with them on solutions which could reunify the party. He has been holding frank talks with concrete offers to assuage frayed nerves.

    “In most instances, Anenih adapts solutions to the peculiar challenges being faced by PDP members in each state.”

    “Another defect in Tukur’s efforts is not carrying key party leaders and all NWC members along. “Anenih is not isolating any leader or group in the party,” the source added.

    The Nation learnt that President Goodluck Jonathan is in support of the peace meetings being held by Anenih than those conducted by Tukur.

    A Presidency source said: “We have seen evidence of success in Anenih’s efforts than that of the party leadership. For the first time, governors like Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Babangida Aliyu (Niger) are receptive to genuine reconciliation.

    “As a matter of fact, Anenih has been carrying the President along on his reconciliation trips and terms agreed to with the stakeholders. He enjoys the tactical backing of the President.”

    Anenih and other BoT members have gone to Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kogi, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa states. “And for every tour and issues arrived at, Jonathan gives Anenih the go-ahead to salvage the situation,” the source added.

    Anenih is set for a major challenge in the reconciliation, with today’s likely meeting with Aliyu in Minna.

    Aliyu, who is leading a powerful caucus in the party, spark the controversy the alleged one-term secret pact between President Jonathan and PDP governors.

    Also, Aliyu has been passionate about power shift to the North in 2015.

    Although the Presidency is believed to be uncomfortable with Aliyu’s revelation, it has not officially confirmed whether there was any pact or not.

    Instead, there have been attempts to threaten Aliyu and persuade him to recant.

    A source in Niger State, who confided in our correspondent, said: “The BoT delegation has been scheduled for a meeting with the governor on Wednesday (today).

    “Definitely, all issues, including the controversy over one-term pact, will be reviewed. At the end of the day, these leaders will find a way of dousing the tension.

    “We are all eager to know what Anenih and other leaders are coming to discuss with Aliyu, who is technically being blackmailed since he spoke on the one-term pact.”

  • What has Tukur achieved in one year?

    What has Tukur achieved in one year?

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur assumed office a year ago. In this report, Assistant Editor AUGUSTINE AVWODE beams a seachlight on his score card.

     

    The glitz and glamour of being the national chairman of the largest party in Africa are quite alluring. The ruling party has had the fortune of producing the President, since the return to democratic governance about 14 years ago. Besides, not less than 20 of the 36 state governors are in office, courtesy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It is certainly an enviable feat.

    However, leading such a party, an amalgam of the good, the bad and the ugly, is akin to navigating a treacherous riverine course. The challenges are many. They are daunting in nature and can easily overwhelm the lily-livered. In the main, they are crises of factionalisation, indiscipline and lack of internal democracy.

    All the men who had travelled the course before had bruises and tales of woes to show for their efforts as national chairman of the PDP. Yet, on March 23, 2012, former governor of old Gongola State and consummate businessman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur emerged as the seventh national chairman of the party.

    It is one year now since he took over the reins of the party. How far has he been able to deal with the problems plaguing the party which symbol, the Umbrella, is too often depicted in tatters and at the mercy of chaotic wind by cartoonists across the country? Expectedly, the opinions of party loyalists and faithful have been as divided and varied as the general tenor that has dogged the party even before he took over its leadership.

    To the chairman of the Ogun State chapter of the party, Chief Adebayo Dayo, Tukur is on the right tract. He commended his efforts at rebuilding the party based on the principles of internal democracy and rule of law. For the record, the state chapter is one of the most factionalised in the country and it took the pronouncement of the courts of law and the efforts of the national body to recognize one as the legal PDP.

    According to him, the size of the party make quarrelling and disagreements inevitable. He emphasized that what Tukur leadership of the party has done is moving the party in the right direction in his bid to restore not just peace and unity but also discipline.

    “The first thing I want you to know is that the job is a very difficult one. It is so because of the size of the party. It is the largest in Africa and all people come into it to realize their political ambition. As a result there are bound to be misunderstandings and bickering.

    “So, his first job is to settle quarrels. He has been doing that very well. You see the recent reconciliatory moves across the country. And very importantly, he has ensured that achieving peace and unity in the party, which everybody wants, are not sacrificed on the table of indiscipline and lawlessness.

    “What he is doing is to at the same time entrench internal democracy and the rule of law. He wants to return the party to the good old days when the party is supreme. He is doing well and I want us to encourage him. If we encourage him, the party has nothing to fear from the opposition. In fact, very soon people will be defecting from other parties to the PDP. He has done well and he will do better”, Dayo said.

    In like manner the Southwest Zonal Youth Leader Mr Bolaji Jeje said Tukur has shown an untiring zeal to deal with the problems of factions and indiscipline in the party. He argued that his passion to reposition the party and make it a solid united family, instill discipline and loyalty among members are efforts that must be applauded.

    He said it is not true that the chairman is acting out a script written for him by anybody.

