August 16, 2013
PDP crisis: Wammako, Aliyu, Lamido confront Tukur … say party drifting under chairman’s nose
Three governors from the northern part
of the country met with the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, at his private residence in Abuja on
Thursday and confronted him with the crisis in the party.
The governors were Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rabiu Kwankaso (Kano); and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto).
The meeting which was held behind
closed-doors coincided with a similar one President Goodluck Jonathan
had with Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Emmanuel Udughan
(Delta); and Peter Obi (Anambra).
Sources said the northern governors
took time to explain to Tukur that they were not happy with the way the
party was being run and that there was the need for him and his team to
change their leadership style.
The three governors were among the five
from the region that had met political leaders on the crisis in the
party. The other two governors are Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and
Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).
Tukur had been asked on Monday what he
thought about the consultations by the governors and he replied that he
hoped that they (governors) would reveal their findings later.
Though the media aide to Tukur, Mr.
Oliver Okpara, claimed that the governors were in his boss’ residence
for reconciliation, one of them (governors) denied the claim.
Okpara, in a statement issued after the
meeting, said the governors also apologised to Tukur on behalf of their
two colleagues who were not present.
The statement reads in part, “Three out
of five northern governors of the PDP , namely Rabiu Kwankwaso
(Kano); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), had a
closed-door meeting with the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr.
Bamanga
Tukur, that lasted for several hours and the governors apologised on
behalf of the other governors notably, those of Adamawa and Niger
states.
“And it was resolved that they have
returned to the leadership of the party and that all that happened in
the past which involved grievances, accusations and counter-accusations
were done because of gap in communication amidst disinformation from
some quarters between them and the leadership of the party.
“Having listened to the national
chairman, they are now properly informed about the happenings in the
party and promised that from henceforth, they will work in harmony and
unity with the leadership of the party. They also pledged their loyalty
to Dr. Tukur.
“The National Chairman, after listening
to them also promised as a father to forgive and forget all that had
happened and assured them that the leadership of the party would
work with the governors.
He stressed that any member of the party
that feels aggrieved should utilise all the internal mechanisms and
platforms set out by the party.
“The chairman said that their visit was
a confirmation of the consultations adopted by the leadership of the
party to ensure total reconciliation of aggrieved members as set out by
the National Reconciliation Committee headed by Gov. Seriake Dickson of
Bayelsa State.”
But one of the governors, who spoke
with one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, said they did
not go to Tukur’s residence to beg or apologise.
Rather, he said, they went there to inform him that they were not happy with happenings in the party.
The governor, who sounded angry while
speaking on the telephone, said, “How can anyone say we went there to
beg or reconcile when in point blank, we told the chairman that the
party is drifting under his nose?
“We also told him that this was not a party he met and whether he had come to destabilise the party or not.
“It is wrong and satanic of them to say
we were there to beg. You know our antecedent, don’t you? And someone
would come and lie that we came to beg?”
He warned they might be forced to
either issue a statement or speak to journalists on the matter at a
later date after they might have read “the lies the chairman’s attack
dog is feeding the public.”
It was gathered that the meeting was held at the instance of Tukur.
Also on Thursday, President Goodluck
Jonathan hosted Akpabio, Uduaghan and Obi in his office in what
was believed to be further efforts to resolve the crisis rocking the
NGF.
Akpabio and Uduaghan are members of the PDP while Obi is of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
The three belong to the faction of the NGF led by Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State.
While Akpabio, who is the chairman of
the PDP Governors’ Forum, arrived at the Presidential Villa, Abuja a few
minutes ahead of the closed-door meeting, Uduaghan and Obi arrived
at the same time.
After about an hour, Uduaghan left without speaking with journalists.
Akpabio and Obi however stayed back to
join other top government officials in witnessing the conferment of
Mali’s highest national honour, the Grand Cross of the National Order of
Mali, on Jonathan by the country’s interim President, Prof.
Dioncounda Traore.
They also left without talking to journalists.
A source said the meeting was the
fallout of the one former President Olusegun Obasanjo had on Monday
with PDP governors, especially as it affected the NGF and the PDP.
Their visit came less than 24 hours
after Nyako met with the President. Nyako belongs to the NGF faction
led by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State.
It was learnt that eight issues were on the agenda of the meeting between Obasanjo and the governors.
The issues were the division within the
PDP leadership; disagreement between some governors and Tukur; the
NGF cisis; and crises in some state chapters of the PDP. Others were
the Anambra governorship election, Rivers State crisis; reconciliation
within the PDP ; and the alarm raised by five Northern governors on how
to keep the party intact ahead of the 2015 polls.
Meanwhile, the immediate past National
Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh,
has decried the internal wrangling in the party and urged all its
members to close ranks and take advantage of the ongoing
reconciliatory efforts to forge a united front ahead of 2015 general
elections.
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