The relationship between the embattled National Chairman
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the Chairman of
the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT),Chief Tony Anenih has hit an all time low
after Tukur allegedly shut the gate of his Abuja residence against a party
delegation from him, last Thursday.
Those allegedly denied entry by
Tukur were members of the party’s National Convention Planning Committee led by
its chairman, Prof Jerry Gana and the Secretary, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
They were on a mission for
consultation with the PDP national Chairman on the preparation for the August
31 special national convention of the party.
They were reportedly kept outside
the gate by security men who told them that Tukur was not at home and that they
could not enter the chairman’s expansive premises.
Gana, at a press conference in Abuja
on Friday, neither confirmed nor denied the report, saying that as party
leaders, they were not expected to be discussing party issues on the pages of
newspapers.
“It’s true that the Deputy President
of the Senate and I went to the chairman’s house to see him. But we will not
take issues on that because we respect our party chairman. We are not going to
discuss our party issues on the pages of newspapers”, Gana said while
addressing reporters on preparation for the convention.
Party sources said Anenih has not taken
kindly to what he perceives as a personal insult on him by Tukur .
A party source said:”The leader is
angry and he may have decided to back the convention committee against Tukur
following the latter’s refusal to give peace a chance. Anenih is very angry at
the way the chairman treated respected chieftains of our party.
“He is not happy that in spite of
his intervention, Tukur is not ready for peace. Should the issue be discussed
at the next BoT meeting, it is likely Anenih will throw his weight behind the
convention committee. He was the one who advised them to go to Tukur. He is not
happy that they were humiliated that much by the party’s leader.”
Relationship between the two
chairmen has not been particularly rosy on account of what many party members,
including PDP governors, see as Tukur’s arrogance.
Some of the governors are crusading
for his removal, citing his style of management.
Investigations by The Nation
revealed that following a prolonged disagreement between the committee and the
party’s interim National Working Committee over modalities for the planned
convention, the BoT chairman was prevailed upon by some party chieftains to
intervene in the matter for peace to reign.
Consequently, Anenih met with the
committee on the issue following which he spoke with Tukur and urged him to
work with the Convention committee in the interest of the party.
A member of the committee said:
“Tukur wants the committee to be reporting to him as the national chairman of
the party. But as members of the committee, we feel he should not be allowed to
be an umpire in a game wherein he is a key player.
“Though we are not holding election
for his post, we are conducting elections to fill vacant positions in the NWC
of which he is a part.
“So the committee feels he shouldn’t
be the one dictating the modalities. That is the issue. And because we have not
been able to make him see reason with us, things are not going well between the
committee and the interim NWC. This has the possibility of affecting the
planned convention. That is why the BoT had to intervene.”
Tukur, on his part, is also said to
be peeved by the arrogance of the committee leadership.
A party source familiar with the
development said: “The chairman feels leaders of the committee are going
outside their brief. The refusal of the committee to constantly report its
activities to him annoys him. He cannot understand why Gana and his members
will appoint sub-committees to handle aspects of the convention without telling
him.
“That is why the NWC feels the
committee is deliberately sidelining it in the preparation for the convention.
That explains the no-love-lost situation between the two party organs.”
It was gathered that as a way of
dousing the tension between the two camps, Anenih convinced the Gana-led
committee to visit Tukur and discuss the planned convention with him.
Gana and Ekweremadu reportedly
arrived Tukur’s residence as early as 9.30am only to be denied entry.
After waiting for about 35 minutes
without seeing Tukur, they decided to leave.
Sources said soon after their
departure, Tukur held a meeting in his house with members of the party’s
interim national Working Committee (NWC).
The meeting lasted for about an hour
after which the party chairman left for the Abuja Airport en route Yola,
Adamawa State.
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Politics