PDP leadership crisis: Tukur sacks Habu Fari

PDP leadership crisis: Tukur sacks Habu Fari

Written by Jacob Segun Olatunji and Leon Usigbe, Abuja Thursday, 14 June 2012

ALARMED by the leadership crisis bedevilling the party in recent times following the appointment of former national chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Alhaji Habu Fari as his principal secretary, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Bamanga Tukur, has relieved Fari of the post.
Fari was sacked through a letter to him dated June 12, 2012, which was personally signed by the national chairman, with the party boss regretting the anguish the action of the former principal secretary had caused in the party, especially the exchange of correspondence with individuals and organisations without authorisation.
A senior party source revealed to the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja that  Tukur also regretted that  Fari had gone beyond his brief as a personal aide to the chairman and his continued stay in office would not be in the interest of the party.
Consequently, the chairman informed him that he was being relieved of his post as the principal secretary and, therefore, directed him to submit all party property in his possession with immediate effect.
The Nigerian Tribune learnt that Fari had already removed his personal belongings and vacated his office at the Wadata Plaza national secretariat of the PDP by Wednesday.
Besides being alien to the party’s constitution, Fari’s appointment as the principal secretary to the national chairman had caused unease among members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party after he attended the weekly meeting of the NWC even though he was not an elected officer of the party.
Among his sins were his holding on to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination forms for the Edo State governorship election until the last day of submission without the knowledge of the party; attempting to contribute to deliberations of the NWC meetings and also pressuring the national chairman to call for NWC meetings only at his discretion, as against it being a weekly affair.
He was also accused of usurping many of the functions of the national secretary, including doing correspondence on behalf of the PDP without the knowledge of both the national chairman and the national secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
The PDP had, on Tuesday, openly admitted administrative lapses in its operations, which arose from the festering face-off between Prince Oyinlola and Alhaji Fari.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja, the national publicity secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metu, who regretted the heat the crisis had generated, said the lapses had been resolved amicably in the overall interest of the party.
According to him, “in the past few days, there have been lots of media reports on the problems at the national secretariat of our party and exchange of memo between the national secretary and the principal secretary to the national chairman.
“It is true that we have administrative lapses and we have resolved the lapses. It will never happen again.”
On how the crisis was resolved, he said “we had problems and we have been able to resolve them. The national secretary is an elected member of the party. He is the administrative and chief accounting officer of the party who relates with the national chairman on party matters and the chairman is at liberty to handle issues personally or through his aides.’’

SOURCE: Nigerian Tribune, 14 June 2012. http://tribune.com.ng/