Tukur abandoned by National Working c’ttee

Last minutes efforts by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur to rally round members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stand by him in the current bid to remove him as national chairman of the party yesterday suffered a setback. Only two out of the 12-member NWC honoured Tukur’s emergency meeting […]

Last minutes efforts by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur to rally round members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stand by him in the current bid to remove him as national chairman of the party yesterday suffered a setback.

Only two out of the 12-member NWC honoured Tukur’s emergency meeting falling short of quorum. The nine others stayed away. Prof. Adewale Oladipo and the national auditor, Alhaji Adewale Adeyanju  honoured Tukur’s invitation.
The aborted meeting was meant to precede the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Embattled Tukur has however vowed to fight back, saying he will not resign since he was duly elected and that only a national convention of the party could remove him.
Tukur in a phone interview with newsmen after the aborted meeting said he remains national chairman of the PDP.
“I am an elected national chairman. I have my certificate of return. I cannot resign. The convention brought me. So it has to take the convention that brought me for me to resign, he said.
Sources told Daily Trust that Bamaga Tukur called the meeting to resolve some of the issues bothering the members which made them to harbour grudges against him so they will be on his side in case the issue of resignation comes up at its NEC on Thursday.
 The NWC members which met with the President Goodluck Jonathan last week were said to have complained of high-handedness on the part of Tukur in the running of the affairs of the party. They reportedly said Tukur does not involve them in key decisions but prefers to conduct the party’s affairs in his private residence.
But the NWC members are said to be acting in support of some PDP governors who insist that Tukur must be removed to salvage the party from total depletion.
Five governors left the party late November and shortly after,  37 members of the House of Representatives followed suit, while former President Olusegun Obasanjo only last week, wrote to the PDP national chairman to say he was withdrawing his participation in the affairs of the party.
Other members of the NWC who did show up at Tukur’s emergency meeting include  the Deputy National Chairman, Chief Uche Secondus, Deputy National Secretary, Chief Onwe Solomon Onwe, National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, national woman leader, Kema Chikwe, national financial secretary Elder Bolaji Ananih, National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon, National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha, National Youth Leader, Alhaji Abdullahi Hussaini Maibasira, and National Treasurer, AlhajiBala Buhari.
National Publicity Secretary of the party Olisah Metuh who later came to the secretariat when asked by newsmen why the meeting didn’t hold asked in return if there was supposed to be a meeting.