Tukur announced the lifting of the suspension order on Monday when he met with the team led by Secretary to the Government of the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim, which had been sent by President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the intra-party crises. He announced briefly that Wamakko’s suspension order had been rescinded, a very bitter […]
He swallowed his own vomit
Tukur announced the lifting of the suspension order on Monday when he met with the team led by Secretary to the Government of the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim, which had been sent by President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the intra-party crises. He announced briefly that Wamakko’s suspension order had been rescinded, a very bitter personal pill, and quickly said in the same breath that a National Executive Committee meeting will be held tomorrow, Thursday. That was the second bitter pill to swallow in one fell swoop, since Tukur had refused to call a NEC meeting for a year despite a party constitutional stipulation that it should hold at least every quarter.
The Wamakko saga had started on June 6 when party national publicity secretary Olisah Metuh announced the governor’s suspension for anti-party activities. Initially, the party said he was suspended because he refused to recognize Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio as chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and for refusing to appear before the party’s National Working Committee to explain his stand. A day later, Metuh provided a clarification that only made the PDP secretariat to look foolishly vindictive. He said Wamakko was suspended because he showed disrespect to the party chairman by refusing to answer his phone calls.
If Wamakko got a suspension for not answering phone calls, frankly what he did to Bamanga last week warranted a dismissal. He was abroad when the suspension was handed down, so when he returned to Nigeria on Wednesday last week, his supporters in Sokoto organized a reception ceremony such as had never been seen before in the state’s history. Hundreds of thousands of party supporters turned out to welcome Alu. The event was beamed live on television. Many party leaders said at the rally that they are not PDP supporters but Alu supporters.
Among those who attended the event was Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who said PDP may suspend Alu as party member but cannot remove him as their political leader. All three senators and all the House of Representative members from the state also attended the rally. Aliyu Wamakko capped it all when, in his speech, he called Bamanga Tukur a political prostitute and demanded the chairman’s sack, saying he had wrecked the party to which they had contributed so much. Wamakko’s rebellion was quickly supported by the PDP North West Zonal leadership and a day later by Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido. It was clear that more governors were lining up to back the rebellion. Jonathan had to move fast to prevent the party from falling apart in his hands, so he sent Anyim and six loyalist governors to hand down what must had been an ultimatum to Tukur. The chairman, whose only constituency in the party is Jonathan, caved in and swallowed his own vomit. Here’s hoping that next time he will look beyond his political nose before he leaped. That is, if he is still the party chairman after tomorrow’s showdown NEC meeting.
Jang and Akpabio, where’s the majority?
Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang and his key puppeteer Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom have been huffing and puffing since their defeat at the May 24 Nigeria Governors Forum [NGF] election that they had the support of the majority of the country’s 36 governors as expressed on a piece of paper prior to the meeting. In fairness to Jang, he looked dazed and confused as he stumbled out of the May 24 meeting. He had been assured by Akpabio that he had the votes of 19 Northern and at least 8 Southern state governors, a total of 27, but when the votes were cast at the Rivers Governor’s Lodge, Jang fell short of that number by 11 votes. He got 16 votes to Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s 19.
It was Akpabio who saved the day, kind of, by announcing on the Lodge’s steps that Jang was the new NGF chairman. Talk about snatching victory from the jaws of sound defeat. After nearly a month’s huff and puff during which Jang, supported by the Presidency, the PDP secretariat, NTA and FRCN continued to parade himself as NGF chairman, he finally called a meeting in Abuja. How many governors turned up for the meeting? Sixteen. The May 24 vote was authentic after all.
