There are indications that the
Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) wants to pacify its five aggrieved
governors from the North under the party’s reconciliation process.
Governors Murtala Nyako (Adamawa),Rabiu
Kwankwaso (Kano),Sule Lamido (Jigawa),Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) and
Babangida Aliyu (Niger) have fallen out with the national leadership of
the party especially the national chairman,Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, whom
they want sacked.
They accused him of running the party as a private business.
Over the last few weeks,the governors
have visited former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Shehu Shagari and
ex-military rulers Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar as well
as Second Republic Vice President Alex Ekwueme , to seek their
intervention in the crisis.
The governors’ position on the removal
of Tukur and the planned automatic tickets for President Goodluck
Jonathan and deserving first term governors for the 2015 elections
appeared to be threatening the party’s unity in the build up to its mini
national convention in Abuja next weekend,until last Thursday’s
meeting of the PDP national executive committee (NEC).
It was gathered that the party decided
to suspend the automatic ticket issue until it is able to effect
reconciliation with aggrieved members including the five governors.
Sources said the governors are to be wooed to buy into the automatic ticket project
The party felt it would be better to
complete the ongoing reconciliation process than causing further
disaffection or alienating influential members with the project.
Meanwhile, the National Executive
Committee of the party has stopped members of the Interim National
Working Committee(INWC) from participating in the election of new
members of the NWC on August 31.
A top source, who spoke in confidence,
said the party leadership and forces in the presidency met in the early
hours of Thursday and opted to delay the proposal.
The strategists suspected that the
automatic ticket option might backfire and compound the crises in the
party if it was raised at the National Executive Committee(NEC) meeting
on Thursday.
A top source, who spoke in confidence,
said: “The PDP leadership suspected that the idea of automatic ticket
might be rejected at the NEC session by aggrieved and influential
members of the party.
“And once the proposal is rejected by NEC, it might be difficult to table it afresh. So, it was a tactical move.
“The party’s leadership decided that
there should be total reconciliation and healing before such a proposal
could sail through. There is urgent need to pacify some Northern
governors and leaders of the party.
“This was why President Goodluck
Jonathan met with some Northern governors on Wednesday. Also, there was
another session in the early hours of Thursday to review the agenda
and leave out the automatic ticket idea.
“The only part of the reconciliation
agenda having challenge is the crisis in Rivers State which the PDP
Governors Forum has been mandated to resolve.”
Asked of what might become of the
automatic ticket proposal, the source added: “It will be tabled to NEC
at the appropriate time.”
On the exclusion of members of the
Interim National Working Committee(INWC) from participating in the
election of new members of the NWC at the Special National Convention on
August 31,a source said: “Although few members of the Interim NWC
tried to get a waiver to contest for some offices at the Special
National Convention of the party next week,since the nomination had
closed before they expressed their intent, there was no way the party
could bend the rules.
“So, all the current members of the INWC are excluded from election into the available vacancies in the NWC.”
The absence of ex-Vice-President Atiku
Abubakar at the NEC meeting on Thursday was attributed to an appointment
at the US Embassy.
The clarification was made against the
backdrop of speculations that the ex-VP boycotted the NEC because of the
registration of the Peoples Democratic Movement(PDM).
His spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu
yesterday said: “Turaki had a prior appointment for the renewal of his
visa at the US Embassy in Abuja . For this reason, he could not turn up
for the NEC meeting.”
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I b yoruba. FFK shut up. When u dey gov t wetin u do for yorubas wey u wan 'die' for. Wetin b ur contribution to Nigeria.
ReplyDeletePoliticians n frivolities.always hiding under religion or ethnicity.
Dem plenty wen dem comot govt dem go dey fumble. Invite dem to govt. No meaninful contribution.
Everything is skewed against the low income earners no matter d religion or ethnicity.
Make Nigeria great and majority of citizens enjoying basic amenities we no go dey waste time with defenders of nonsense. Mental enslavement if u support dis olodo FFK.
I b propa ekiti man but i no gbadun fashola, dey deport poor people haba. Wetin obasanjo do ooo for yoruba simple lagos ibadan e nofit fix. make dem dey use religion or ethnicity deceive us while deir children dey enjoy international standard.