PDP Governors Move To Remove Adamu Muazu

 

A fresh crisis is brewing within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as some of its governors who want absolute control of the party are said to have perfected plans to move against the national chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, over allegations that he has tampered with the delegates’ lists submitted from the congress elections held in the states last month.

Also, the party's former national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who resigned in January this year, is warming up for a comeback bid, as he was said to have briefed his lawyers last Friday to challenge his resignation as the national chairman of the ruling PDP.

It was gathered that Tukur, who was recently appointed Nigeria’s Ambassador at Large by President Goodluck Jonathan, is claiming that he did not resign properly as the national chairman of the party.

According to impeccable party sources, the six governors who are unhappy with Mu’azu for his manipulation of their delegates’ lists are the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswill Akpabio, Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda; Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime, Cross River Governor Liyel Imoke, and Katsina Governor Ibrahim Shema.

The party sources said that in addition to the charge of tampering with the lists of delegates from their states, the governors are accusing him of lining his pockets with money.

For instance, he was alleged to have collected over $3 million from a governorship aspirant in Cross River State and also received various luxury cars from other aspirants from Akwa Ibom State, while in Benue, he was said to have thrown his weight behind a former national chairman of PDP, Barnabas Gemade, who is seeking re-election to the Senate.

Gemade and Suswam are from the same senatorial zone in Benue State, and have been at loggerheads over the senatorial contest.

Chime’s grouse against Mu'azu stems from the perceived support the national chairman is said to be giving to the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, with respect to the delegates’ congress election in the state.

Chime is also interested in contesting for the Enugu West senatorial seat currently occupied by Ekweremadu.

In the case of Bauchi, Yuguda is said to be against the plot by Mu’azu to install the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed, as the next governor of the state.

A PDP source revealed that Mu’azu took Yayale to the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, and Jonathan for their respective endorsements of his candidacy.

The source also said Mu’azu has also compromised his office as national chairman by allegedly collecting inducements from three governorship aspirants in Abia State.

The PDP governors, it was gathered, used their attendance of Suswam's 50th birthday to articulate their positions against Mu’azu.

It was gathered that the PDP governors openly confronted Mu’azu with their complaints at the Presidential Villa last Tuesday after Jonathan’s declaration.

In addition to his brewing problems with the governors, it was learnt that there is a cold war developing between the national chairman and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party over complaints that he has not been holding regular meetings of the committee.

A member of the NWC, who confirmed the plot against Mu’azu, said the national chairman is not making things easy for himself, as he does not often convene meetings of the NWC to discuss issues and complaints against him, especially with regards to the delegates’ elections that have polarised the party.

“For months, we only had one NWC meeting just last week Wednesday, whereas, they are supposed to be held once a week. We are aware of the various complaints but the issue is the chairman is never around to address the issues and complaints as they occur.

“The morale of the staff and members of the NWC is low. From what is happening, it does not seem that we are preparing for the elections,” the NWC member said.

In addition to the fallout from the congress elections that the PDP has to contend with, Tukur, a source said, is waiting in the wings to capitalise on the crisis, and has approached a Federal High Court through his lawyers to challenge his resignation in January this year.

A party source, who briefed on Tukur’s comeback bid, said: “Everyone is aware of the attempt by the former national chairman to return on the grounds that his resignation in January 2014 was not in line with the constitution of the party.

“Only last week, some members of the party, who went to court to challenge the continued stay of Mu’azu as the national chairman were settled with huge sums of money and now, information available to us shows that Tukur has assembled some lawyers to challenge his resignation for a possible comeback bid.”