Tag: Tukur

Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, yesterday described the resignation of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as a vindication for the G-5 Governors and other members who dumped the party.

Saraki, in a statement in Abuja said it is unfortunate that Tukur left the party after damaging it beyond repairs.

Governors Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano) dumped the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC) amid allegations of Tukur’s high-handedness.

Others who defected to the APC included Senators Saraki, Abdullahi Adamu, Comrade Timi Frank, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje and Dr. Sam Sam Jaja among others.

The Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District noted that change required in the country must come.

Saraki said: “Earlier today, I received the news that Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has officially resigned as chairman after damaging PDP beyond repairs.

The lawmaker representing Kwara Central in the Upper Chamber lamented that when the progressives who have now left the party raised the alarm about Tukur’s ruinous activities they were blackmailed and called names.

“This has vindicated me and other progressives’ that had to leave the party at a point when some of the issues we clamoured for are now coming to light.

“Over the last seven months, we were blackmailed and called names ranging from rebels, dissidents, ingrates and that we were self-centered.

“Unfortunately, it has become obvious today that PDP under the leadership of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur was a failure and a big tumor that was allowed to become a cancerous one.

“PDP as a party was built by the founding fathers on a solid foundation but this has since derailed from the in-coming of Bamanga Tukur, who came to damage the party beyond repair.

“After doing the damage, he’s now leaving the party in tatters with no respite in sight.

“History will continue to judge all of us as we tried our best to put PDP on the right track before now.

“For us, we shall continue to defend the injustice done to us and protect the interest of Nigeria, wherever we find ourselves now and in the future.

“We strongly believe this country needs change and change must come.

“For me and other progressives’ we shall not relent in our efforts and belief that Nigeria is bigger than any one of us and so, we must nuture it, defend it and protect it.

“This is the essence of democracy, the foundation for which most developed countries are known for.

“Any attempt to undermine it in our father’s land will not be accepted. Nigeria must move forward.”

Senator Abdul Ningi yesterday in Abuja described Alhaji Tukur as the sacrificial lamb for the unity and stability of the party.

He spoke after President Goodluck Jonathan presented Tukur`s resignation letter to the party`s National Executive Committee (NEC) members.

Ningi, who seconded Cross River State Governor liyel Imoke’s motion for the acceptance of Tukur`s resignation letter, said the ex-National Chairman had not violated any section of the party`s constitution.

He said he sacrificed himself for the party following its recent crisis.

Ningi said the former party chair had not only sacrificed for the PDP, but the country at large.

According to him, his resignation shows that the PDP cannot be run by an individual.

Tukur had before the president announced his resignation, thanked God and the party’s stakeholders for giving him the opportunity to serve.

“It has been a matter of honour for me to have served our party, and indeed, a rare privilege to have become the national chairman.

“I am grateful to the seven deities of good luck with which the Almighty God has endowed me.

“I am delighted to have had the opportunity to nurture and deliver an idea; that is the need for discipline and internal democratic practices within the party,” Tukur said.

He advised members to install new national values that are driven less by personal greed and power and more by national interest.

This, according to him, is critical to address the country`s challenges as well as that of the party.

“As we reinvent the foundation of internal consensus, let us endeavour to flaunt the good works of our various governments at all tiers of governance. We shall overcome,” Tukur said.

Tukur’s resignation came at the heels of his recent fall out with members of the party`s 12 member National Working Committee (NWC).

The NWC members had on January 13, shunned an emergency meeting summoned by Tukur to mend fence with them.

The NWC members had allegedly passed a vote of no confidence in Tukur at an earlier meeting held with the president.

According to sources at the party secretariat, the NWC members blame Tukur for the crisis rocking the party at the meeting with Jonathan.

Tukur, who assumed office in March 2012, had for some time now been fighting to save his position.

He had also been accused by some of the aggrieved PDP governors for being headstrong and responsible for the party`s current crisis.

The party`s current crisis was made obvious in last August party`s Special National Convention when seven of its governors and their delegates walked out of the convention venue.

Some members of the House of Representatives, yesterday in Abuja, said that the resignation of Tukur, would help in repositioning the party.

In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the legislators said with the resignation, the party would be repositioned for next year general elections. Uzor Azubuike (PDP-Abia), said the decision by Tukur to resign was patriotic.

He called on those who had defected to APC to make a rethink and come back to the party. “Those who may have left the party for one reason or the other now have good reason to rescind their decisions,” he said.

According to him, those who are thinking of leaving the party should join hands with the leadership to develop it.

Gerald Irona (PDP-Imo) said that members had had problems with the leadership style of Tukur, which led to the defection of the five PDP governors and others.

