The breakaway faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, otherwise called the New PDP, has alleged that the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and other chieftains of the party supported the All Progressive Grand Alliance in the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State because of 2015. The faction alleged that the facts before it indicated that Tukur did this to enable APGA adopt President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential choice for 2015. It said that because of this, Tukur and those it alleged gave support for the APGA candidate, Mr. Willie Obiano, during the election must be summoned and disciplined by the party. A statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the faction, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, said the Umaru Dikko-led Disciplinary Committee should be bold enough to invite Tukur for questioning. But Tukur has denied the allegation, saying there is no way he could have supported APGA when he was in the state to campaign for his party and its candidate. He said those making the allegation were not serious and that they should be ignored by the PDP and Nigerians. Tukur, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Mr. Oliver Okpala, said he was aware of the provision of the party’s constitution and therefore would not be involved in such an anti-party activity. However, Eze insisted in a statement in Abuja on Thursday that Tukur was the arrowhead of the plot to deny the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Tony Nwoye, support during the election and its aftermath. He said, “We challenge the Dikko Committee to prove its seriousness by starting with the trial of Tukur and his cohorts for anti-party activities, specifically as displayed during last weekend’s governorship election in Anambra State, when instead of supporting the PDP, they aligned with the APGA candidate, Chief Willie Obiano, thereby making mockery of the efforts of Comrade Tony Nwoye. “To achieve its objective of ensuring that the APGA candidate wins the election, Tukur and his strategists employed divisive politics to ensure that PDP did not have a candidate until a few days to the election and went into the crucial poll heavily factionalised. “To further strengthen the unholy plot, Tukur imposed Nwoye as the party’s candidate over and above better qualified candidates and in defiance of the Independent National Electoral Commission, which did not recognise Nwoye until the Supreme Court forced the Commission to put his name on the ballot.” He alleged that Tukur and his alleged cohorts had used the Anambra election to demonstrate enough disdain and hatred for the progress of PDP, an action he described as “very unfortunate and sad.” He, therefore, challenged the committee to investigate this allegation and “show of shame and discipline Tukur and all those involved in this wicked act against a party which they are in a hurry to destroy even when they cannot tell the story of how it was formed. “ Eze said that it was obvious that the PDP was already doomed under the leadership of Tukur and warned that the continued fight of the aggrieved seven governors would further add to the party’s woes. “This will inevitably climax with the loss of the 2015 presidential election, by which time it would be too late to remedy the damage which Tukur has already done to a party which before his imposition used to be the pride of African politics,” he said. Okpala said, “It is unthinkable and unreasonable for any rationally thinking person to say that Tukur would be involved in such an anti-party activity. “This is because, Tukur, President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Alhaji Namadi Sambo were in the state to campaign for the PDP and its candidate, Mr. Tony Nwoye. “Tukur as an accomplished nationalist and a founding father of the party cannot be accused of such anti-party activity when he has set up a disciplinary committee to discipline those who are making this laughable allegation against him.”
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 06:19:31 +0000
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