PDP CONVENTION FALLOUT: Tukur emerges consensus candidate

on MARCH 23, 2012 · in HEADLINES 

By Rotimi Ajayi, Clifford Ndujihe, Henry Umoru,  Ikechukwu Nnochiri &  Suzan Edeh
ABUJA—AFTER hours of intrigues, and intense horse-trading among President Goodluck Jonathan, governors of the 36 states and some top brass of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  former Industries Minister and Second Republic Governor of old Gongola State, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has been accepted as the consensus National Chairmanship candidate of the party in tomorrow’s national convention in Abuja.

Indeed, the faces of those, who will run the affairs of the party are also becoming clearer as former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola was also endorsed as consensus secretaryship candidate; Dr Sam Jaja, deputy national secretaryship candidate; Mr Olisa Metu,publicity secretary; Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, organising secretary and Dr Kema Chikwe, women leader.

This is coming as North-East governors over ruled the outcome of Tuesday’s zonal congress of the party that side-stepped Tukur and elected Dr. Musa Babayo as zonal national chairmanship candidate. Tukur polled two votes at the contest while Babayo had 14 votes.

The North-East governors teamed up with their colleagues from the other zones, who, according to sources, met with the President for several hours last night. Vanguard learnt that the meeting was still on as of press time.

With these endorsements, other aspirants are expected to drop their ambitions to make way for a roller-coaster convention tomorrow.

From left, Chairman of occasion Prof. Jery Gana chatting with Former Ministers , Mr Humphrey Abbah and FCT Engr Aba Gana during a programme tag AN EVENING WITH BAMANGA TUKUR organized by Friends of Bamanga in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan

Meanwhile, Tukur, has accused  former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of allegedly orchestrating his defeat in order not to jeopardize his (Atiku) presidential ambition in 2015. Tukur alleged that the former Vice President brainwashed officials of the party in his North-East base to go ahead and frustrate his ambition.

This is just as eleven candidates in the race for the national chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP were last night engaged in different schemes to outwit one another as battle lines changed among them as new alliances were formed among the candidates for the top party job.

Why Atiku is after me

—Tukur

Tukur in a statement he issued in Abuja yesterday, entitled “Why Atiku is after me”, alleged that the ex-VP has vowed to thwart the ambition of anybody from Adamawa state vying for the position in view of the fact that it would jeopardise his aim to aspire for presidency in 2015.

The statement which was signed by the legal adviser of his campaign organization, Chief Johny Ucheaga, further accused Atiku of sponsoring the legal action that sought to disqualify Tukur from contesting at the National Convention of the party on Saturday on grounds that he was earlier expelled by the National Executive Committee of the party in 2001.

The statement read in part: “The person who sued is a surrogate of those wishing to vie for Presidential election in 2015 who believed that Bamanga will not do their dirty bidding and would not be part of their equation.

“The timing of the court action showed that the action is in bad faith because Bamanga Tukur has always participated in PDP affairs over the years without any objection.

“Bamanga Tukur was the chairman of the Campaign Council of Dr Goodluck Jonathan. He raised the hand of Jonathan and introduced him as PDP flag bearer in Eagle Square, Abuja without any objection.”

It further recalled a recent event in Adamawa where it said Tukur launched the campaign for Governor Murtala Nyako’s re-election, stressing that nobody challenged or confronted him at the period to question the validity of his membership.

Consequently, Tukur exuded confidence that he would secure a favourable nod from the six geo-political zones on Saturday.

New alliances emerge in PDP contest

The eleven candidates in the race for the national chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP were last night engaged in different schemes to outwit one another as battle lines changed among them as new alliances were formed among the candidates for the top party job.

Alhaji Tukur in a change of tactics last night sought the support of eight other candidates who lost out in the endorsement of the Northeast caucus of the party.

Dr. Musa Babayo who won the endorsement of the Northeast caucus of the party during the zonal caucus in Bauchi on Wednesday morning was the object of criticism by Tukur and eight of the other aspirants who dubbed the endorsement as “mysterious”.

Supporters of Tukur in both the presidency and the PDP were meanwhile yesterday battling to sustain the nationwide support earlier mobilized for the former governor of defunct Gongola State.

Their efforts nonetheless, Dr. Babayo was beginning to enjoy a boost from his endorsement by the Northeast caucus with some delegates from Tukur’s support base in the South throwing their support towards him.

