A*N*X*I*E*T*Y! PDP NEC Meeting: Disquiet Over Automatic Ticket For Jonathan. Ahead of today’s National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), speculations are rife that automatic tickets for President Goodluck Jonathan and governors seeking a second term on the platform of the party may be difficult to sell, as the move is already causing disquiet among the PDP stakeholders. Although the item was not listed on the two-item agenda for the meeting, it was gathered that some members of the NEC might make the proposal at the meeting. According to sources, when NEC approves the automatic ticket, it would then be ratified at the national convention billed for August 31, 2013, in Abuja. Article 31 sub-section (3) of the PDP Constitution, as amended, 2012, says “the decision of the National Executive Committee is binding on all organs of the party”. But a member of the party who pleaded anonymity said there is “the need to grant the president and performing governors a right of first refusal before throwing it open through a primary election”. The source said “the move was in order because there was no ruling party in any presidential democracy in the world that would have a sitting president and refuse to give him the ticket for second term, most especially when the president had performed”. Another source who spoke with LEADERSHIP however said the offer of first refusal was not on the agenda of the meeting, but quickly added that “that does not mean the issue of automatic ticket cannot be raised at the meeting”. The source however confirmed that the regularisation of offices for the interim members of the NWC is on the agenda. A similar proposition by the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, months ago, had attracted criticisms from some members of the party. When contacted to confirm whether or not the move was part of the agenda of today’s NEC meeting, the acting national publicity secretary, Tony Caesar Okeke, refused to pick calls, neither did he reply to text messages. Meanwhile, national auditor of the party Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju has pleaded with the aggrieved members of the party to stop distracting the attention of the national chairman of the party, Alhaji BamangaTukur, unnecessarily. Speaking with journalists in yesterday in Abuja on the incessant threats and plots to remove Tukur from office, Adeyanju stated that Tukur’s wealth of experience was capable of taking the PDP to greater heights if allowed to function optimally without unnecessary distractions from members. Adeyanju, who pointed out that contrary to the wrong notions in some quarters that Alhaji Tukur was not capable of leading the party to anywhere ahead of the 2015 general elections, said “Alhaji Tukur is fit and capable to lead the party to greater heights; he will lead the PDP to victory in future elections but we have to give him the chance and the necessary support”. According to him, “it is high time our party members put an end to all these propaganda and campaign of calumny against our national chairman. He is a man of high integrity with wealth of experience. He became governor of the old Gongola State 30 years ago. He is a renowned industrialist who will not be a ‘yes man’ to anybody. No political party in the country has such a man as its national chairman. We ought to be celebrating him.” He warned party members not to play into the hands of the opposition, adding that “we should not play into the hands of the opposition as the 2015 approaches”. “When he was elected, they claimed that he would not last a month in office but the man is over a year in office now. Within this short period, he has been reuniting the party through his three Rs agenda of reconciliation, reformation and rebuilding which has been yielding the desirable results,” he said, pleading with the aggrieved members to explore mechanisms within the party to seek redress in the overall interest of the party. He said, “If you are annoyed or aggrieved, come to the party, report to the National Working Committee, make your case and we will discuss as a PDP family and move forward. Alhaji Tukur represents stability, sincerity and reliability and he has a very large heart.” Tukur To Get Vote Of Confidence As the interim National Executive Committee of the ruling PDP meets today to address some problems confronting the party, LEADERSHIP learnt that the meeting may pass a vote of confidence in the leadership of its chairman Tukur. Things have fallen apart within the party as some six aggrieved governors are calling for the removal of Tukur on one hand and another group is asking President Goodluck Jonathan to forget about his much-touted second term in honour of the gentleman’s agreement he struck before getting the party’s nod for the 2011 general election. It was a bid to wrest power from the “rebellious” governors that led to the implementation of the INEC directive asking for the sack of the NEC members whose elections were not thorough. Now, the party is under the jackboot of the allies of the trio of Jonathan, Tukur and Chief