We’ll Jail Tukur For Contempt, ‘New PDP’ Vows. •He’s a drowning man, say Reps •Promoters of ‘New PDP’ are prodigal children, Tukur counters •Ex-militants insist Jonathan must do two terms •Anenih calls for caution Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) splinter group led by Abubakar Kawu Baraje has accused Chairman of the rival faction, Bamanga Tukur, of contempt of court for issuing a threat to punish all party members who were against his (Tukur’s) leadership of the party. National Secretary of the splinter group otherwise known as ‘New PDP’, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday said the comment made by Tukur at a press conference on Wednesday was contemptuous because a Lagos High Court had earlier ordered all parties to maintain status quo pending when the issue before it will be finally decided. Therefore, Oyinlola said lawyers have been briefed to press a contempt charge against Tukur for flouting the orders of the court. Tukur himself fired back, though, describing leaders of the group, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, seven PDP Governors, Baraje, Oyinlola, and National Assembly members as “prodigal sons and daughters.” However, Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Tony Anenih, has interceded in the crossfire between the two groups, calling for caution. Anenih warned them that further inflammatory statements can aggravate the issues at stake. In a statement entitled: ‘A Call for Caution’, issued in Abuja on Thursday, Anenih said making preemptive statements amid reconciliation process was disrespectful to President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP leadership at whose instance the reconciliation efforts are being made. According to Anenih, the unfolding scenario in the PDP is a “minor crisis” which should not take time to resolve. But at the same time, another group under the aegis of ‘Congress for Equality’ has warned Anenih to reconsider his plea for calm and instead stand with confidence on the side of the President and Tukur in fighting the ‘New PDP’. The group met at the residence of the Ijaw leader, Edwin Clark, in Abuja on Thursday. In his own personally signed statement, Oyinlola said the threat by Tukur to sack all public office holders sympathetic to the ‘New PDP’ was misplaced and should not be tolerated in a democracy. According to him, notwithstanding the court order retraining both sides from making comments on the crisis, the fact that Tukur does not possess the power he arrogates to himself shows that he does not know his limits. Oyinlola said, “We have asked our lawyers to press contempt charges against Tukur because his statement was made in clear contempt of the orders of Lagos High Court which three days ago asked both sides to maintain the status quo. “We will ask the court to commit him to jail for his disdain for the law and the judicial system. “We have always been saying it that Tukur represents everything that must not be seen in a democratic organisation. “His statement demonstrates not just impunity but also lawlessness and crass ignorance of the tenets of the law and democratic ethos. “Tukur displayed his disdain for law and order with his threat to order the arrest of law abiding persons in a democracy,” Oyinlola added. In his call for caution, Anenih appealed to both parties to give peace a chance and allow leaders of the party find an amicable solution to the crisis. According to Anenih, “Following the walk-out staged by some aggrieved members of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Special Convention of August 31, 2013, there have been genuine efforts by the leadership of the party, including the President himself, to reach out and reconcile with the aggrieved members, using the numerous mechanisms for conflict resolution that exist in the party. “A series of meetings have been held and more are scheduled to hold in the next few days. “It is unfortunate that while the reconciliation efforts are being made, some of our members are making inflammatory statements, intimidating one another and issuing threats of court actions. Such actions do nothing, but harm the efforts at reconciliation,” he said. Anenih disclosed that part of the wider consultation was a scheduled meeting of selected party leaders with former President Olusegun Obasanjo today. According to him, the meeting with the aggrieved Governors would thereafter continue on Tuesday, next week. He expressed optimism that with the party’s internal mechanism for conflict resolution, the aggrieved Governors, some of whom he said had genuine grievances, would come back to the party once the contending issues were resolved. The BoT chairman said he was confident that the party would come out stronger after the resolution of the “minor crisis” in the party. Tukur, who also spoke in Abuja on Thursday at a seminar jointly organised by the offices of National Women and Youth Leaders of the party for all women and youth leaders drawn from the 36 states of the federation, warned leaders of the ‘New PDP’ to retrace their steps now or else the PDP train will leave them behind. He told them that even if they choose to return to the party at anytime from now, they will still get punished for daring to move against his leadership. “What is going on in the party is something of concern but it is also something that can happen in a family. “You can quarrel but all should really be resolved within the house not outside. Anyone who has a son or daughter who left, we call them prodigal son or daughter. “If they come back we can say welcome back prodigal son, we will get you around and tell you, you are still accepted because as PDP son or daughter you are always regarded as a son or daughter. “But of course, if you are coming back you will also have the consequences for taking a wrong step. You have to reconnect and correct your wrong step. If you don’t, the PDP train will move without you,” Tukur said. Also, a group of ex-militants, under the aegis of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative (LPCDI) warned Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, to stop working against President Goodluck Jonathan in the run up to the 2015 general elections. The former militants said in a statement in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Thursday that they would adopt every lawful means to stop those who are fighting against the second term agenda of the President. The statement was signed by some leaders of the group, including its president, Reuben Wilson. “As former freedom fighters in the Niger Delta, we are aware that oil production figures have risen appreciably because we accepted the amnesty agenda of the administration in which Mr. President was a key player in his capacity as Vice President at that time, and now as President. “Because oil revenues have appreciated, all sections of the country have got some good revenue for their states. Unfortunately, these funds are being used for deadly and selfish political fights that are not in the best interest of the country.” The group accused members of the ‘New PDP’ of working against the interest of the Nigerian masses. “The gladiators are all out to smear the character and person of Mr. President and ensure that he does not enjoy a re-election in 2015 so that they can take charge and continue to enslave us as was the case for decades. “We will not fold our arms and watch a section of the country which believes that it is their birthright to rule Nigeria to chase Mr. President out of office. ” Also, members of the PDP in the House of Representatives who are pledging allegiance to the New PDP have described Tukur as “a drowning man who is looking for rescue by all means.” They were responding to Tukur’s threat that they will lose their seats for backing the Baraje-led PDP faction. In a statement signed by Sokonte Davies on behalf of other 58 PDP members in the House, they described the call on security operatives to hound them as “a call far out of Tukur’s reach.” The lawmakers said the attitude of Tukur to the crisis in the PDP was an indication of his mindset, as he was never a founding member of the party and, therefore, does not care if the party falls apart. “For the avoidance of doubt, we state that it is this type of garrison attitude that has brought the PDP to where it is today and that is why we shall spare no effort to redeem it from those who are bent on destroying it, like Bamanga Tukur. “PDP was founded on the principle of national consensus building and to be a platform to unite the various sections and interests in the country. “The nation was going adrift and well-meaning leaders and patriots decided to form this all-embracing political party which every Nigerian will be proud to belong to and to provide a nexus for nation building. Tukur was not one of those patriots. “Again, as he had operated the constitution of the party mostly in breach, he thinks that he can also do the same with the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act. “From all relevant sections of these laws and as severally pronounced by the Supreme Court, you cannot declare anybody’s seat vacant especially when the party is in factions,” the angry lawmakers added.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 12:25:56 +0000
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