PDP chair: I won’t resign — Tukur

[PeoplesDaily]

By Lawrence Olaoye

National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, arose from a crucial meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday to declare that he would not resign his position as being presently speculated.

This is coming as the party's Board of Trustees (BoT) meets today ahead of its National Executive Council (NEC)'s meeting scheduled to hold tomorrow. Tukur who spoke to State House Correspondents after his parley with the President in company with other members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) explained that his election was properly conducted at the party's convention.

He said reports of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which pointed at irregularities did not affect him and three other members of the NWC and therefore there would be no need for him to resign as being variously speculated in the media. According to him, he was duly and constitutionally elected alongside the National Financial Secretary, the National Auditor and the National Secretary, whose position has been vacant with the removal of Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola by a court order. He stressed "the eight people, all the deputies, and ex-officios and the rest of them whose election in the convention was not voted for," are those affected. Instead of them vacating their positions, he explained,there are some positions in the NWC that were not properly filled, which needed to be 'regularized''. This exercise, he said, entails that about eight of the NWC officials will drop their portfolios and seek fresh mandate if they so wish.

Tukur,who was flanked by the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, denied the speculations that he would be resigning tomorrow at the party's NEC insisting "It is not true that I am resigning. Resign for what? It is not true at all. We are here to run the

PDP and we have done so and we will continue to run the PDP."

Metuh who interjected intermittently insisted that Tukur will not resign stressing that the National Chairman is not only in office, but in power.

Commenting on the reason for his meeting with the President Tukur said "the meeting is about regularising the family of PDP because there was INEC observation that some of the members of the NWC were not properly elected so it has to be regularized.

"The meeting is about regularising the family of PDP because there was INEC observation, some of the members of the NWC were not properly elected so it has to be regularized. Those who have not been elected will resign and they will go back, they will have opportunity to regularize"

We are still consulting over Tukur's fate

— Ekweremadu

Immediately after the meeting with the PDP leadership yesterday, President Jonathan also met with the leadership of the National Assembly represented by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Emeka Ihedioha.

Ekweremadu who briefed newsmen after the meeting said "this one (yesterday's meeting) has to do with our party issues because we are of the same political party; it is essentially a party's affair. Every family has its own issue and the PDP is not an exemption. The most important thing is the ability to resolve those issues and that is why you can see consultations going on. So, I"m hopeful that we will come out of the crisis much stronger."

Commenting on report that Bamanga Tukur and some NWC members of the PDP have been asked to resign, Ekweremadu said, "We are still consulting. In the evening we are going to have a meeting of the national caucus of the party to look at all the options available to the party."

Governors stop funding PDP

Following the disagreement between the leadership of the PDP and some governors on the platform of the party, it was learnt that they (the governors) have stopped funding the party leaving the running of the party's National Secretariat in near shambles.

A member of staff who volunteered information on condition of anonymity said "You will notice that there has been power outage at the secretariat for some days now. This is because the party is owing the PHCN several millions of Naira. The diesel supplier who supplies N1.8 million diesel to power the generators monthly has not been paid a dime since January this year. That one has stopped supplying diesel insisting on settlement of the outstanding. It is really difficult here at the secretariat at the moment."

Gloom, anxiety pervade PDP over rumored NWC sack

Gloom, anxiety and fears of the unknown were written all over the faces of some members of staff of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretariat yesterday owing to the speculations that members of the party's NWC have been requested to resign their positions ahead of tomorrow's National Executive Council (NEC)'s meeting.

Following the submission of the reports of the Presidential Committee on PDP Crisis chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, to President Goodluck Jonathan, which allegedly recommended the sack of the entire NWC, only two of of the 12 member executive reported to the office yesterday. Those who were in the office yesterday were the National Organising Secretary, and the National Youth Leader.

Members of staff, including aides to the principal officials of the party, were seen discussing the development in hushed tones in clusters. There are fears that over 60 aides appointed to work with members of the NWC and other associate staff would lose their jobs should the party's NEC insist on the ouster of the executive.

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