Tony Anenih. According to an insider, today’s meeting would review what has been happening of recent with a view to taking a position which would include passing a vote of confidence in the leadership style of President Jonathan and Tukur. “That we are in crises is not debatable, but there must be a way out. Some are hell-bent on destroying the party before defecting to the opposition APC while some are creating crises with a view to drawing attention to themselves in order to be relevant. We would not allow these to stop or distract u; so, at tomorrow’s meeting, we would commend President Jonathan for the good work he is doing despite the crises and commend our national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, for his wisdom and the visionary leadership he is giving the party,” the source said. Political pundits believe that most of the crises bedevilling the ruling party are as a result of the absence of internal democracy coupled with the insistence of the foot soldiers of President Jonathan who want him to contest in the 2015 presidential poll despite the agreement to rule for only one term. Jonathan Meets Wamakko, South-West PDP Leaders In what appeared to be last-minute consultations ahead of today’s NEC meeting of the PDP, President Jonathan yesterday held a closed-door meeting with one of five disgruntled northern governors, Dr Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State, at the Presidential Villa. After the closed-door meeting with Jonathan, Wamakko came out to meet curious State House correspondents who sought to know the purpose of his visit. He said it was “just a routine visit to the president of this great country”. Denying that the meeting had anything to do with today’s NEC meeting, Wamakko said the consultation embarked upon by the five northern governors -- Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and himself -- was still on. Immediately after his meeting with Wamakko, President Jonathan went into another closed-door meeting with PDP elders from the south-west zone. After the meeting which commenced at 5pm in the First Lady’s Wing, former PDP national deputy chairman (south), Chief Bode George, who led the south-west leaders of the party to the meeting, said the problem with the party is that, like termites, politicians who pose as friends but are indeed enemies of the PDP and its government have infiltrated the ruling party. George stated: “What I am saying is that in this game - talking about termites - if you build a house, termites will come if you are not careful. But in our own game, in politics when you get to this stage, anything is possible in a political war. They can send people who are not friendly with you to come and pretend that they are your friends. Those are the termites I am talking about. You don’t run away from the termites inside your house and say you will be a tenant. You must stay and make sure that the termites in your own house are caged.” Noting that the south-west PDP leaders came to see Jonathan who is the leader of the party to discuss the situation in the zone, George said: “And for all intents and purposes, we don’t want to have acrimony. You know this is why we have to say that there is need to take a cursory look at the PDP south-west because the house that has been built, we cannot allow it to be destroyed. “If termites enter your house, you don’t run out to go and be a tenant elsewhere. You must fight it and so we made the presentation of our complete x-ray of the PDP situation in the south-west, and I believe that the meeting was very successful. I am happy that we are going to start looking in the same direction at the end of this time.” On the crisis rocking the party, he said: “The national convention is one. The speculation about what is happening in the party and all that -- you know big man, big problem. The way the other little new parties are coming up… for us, we have been there since 1998. They will have to come and learn how to manage Nigeria. They have been managing tribes, the tribal setups all over the place. But this time round, they are going to learn how to manage Nigeria and that is what the PDP has been doing. “Remember also that the zoning concept in our own constitution is not in the national constitution but we are happy that it has sustained democracy since 1999 and we have concluded and we affirmed that there will be no shaking.” Bode George added that the issue of the party’s national secretary was the essence of the meeting with President Jonathan whom he described as the Supreme Court of the party, adding: “That means it is a serious business but we are all happy that all is well that ends well.” Other south-west leaders at the meeting were Vice-president Namadi Sambo, Chief Abiola Ogundokun, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Hosea Agboola, Professor Tunde Adeniran, Senator Lekan Balogun, Senator Musliu Obanikoro, Chief Kayode Adetokunbo, and Elder Wole Oyelese. Source: Leadership
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 15:48:07 +0000
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