    “The national chairman comes across as a father figure to all of us. And no father will allow his house to be disorganized and be in disarray as a result of fighting among siblings. His efforts at resolving all the challenges posed by misunderstanding can be seen by everybody.

    “Since last week Saturday, he started the Town Hall meetings in the different zonal regions beginning with the Southwest and you could see that it is a good development. We are working to consolidate the efforts and results of the meeting, especially in the Southwest and I can tell you that things are going to be alright. It will be very dangerous for anybody to write off the party in the Southwest because the reconciliation process is on and we are all supporting it.

    “With him, we are on the right tract. And if all the party members are united as the national chairman is saying and urging all to forget the past, I see no reason why the party should not bounce back in a big way come 2015.

    “As my personal opinion, I don’t think the national chairman is acting any script to favour anybody. He is our father and no father favours one child at the detriment of the other. His passion for the continued success of the party is visible and all we need to do is to support him. In the last one year, therefore, I can say he is on course and he will take us to a higher realm”, Bolaji said

    Yet, the opinion from Tukur’s backyard is not as savoury as those from afar. Perhaps, it is a case of a prophet who lacks honour and respect at home. A PDP chieftain from Adamawa State, who spoke on condition of anonymity, has harsh words for the chairman. He actually described the past 12 months of Tukur as the chairman of the party as “wasted and bred more controversies”. He argued that the chairman may end up doing more harm to the party than he met it except he changes his style and side with the masses.

    “We all agree that he is our brother, but being our brother is not what is important in this matter. The party is big, the interests varied, and the ambition of individuals are very tall. He has not been able to show that he could be non-partisan. Ask anybody what led to the big problem that almost consumed the party and even him in Adamawa State not long ago? If not for the intervention of the governors of the party, the Adamawa chapter of the PDP could have been completely destroyed by now.

    “Then, look at the way the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has been polarized by the establishment of the PDP Governors Forum (PGF). If all other parties form their governors’ forum, what will become of the national body? And of course, you know what the insinuations have been, why the party formed the governors’ forum. Take a look at the way the issue of the national secretary of the party was handled. There seems to be more of personal vendetta in the whole issue than just mere desire to ensure that the rule of law is followed.

    “There is no problem that does not have a political solution. When you insist that the verdict from the court must be obeyed to the letter, it is good, but after obeying it, did you do anything else to close the gap and heal the wounds? What you are doing is creating more problems. Even when he came here few days ago, you can see the turnout; those that matter did not attend the so called Town Hall meeting for reconciliation.

    “We are watching and waiting, but the last one year has not been marked by excellent performance. The 12 months have been wasted months. We thought that here was an opportunity to really re-build the party, but unfortunately, there have been more controversies and it is not good for the PDP in the face of an emerging formidable opposition, “ the source said.

    From day one, when he muted the idea of leading the party, signs that he was in for a rough ride emerged. His famed business acumen, age and political accomplishment counted for nothing as he came face to face with stiff opposition from the home front. So vicious was the opposition that it took the uncompromising intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan for Tukur to eventually emerge as national chairman. Barely three days to the convention, Tukur was roundly rejected at the party’s North East zonal Congress in Bauchi. The party in the zone preferred Dr. Musa Babayo who secured 14 votes to defeat Tukur who got only two. It was a symbolic decision. But the party over ruled the zonal congress on the ground that it did not conform to “stipulations by the PDP constitution”.

    As the “anointed candidate” by the presidency, Tukur overcame all the intrigues to stop him. After series of meetings, the deal was sealed. At the convention ground, Alhaji Shettima Mustapha announced the withdrawal of all the other 10 aspirants contesting the party’s chairmanship position, leaving only Tukur in the race. And with only a voice vote by the delegates in the Eagles Square, they affirmed the choice of Tukur for the top job.

    Tukur started off with new, but controversial steps. On assumption of office as chairman, he appointed aides and in the process created some offices attached to the chairman of the party that were hitherto unknown to the party. He named the former pioneer National Chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP) Alhaji Habu Fari, as his Chief of Staff while the former Inspector General of Police Mike Okiro was appointed the Special Adviser on Security Matters.

    He also appointed Senator Saidu Umar as Special Adviser on Independent National Electoral Commission and Electoral Matters, while Abduallhi Gumel was named Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters. Besides, his salary, alleged to be N2million monthly, became a talk of town. Insiders say no chairman before him earned salaries other than sitting allowances.

    Fari’s title later changed from Chief of Staff to the National Chairman to Principal Secretary when the National Working Committee (NWC) members protested that such an office was unknown to the party’s constitution.

    Tukur made reconciliation of all aggrieved old member of the party his campaign slogan and he had pursued that with much zest. As part of the plan to realize his vision, he selected some chieftains of the party and constituted them into what he called “advisory committee”. The committee, he claimed, would assist him in running the party.

    When he inaugurated the committee on Wednesday, May 30, it was obvious that the chairman never had the support of members of the NWC. They stayed away on the ground that it was an illegal body, unknown to the constitution of the party.

