Tukur was reported to have submitted his resignation letter to the president even though as at the time of filling this report, there has been no official confirmation of his resignation either from the party secretariat or the presidency.
Tukur’s Special Assistant on Media, Prince Oliver Okpala however sent text messages round denying the resignation report, announcing that his boss would attend the meetings of Board of Trustees and National Caucus.
Impeccable administration and party sources insisted that the resignation letter was already with the president even though Tukur might still attend meetings slated for Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, Acting Chairman of the party is to emerge today at the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, contrary to original expectation that the present deputy chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, would take over as acting chairman until a convention in the next three months.
It was learnt that the decision to allow Secondus to remain as deputy chairman, rather than the acting chairman, was taken to avoid a situation in which the leadership of the party would be labelled southern dominated.
Insiders sources, however, hinted that the letter was not submitted to the party but to the president, whose body language had reportedly confirmed his decision to allow Tukur to resign.
The signal that the end had come for the chairman came when at the caucus meeting of Tuesday night, the president chaired the session rather than the chairman as prescribed by the party’s constitution. According to the party constitution, the chairman is expected to preside over the national caucus meeting even when the president is present.
Members of the caucus include the president, vice-president, principal officers from the National Assembly, six state governors, chairman and secretary of Board of Trustees, deputy national chairman, three ministers, National Security Adviser, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, National Deputy Chairman, the Legal Adviser, Youth Leader and Woman Leader.
Nigerian Tribune was told that the national caucus of the party turned against Tukur at their meeting on Tuesday night with reports that all those who spoke counselled the chairman to resign as a way of saving the party from internal bleeding.
Insiders at the meeting disclosed that the caucus members had confronted the chairman with many organs of the party that had turned against him, starting from the National Working Committee to the party’s Governors’ Forum.
It was said that while the discussions were still on, a copy of the resolution signed by 30 out of the 37 states chairmen calling for Tukur’s removal was brought into the meeting.
The resolution was reported to have boosted speakers who had counselled the chairman to resign. The meeting reached a climax when the state chairman’s letter was served on those present with the report indicating that even the party chairman was shocked.
The resolution was reported to have led to a question put to the chairman to respond to the advice given him to resign as a way of saving the party. Alhaji Tukur was quoted as offering no detailed explanation than asking that he be given time to review and take a decision on the request.
It was said that it was at this point that the meeting was adjourned till Wednesday afternoon, where the chairman would now declare his position on the resignation request.
NWC members threaten Tukur with suspension
The caucus meeting, which was held on Tuesday evening, also saw the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) holding a marathon meeting in the office of Chief Secondus, the deputy chairman.
The NWC members, including the National Secretary, were locked up in Secondus office. A source at the meeting reported that the anti-Tukur members of the NEC threatened to suspend the chairman and get the NEC to expel him.
The plot, it was learnt, was hatched when the NWC members learnt that Tukur was planning to reject request of the caucus for him to resign. The source hinted that the rebelling officers said they had the number at the NEC meeting to force the chairman out if he refused to resign.
Nine out of the 12 NWC members had shunned a meeting called by the chairman with a vow never to recognise Tukur as the party chairman.
Meanwhile, support even from home front of Adamawa State waned on Wednesday, as the elders of the party who had intervened had abandoned their rescue mission. The delegation which had met Governors Godswill Alkpabio and Jonah Jang was said to have given up after the governors refuted reports that they were the arrow heads of those pushing for the chairman’s removal.
The elders were said to have given up on their rescue mission when they made no headway with the governors. It was said that the elders were told by some party chiefs that the matter had gone too far for any intervention.
The Adamawa elders had posited that Tukur should be allowed to remain chairman until the mini- convention of the party.
Tukur rejects ambassadorial slot, wants NRC board chairmanship position
Already, he was assured of an ambassadorial position once he leaves the seat, but Tukur rejected the ambassadorial slot, saying he was too old to be an ambassador. He wanted to be made the chairman of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), a source stated on Wednesday.
It was gathered on Wednesday that three names had been propped up as acting National Chairman of the party. The names include the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar from Gombe; former governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Muazu and a chieftain of the party from Borno State, and former member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Waikiki Waziri.
As of press time on Wednesday, it was gathered that Senator Umar was having the upper hand following submissions made by stakeholders on each of the candidates.
Some stakeholders raised the closeness of former Governor Muazu to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, while Waziri was said to lack the support of many governors. One of the governors propelling his candidature was asked to drop the support and back Umar.
Caucus ratifies his resignation
The caucus of the PDP ratified the resignation of Alhaji Tukur. The caucus, which met at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday evening, had the ratification of Tukur’s resignation on its agenda.
Though none of the members of the caucus at the meeting spoke with newsmen, it was gathered that the formal announcement of Tukur’s exit as chairman would only be made after Wednesday’s meeting of the Board of Trustees of the party.
Tukur was absent at the caucus meeting though he was at the Presidential Villa a few minutes before the commencement of the meeting, which lasted for just about 30 minutes.
Tukur met with President Goodluck Jonathan before the commencement of the caucus meeting.
Immediately he left, Jonathan equally met with governors elected on the platform of the party before the caucus meeting. The only other person who attended the meeting was Vice-President Namadi Sambo.
His ‘real’ offence
The real offence of the embattled Alhaji Tukur, it has been gathered, may not be unconnected with his alleged promise to ensure that one of the aspirants from Akwa Ibom State gets the party’s governorship ticket ahead 2015 elections.
Tukur was said to have promised the sacked Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government (SSG), Chief Obong Umanah Umanah, the governorship ticket without a recourse to the zoning arrangement in the state.
The embattled PDP chairman, Nigerian Tribune gathered, was said to have been fraternising with Umanah who allegedly gave him a brand new Toyota bullet-proof Jeep as part of the deal.
A PDP source who spoke with Nigerian Tribune on Wednesday said the relationship between Tukur and Umanah explained the recent vote of confidence passed on the PDP chairman by some stakeholders of the party from Uyo Senatorial district. “I can authoritatively tell you that the man (Tukur) is a gonner. He has been fraternising with the sacked Akwa Ibom State SSG, Obong Umanah Umanah.
“He promised the sacked SSG the PDP governorship ticket ahead the 2015 elections. This is a unilateral decision he took without a recourse to the existing zoning arrangement in the state.
“Tukur further got his finger burnt as Umanah gave him a new Toyota bullet-proof Jeep as part of the deal between them.
“Now that he (Tukur) is gone, the development would send a clear signal to whoever that is taking over as the new PDP national chairman as to where is the power base of the party,” the source said.
Tukur’s other ‘sins’, as often reported, included his administrative style which was alleged to have isolated some top members and chieftains of the party.
Tukur’s resignation, big relief for PDP —Saka Balogun
A former Chief of Staff in Oyo State and chieftain of the state chapter of the PDP, Dr Saka Balogun, has said the resignation of Alhaji Tukur is a big relief for the party.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, Balogun expressed the hope that the exit of Tukur would give the leadership of the party some breathing space to re-examine the crisis rocking the party and carry out a comprehensive audit on entire leadership structure.
“It is very curious, strange and very embarrassing that anybody who is aware of the provisions of the party will just wake up one day and decide that the National Secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was duly elected, be removed through a concocted court action initiated by somebody from the South-West,” he said.
Source: Tribune
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