Guardian Uncertainty still over Tukur’s resignation Wednesday, 15 January 2014 22:08 Written by From Lemmy Ughegbe, Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Leo Sobechi (Abuja) and Chuks Collins (Awka) Category: National bamanga-tukur-pdp• Court removes Umeh, Shinkaffi as APGA leaders • Orders INEC to recognise Okwu, losers to appeal UNCERTAINTY over the resignation of Bamanga Tukur as the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) heightened yesterday. While some sources claimed that Tukur had resigned, he denied doing so. He told State House correspondents in Abuja yesterday that he had not quit. But there was an indication last night from sources inside the PDP that the embattled chairman might not survive. This development came as a Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Abdul Kafarati yesterday removed Victor Umeh and Sani Shinkafi as National Chairman and Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Unconfirmed sources within the PDP national secretariat said yesterday evening that Tukur submitted his resignation letter to President Goodluck Jonathan earlier in the day following votes of no-confidence passed on him by all the 37 state chairmen of the PDP on Tuesday. Members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) who were meeting at the secretariat quickly closed the meeting and went straight to the Presidential Villa on hearing that Tukur had resigned. Jonathan was to present the letter to the national caucus meeting slated for 6:00 p.m. yesterday. A prominent NWC member told The Guardian that they had to rush to the Villa to not only confirm from the President but to make an appropriate arrangement. “You know that the arrangement before now was to hold the NEC meeting after the national caucus and BoT meetings. We now have to look at the possibility of changing the agenda of the NEC meeting. If he has truly resigned, it means that issues like moving a motion for the removal of the chairman or any other person have to change now,” he said Party leaders are already putting finishing touches to the replacement of Tukur. It was learnt yesterday that former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abba Gana, the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Asset Verification, Bunu Sheriff and Alhaji Gambo Lawal were among the names being shortlisted. Other likely persons according to sources include Hassan Adamu, Adamu Muazu and Musa Babayo. Indications that Tukur had resigned began to emerge when earlier yesterday the delegation of Adamawa PDP elders sent to pacify some prominent PDP governors gave up hope and abandoned the exercise. In a telephone interview with one of them, it was learnt that the assignment had been put on hold till after today’s NEC meeting. A group of party elders from Tukur’s home state of Adamawa had made a last-minute effort to reconcile Tukur with governors and other prominent leaders of the party opposed to Tukur’s continued stay in office. Those elders after a meeting with Tukur on Tuesday morning sent a delegation to the chairman of the PDP governors’ forum and Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio as well as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum recognised by PDP, Jonah Jang of Plateau State. The delegates included retired Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Gen. Anthony Haladu Hanaiya, Dr. Umar Ardo and Wilberforce Juta. Maxi Okwu, Ibrahim Carefor, Dickson Ogu, Dr. Gbenga Afeni and Abubakar Adamu on behalf of themselves and other national officers elected at the national convention of APGA held at the Women Development Centre (WDC), Awka on April 8, 2013 filed a suit against Umeh, Shinkafi (for themselves and on behalf of members of the national working committee elected by a motion on February 18, 2011 at the WDC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The plaintiffs sought eight reliefs including a declaration that the first and second defendants having been expelled from the party whether lawfully or unlawfully, regularly or irregularly could not validly continue to occupy the positions of national chairman and national secretary respectively, when the suit they filed challenging their expulsion had not been decided, and in their favour. Reading his judgment, which lasted two hours, Justice Kafarati after determining all the five issues, granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs as well as an order directing the third defendant (INEC) to deal with the plaintiffs and all those duly elected as national officers of APGA. The judge ruled that the objection by the defendants that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain a matter bordering on the internal business of a political party was not valid, pointing out that in so far as the court had been invited to interpret the constitutional provisions guiding the election of officers, the matter had become justifiable. The court therefore directed the first and second defendants and all the other officers they represent to vacate their various offices forthwith not having been elected in accordance with Article 18 (4) of the constitution of the party, which prescribes mandatorily that elections into the offices shall be by secret ballot. Shortly after the judgment, Okwu declared: “APGA now has the opportunity to re-engineer, rebrand and recover again; there is no victor, no vanquished. I did not dedicate this to anybody, the party members will now engage in that rapprochement, reintegration and reconciliation, which we began but was topped for some time now because of these developments. “Today, I think APGA now has a chance to continue to pursue the visions of the founding fathers particularly when you see that no party can survive 10 years of litigation. I now appeal to my brother, Victor Umeh, to cease further litigation in the interest of APGA. Let us all meet at Enugu where APGA began and reconcile without preconditions and resolve this crisis once and for all, APGA must discover itself.” On the implication of the judgment on the Anambra governorship, Okwu disclosed that there was a parallel line on that, pointing out that his candidate, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, had filed a petition at the Anambra Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Awka. But Umeh has accused those allegedly fuelling the leadership crisis in the party of not having any good intentions at all. Umeh who spoke shortly after the court’s verdict said he would appeal against the judgment at once. Umeh told The Guardian on phone yesterday that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter. This is coming on the heels of the celebration of the party’s landslide victory in the January 11, 2014 council election in the state, where APGA won 20 out of the 21 councils in the state.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 06:20:08 +0000
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