He said that his resignation was a good development for the party as it would save it from danger.

Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam said yesterday that Tukur’s resignation was not discussed with the President.

According to him, issues concerning the states and how to resolve the party’s crises and bring back governors who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) were discussed with the president.

He said: “We met with the President as PDP governors to discuss issues of the party and the way forward. That meeting is continuing. The second meeting was the national caucus and, of course I am not in a position to comment on that. I believe the Vice President will brief the press as soon as the meeting is over on the outcome of the national caucus and the BoT.”

“But this one that we are just coming out from is the PDP governors’ meeting with the President. Issues discussed are basically how we can re-strategise, and move forward as a party.”

On Tukur’s rumoured resignation, Suswam said: “It is the Vice President that can speak on that. This is because issues like that were not raised in our meeting with the President. I think it is the responsibility of the national caucus and the BoT.

“From time to time we (governors) meet the President and this is not unusual as we always meet with the President.

“The concern is that the fortunes of our party is dwindling and we need to address that. How do we re-energise? How do we reposition our party to win the forthcoming elections in Ekiti and Osun? How do we bring back our colleagues that have stepped aside. We do not believe that they have left us. How do we bring them back? These are the issues that are of concern to us.”

Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu expressed optimism that some of his aggrieved colleagues who defected to the APC would return to the PDP.

The crises rocking the ruling party since Alhaji Bamanga Tukur became the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) started as soon as he mounted the saddle.

Tukur, who emerged chairman of the ruling party at the March 24, 2012 national convention of the PDP, started courting trouble the moment he assumed office.

Just a few weeks after his inauguration as chairman, Tukur engaged Governor Murtala Nyako of his native Adamawa State in muscle flexing over control of the party machinery in the state.

Tukur was said to be preparing the ground for one of his sons, Anwal to clinch the governorship ticket of the PDP. Nyako was believed to be projecting his anointed candidate for the position ahead of the 2015 general elections.

By the time the dust settled, two parallel executive committees had emerged in the state. One faction, loyal to Nyako, was led by Alhaji Lawal Mijinjuwa. Joel Madaki held tenaciously to another faction.

Using his might as the national chairman, Tukur had sacked the Mijinjuwa-led faction and gave recognition to the Madaki led group, a development that set the stage for the irreconcilable differences between him and the governor.

While Tukur claimed that the decision to replace the Mijijunwa led executive with Madaki’s was a joint decision of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), the NWC members had washed their hands of the matter. According to them, the decision to sack the Adamawa Exco was unilaterally taken by Tukur.

The brief suspension of Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State also contributed to the opposition to Tukur’s leadership style. The reason given by the party’s national leadership for suspending the governor was that he failed to pick the chairman’s telephone calls.

Other state chapters like Rivers, Sokoto, Kwara, Kano also had their state executive committees sacked by the party leadership under Tukur.

The persistent crisis in the Southwest zone of the PDP has also been blamed on the way and manner Tukur handled the various disagreements among stakeholders in the zone.

Tukur ensured that all zonal national officers were eased out of their positions with former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Segun Oni, Bode Mustapha and others sent packing.

The party is yet to conduct a fresh zonal congress to elect new leaders for the Southwest zone.

The refusal of the PDP to reinstate Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the National Secretary of the party also contributed to the hard feelings against the party chairman.

The Court of Appeal had on November 11, 2013 ordered Oyinlola’s reinstatement after he was ousted based on the ruling of a lower court. The the Tukur-led NWC spurned the order of the appellate court, choosing to hang on to the ruling of the lower court.

Similarly, the setting up of the National Disciplinary Committee chaired by a Second Republic Minister, Umaru Dikko was also said to have violated the constitution of the PDP.

Such a committee required the approval of the National Executive Committee of the party to operate. But the NEC did not sit to ratify the Dikko committee before the panel started its work.

Four erstwhile party chieftains were the first set of casualties recorded by the Dikko committee. Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, Alhaji Ibrahim Kazaure and Oyinlola were tried in absentia and recommended for expulsion by the committee.

The G-7 Governors also cited Tukur’s leadership style as one of the reasons they fell out with him. The governors had insisted on his removal for peace to reign in the party.

After months of prevarication by the Presidency over the matter, five of the governors had in November, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governors are: Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara).

Barely a month after the governors’ defection, 37 PDP members of the House of Representatives also defected to the APC. A number of senators elected on the platform of the PDP are also waiting to defect to the APC in the days ahead.

Twenty-seven of the 30- member Sokoto State House of Assembly have also joined Governor Wamakko to defect to the APC, leaving the PDP with only three members.