Tukur Refuses To Quit PDP Chairmanship

 

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur,  on Tuesday told those seeking his removal from office that his job was not vacant.

“Chairman is there dam! dam!  The chairman is not only in office, he is also in power. In PDP, there is no vacancy in the national chairmanship,”  he boasted to  State House correspondents after the party’s National Working Committee meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Tuesday.

Ahead of the PDP National Executive Council meeting scheduled for Thursday, there had  been  reports that Tukur and other members of the NWC of the PDP had been directed by  Jonathan  to resign.

Tukur told the  State House correspondents   that he would not resign as the national chairman of the party because “we are here to run the PDP.”

“It is not true that I am resigning. Resign for what? It is not true at all. We will continue to run the PDP,”  he added, but went ahead to  confirm that eight members of the NWC whose elections  were faulted by the Independent National Electoral Commission would  resign.

 He said himself, the National Financial Secretary, the National Auditor and the National Secretary whose office is already vacant were not affected.

 Those who will resign, according to Tukur, are all the deputies, and all ex-officio members.

 He said, “The meeting with the President was about regularising the family of the PDP because there was INEC observation that some of the members of the NWC were  not properly elected;  so it has to be regularised.

“Those who have not been elected will resign and they will go back;  they will have the  opportunity to regularise.

“About eight people are affected. There are  people that are not affected, these are the National Chairman, the National Financial Secretary, National Auditor and of course the  National Secretary which is vacant now.

 “The other eight people, all the deputies, and ex-officials and the rest of them whose election in the convention was not voted for are affected.”

In preparing  for fresh elections for the affected party officials, Tukur said, “We are going to have party caucus tonight (Tuesday), we are going to have BOT tomorrow (Wednesday) and we are going to have our NEC on Thursday.”

Those who will resign  are  the National Publicity Secretary,   Olisa Metuh; Deputy National Chairman, Sam Jaja; National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha; Deputy National Organising Secretary, Okechukwu Nnadozie; Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Binta Goje; National Youth Leader, Garba Chiza; Deputy Youth Leader, Dennis Alonge Niyi; Deputy National Auditor, Umar Ibrahim; National Women Leader, Kema Chikwe; Deputy National Women Leader, Hannatu Ulam; Deputy National Treasurer, Claudus Inengas; and National Legal Adviser, Victor Gwom.

It was gathered  that in spite of Tukur’s insistence that he would not resign, some PDP governors, including Sule Lamido, were pushing for his removal.