Confusion reigned in the polity yesterday, over whether or not Alhaji Bamanga Tukur was still the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
While one account said he had given his resignation letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, which the President was expected to read to members of the National Caucus, that reconvened at 6 pm at the Presidential Villa. The National Caucus meeting was planned to dovetail into the Board of Trustees, BoT, meeting last night.
As an indication that Tukur had quit, the weekly Wednesday National Working Committee (NWC) meeting, yesterday, was chaired by Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus with other members in attendance. The NWC meeting, which took place at the office of the Deputy National Chairman lasted from 2 pm to 4.30 pm when the members drove out immediately to the meeting of the National Caucus at the Presidential Villa, it was gathered.
Those who attended included the National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha; National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh; National Auditor, Adewole Adeyanju; National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo; National Financial Secretary, Elder Bolaji Anani; National Woman Leader, Mrs Kema Chikwe; National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwom; and National Youth leader, Abdullahi MaiBasira.
I have not resigned — Tukur
As members were waiting for President Jonathan to read Tukur’s resignation letter, the embattled chairman made a surprise appearance at the Board of Trustees meeting in Abuja, saying he had not resigned.
Alhaji Tukur, who walked into the Banquet hall of the Presidential villa at about 7:50 PM said he was not the sort of person that would resign in secret.
The PDP chairman, who walked in with former chairman of the party, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor told State House Correspondents that the rumour of his resignation was not true.
“I have not resigned. I am not somebody that would resign and you would not know. I have not resigned,” he said curtly before walking into the hall where the meeting of the BOT was to hold.
But a BoT member, who declined to be named, told one of our correspondents that the PDP had already accepted his resignation.
“Yes, it is true that he has resigned and the party has accepted his resignation ,” he said after the meeting.
He explained that the National Executive Committee of the party would announce Tukur’s resignation during its meeting which would commence at noon on Thursday(today).
The source added that the decision by the leadership of the PDP and the Presidency to keep Tukur’s resignation under wraps was to prevent a leadership vacuum in the party.
“We couldn’t make it public now since we have not appointed his successor. We would announce his resignation after our NEC meeting tomorrow(today) . But I can tell you authoritatively that he has resigned.”
Tukur had amid speculations that he had turned in his resignation letter to the President before noon on Wednesday, arrived the Presidential Villa, Abuja for the BOT meeting which started at about 7.55pm.
The Chairman of the BOT, Chief Tony Anenih, had told journalists after the meeting that Tukur attended as the national chairman of the PDP and that he believed he(Tukur) also left in the same capacity.
“He (Tukur) attended the meeting as the national chairman. We all left together. I believe he left as national chairman,” Anenih claimed.
When asked about the major decisions taken at the meeting, he said they were meant for only BOT members and not journalists.
Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State said Tukur’s fate was a decision the party would take at its own time.
How Jonathan failed to save him
Jonathan had on Tuesday night failed to convince the governors elected on the platform of the PDP to allow Tukur remain in office till March when the party’s mid-term convention would hold.
His suggestion, which was tabled at the national caucus meeting of the party, was aimed at giving the embattled chairman a soft landing.
However, the governors protested, saying that they would rather want him to leave office on Thursday (today) not March.
Tukur was said to have compounded his problems with the governors during the caucus meeting, which was also attended by Vice-President Namadi Sambo and the principal officers of the National Assembly.
The President, who presided, was said to have asked Tukur to explain the cause(s) of the crises in the PDP.
A highly placed source at the meeting said that rather than address issues, Tukur accused the governors of encouraging many of the National Working Committee members to work against him.
The source said, “The chairman started by accusing the governors of being the problems in the party.
“He said they(governors) were encouraging indiscipline with their tactical support for some of the NWC members to undermine him.
“He also said the governors were never happy with his decision to instill discipline in the party and to also make sure that the PDP constitution was used as a yardstick in every decision taken by him.”
The source added that Tukur indirectly inferred that those who wanted him out were actually targeting the President.
It was however gathered that at the meeting, which another source described as unusual, that Jonathan and not Tukur presided.
This action, it was learnt, was to ensure that the national chairman did not dictate the pace of the meeting and determine who was to be recognised to speak.
The actions allowed the Deputy National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, to respond to the allegations by Tukur against the NWC members.
The constitution of the party only names the deputy chairman, the national secretary, the national legal adviser, the national treasurer, the national woman leader and the national youth leader as other members of the caucus.
Secondus was said to have punctured all the allegations by Tukur, by citing several cases where Tukur took decisions without carrying them along.
He mentioned the dissolution of some state executives of the party by Tukur and the suspension of some members as examples.
Not only that, the chairman was accused of always asking the NWC members to come to his house for meetings, an action some of them believed was not in the interest of the party.
The chairman was also alleged to have employed many aides, who were not recognised by the party.
It was also learnt that Secondus, who sat beside Tukur at the meeting, said it would be difficult for the NWC members to work with the embattled chairman again.
The PDP governors had advised the NWC members to suspend Tukur during their meeting on Wednesday.
It was gathered that when this information leaked to the President, he warned them that doing so could heat up the polity and portray Tukur in bad light.
• Tukur may get ambassadorial position
It was however gathered that Tukur had been penciled in to serve as Nigeria’s ambassador to China. He is to replace Ambassador. Aminu Wali.
It was gathered that the decision was reached at the caucus meeting on Tuesday night.
Wali will return to the country to head President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign for 2015 election.
• President’s wife plans to install Tukur’s successor
Meanwhile, the wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan is said to be scheming to install the Minister of Transport, Idris Umar as Tukur’s successor.
Some of the PDP governors are also said to be pushing for a former Governor of Bauchi State, Mr. Adamu Muazu, as the next chairman of the party.
• We’ve left PDP for good, Amaechi, Nyako insist
Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and his Adamawa State counterpart, Murtala Nyako, have insisted that they would not return to the PDP whether or not Tukur remained its chairman.
Amaechi, who spoke through the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, said that it was not possible for an arrow that had already left bow to return.
Amaechi said, “Tukur’s resignation or no resignation will not change our decision to leave the PDP because we have no regret moving to the All Progressives Congress. The arrow has left the bow and will not return to it.”
Nyako, through his Director Press and Public Affairs, Ahmad Sajoh, said the problem he and his colleagues had with the PDP was beyond the person of Tukur.
He said, “We do not have a personal problem with Tukur, it is the impunity that is in the PDP that we said we did not like.
“We are talking generally about the party’s level of impunity not just Tukur, it doesn’t look like the PDP structure is ready to shed this brigandage which has come to symbolise its operations.”
Babayo, Mu’azu, Adamu in line to succeed Tukur
Meanwhile, three names are being touted as possible replacements for Tukur. They include former Acting National Secretary, Dr. Musa Babayo; former Bauchi State Governor, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, all from Bauchi State and former Nigeria Ambassador to the United States, Alhaji Hassan Adamu, Wakili Adamawa.