Dr. Babayo was, however, not enjoying a free ride as the national secretariat of the party yesterday issued screening forms to all eleven aspirants. The action was interpreted as the national party’s rejection of the endorsement of Dr. Babayo by the Northeast zone of the party.

The candidates are expected to return the forms this morning during which they would face the party’s screening committee.

The PDP Northeast Senate caucus was itself meeting last night to determine how it was going to throw its support. Senate sources told Vanguard last night that the PDP Senate caucus would be guided by the decision of the PDP Northeast Senate caucus.

At the end of a meeting held by the nine aspirants at the Aso Drive residence of former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Architect Ibrahim Bunu, the aspirants described the exercise as very strange and undemocratic.

Others at the joint briefing after the meeting were former governor of Bauchi State, Adamu Muazu, ex-Minister of Defence, Dr. Shettima Mustafa; former Minister of Commerce, Ambassador Adamu Idris Waziri; former Minister of Agriculture and Rural development, Mallam Adamu Bello; former Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters, Senator Mohammed Abba- Aji; Barrister Ibrahim Shehu Birma; the host, Arc. Ibrahim Bunu and Alhaji Gambo Lawan.

Addressing journalists on behalf of the aspirants former Minister of Education, Dauda Birmah who represented Tukur at the briefing said:

‘We the undersigned wish to draw the attention of all our party members to the obnoxious and totally unacceptable announcement of the twenty-one stakeholders in Bauchi to the effect that they had selected Dr. Musa Babayo as the sole chairmanship candidate of the North –eastern zone to be presented to the National Convention that will hold in Abuja on the 24th of March, 2012.”

According to him on the morning of Wednesday, March 21, 2012 which was the date of the North-eastern zonal congress, twenty-one stakeholders of the party were invited to breakfast in the Government House in Bauchi with none of the chairmanship candidates invited.

“This was at a time that most of the delegates and stakeholders were either just arriving at the state capital for the congress or were still on their way to the venue.

‘’It must be restated that none of the national chairmanship candidates was invited to this meeting. We therefore reject this fraudulent adoption because of its potential to bring our democratic process into great ridicule and tarnish the good image of our great party. We hereby state as follows:

‘’That the constitution of our great party does not confer on the northeast stakeholders caucus nor any zonal or regional caucus for that matter, much less this clique of twenty-one persons has the right and power to elect the national chairman on behalf of the national convention members.

‘’That we were neither contacted nor were we privy to the processes (if any) that led to the mysterious emergence of Dr. Musa Babayo as purported candidate adopted by the northeast. We were neither consulted nor did witness the process that led to this adoption. That we refused to accept this strange and totally undemocratic situation such as what happened in Bauchi where only twenty-one gathered to take such critical decision without due consultation and with flagrant disregard to justice, equity and fair play.

‘’That the action of this breakfast meeting portends danger for much sought-after unity in our party and growth of democracy in Nigeria in general. This is in total disregard to the party’s constitution and electoral guidelines. We, therefore call on all delegates to the national convention of our great party to ignore the enemies of democracy that are trying to tarnish the gains of the past thirteen years of hard won democracy. We appeal to all delegates to come to Abuja prepared to vote for candidates of their choice right there at the convention ground.

‘’Finally, we hereby appeal to the leadership of our great party to distance itself from the purported emergence of an anointed candidate and treat the path of rectitude by protecting the Constitution and electoral guidelines of the party.”

When contacted on why he was not at the meeting, one of the aspirants and outgoing National Publicity of the Party, Professor Rufai Ahmed Alkali said his campaign organization will react at the most appropriate time.

Also yesterday, the former Deputy Senate President and Director- General, Bamanga Tukur Campaign Organization, Senator Ibrahim Mantu at a separate press conference described the election of Babayo as a kangaroo one which did not in any way follow democratic process and cannot stand.

Mantu who noted that only 22 delegates out of the 8000 delegates from the zone participated in the process, which he said was conducted in the dead of the night, said, ‘the purported election of Musa Babayo as consensus chairmanship candidate cannot stand. Those who usurped the power of 800 delegates of the North East should know that their action is illegal, null, void and of no effect

“Only the aspirants in the contest can come up with a consensus candidate and not a third party in the case of the purported election of Babayo in Bauchi. It is one of the greatest assault to the sensibilities and intelligence of the Nigerian people. Those who organised the so called congress must apologise to Alhaji Bamanga Tukur because they did not allow the real delegates to vote.

 SOURCE: Vanguard Newspaper, 23 March 2012. http://www.vanguardngr.com/