    The committee has former Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme as chairman.

    Even two members of the NWC were listed on the committee, Deputy National Chairman Sam Jaja and former National Secretary Olagunsoye Oyinlola did not honour the inauguration too.

    Early June last year, it became obvious that all was not well with the party hierarchy. The former national secretary wrote a stinker to Tukur declaring the activities and actions of his aides illegal, particularly, Fari. The face-off between the two party administrators worsened with Fari challenging Oyinlola’s authority to query him and his actions. Perhaps to satisfy Oyinlola, Tukur fired Fari, few days later.

    Then there was the crisis of the Adamawa State chapter. But for the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan who was said to have launched several moves to douse the fire, it could have consumed the chairman.

    The manner in which the Southwest zonal crisis was resolved has also left some open sores yearning for attention. There is no doubt that the desire to be seen as allowing the rule of law to run its course has also come with a heavy cost of jettisoning political solutions. When the zonal Town Hall meeting held in Ibadan recently, the big names were expectedly absent. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the former National vice chairman Segun Oni and former scribe Olagunsoye Oyinlola were among the big names that failed to turn up at the meeting. The one that held in Bauchi last week also witnessed prominent party stakeholders from the Northeast geo-political zone shunning the reconciliation meeting.

    Today, though on the surface there is healing and reconciliation going on, but the fault lines are still visible within the party. And until Tukur establishes a system that can ensure a wholesale healing of the party within and without, the job is not yet done. He still has two years before 2015 to effect the total healing the party so badly craves. But for now, it would be a farce to say Tukur has realized his campaign manifesto of rallying the party together by reconciling warring factions and ensuring unity and oneness of all stakeholders.

     

  • 2015 will be war for PDP, says Tukur

    2015 will be war for PDP, says Tukur

    •Says ruling party won’t allow ‘new group’ to ‘sweep mat off our feet’

     

    National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday warned his party members that the emergence of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is for real and poses a formidable threat in the 2015 elections.

    “There is a group that just came up and wants to sweep the mat off our feet,” Tukur said in a veiled reference to the APC at a meeting of the Northwest zone of the PDP in Kaduna.

    Three of the six PDP governors in the zone -Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto) -were absent at the meeting.

    It was, however, attended by Governors Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, Usman Dakingari (Kebbi) and the host, Mukthar Ramalan Yero.

    Continuing, the PDP Chairman said: “PDP is all about patronage. We are going to dole out our patronage to all our members who remain in the party.

    “I am here to tell all our supporters about the virtue of patience. Patience is such a priceless thing, that the Hausa people say, ‘a patient man can cook a stone and drink its sauce’. I want to plead with our members in this zone to imbibe this teaching.

    “This is because without patience, we will all be in disarray. And we cannot afford to be. There is a heavy war ahead in 2015. A group has come up and wants to sweep the mat off our feet. We cannot allow that to happen. The PDP is the only party that is not religious, not sectional or tribal. We are one big party, and we intend, and we must remain so.

    “What I am saying here is what I told our supporters in the South West. They are not happy, because of the problem they face in the party in that zone, a minority has taken over power there.

    “Let me inform you. We are going to give patronage to all our members who have contested elections and lost. There is enough in the party to go round everyone. There is no need to leave the party.”

    Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo who was at the meeting asked members to unite for the rebuilding of the party.

    “This tour undertaken as part of the celebration of the first anniversary of the national working committee is also in line with the reconciliation, reformation and Rebuilding agenda of the party chairman,” he said, adding, “As a party that is fully organised and vibrant, well noted for its adoption of rule of law and natural justice in the discharge of its activities, the decision to embark on this tour in order to properly position the party to face future challenges is indeed paramount.

    “The assembly of the crème of our party faithful at this meeting only signals and lends credence to our desire to ensure that we develop new ideas, initiatives and innovations that will further solidify the party and move it forward.

    “I therefore call on us to approach today’s meeting with a clear mind and conscience and to develop more pragmatic ways that will consolidate the strength of our party by embarking on people-oriented projects and programmes in each tier of government that will not only improve the lives of our people but will create wealth amongst our citizens.

    “We must shun all overtures by those who are bent on destroying the party through anti-party activities and be unified in our quest to strengthen a party that has made its mark and improved the lives and well-being of our citizens. We must be unified and steadfast for the growth and strength of our great party and in the interest of our dear citizens.

    “Our actions speak for us. Our laudable programmes at all the three tiers of government coupled with our respect for rule of law, good governance and democratic tenets serve as our trademark. It is in this regard that it becomes pertinent among members of this great party to carry this trademark wherever we go as a good product sells itself.

    “Our greatest asset is our unity of purpose and acceptability as the only national party that has as its centre piece the popular slogan ‘Power to the People’. Once we are fully reconciled, rebuilt and reformed, we shall continue with our capability of tackling any opposition from any quarters of this country.”