PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is under pressure to dump the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bamangar Tukur, as a precondition for peace in the party which is currently riddled with internal crisis, The PUNCHhas learnt.
Afraid that the Tukur issue with the governors who have insisted on winning their “Tukur-Must-Go” battle could further tear the party apart, Jonathan’s close aides have reportedly joined the crusade for the President to part ways with the party national chairman.
While sources in the Presidency indicated that Jonathan had not been happy with the demand for Tukur’s removal, his aides were said to have continued to insist that it was the only way to go in saving the party from disintegration.
Although the President was said to have agreed in principle that it might be neccessary for Tukur to go, sources in the Presidency said Jonathan had insisted on receiving the report of the new Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih after his mediation tour of PDP states.
“It is Anenih report that will determine the President’s handling of requests for the chairman’s removal. Though the initial reports from the on-going visit by Anenih to the governors have not been palatable, the President has inisisted that the BoT chairman’s final report and advice is necessary before he knows what to do. You don’t expect the man to quickly dump Tukur like that if only you remember that he (the President) facilitated the man’s ascendancy,” a reliable Presidency source told our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday.
Anenih is currently on a tour of the 23 PDP states where he is interacting with the governors on how to strengthen the party. His visit is also aimed at understanding the grievances of the individual governors against the leadership of the party and the Presidency.
The BOT chairman has already visited Niger, Kano, Jigawa and Kano states.
Investigations revealed on Thursday that the response Anenih received from the governors of the four states and his contacts with those he is yet to visit are that Tukur must cease to be the PDP national chairman.
Anenih’s visit to the states came few days after Tukur led members of the party’s National Working Committee to the leaders of the PDP in the six geo-political zones.
During Tukur’s visit, a majority of the governors refused to be part of the crowd that received his team. However, Anenih has been able to meet with the governors, whom he appealed to not to ditch the party for the opposition.
The governors in turn told him the problems facing the party, most of which they traced to the Tukur-led NWC.
Governors of Niger, Kano, Jigawa and Kano states are being touted to be among those planning to defect to opposition political parties in the event that Jonathan and other leaders of the PDP failed to find urgent solutions to the crisis ravaging the party.
Admitting that the President was the one that imposed Tukur on the party as chairman, the source said that Jonathan would not want to witness PDP’s disintegration just because of one person.
The source said, “The President is waiting patiently for the BoT chairman to return and brief him about his findings. It is after that that a decision would be taken on whether to ask Tukur to resign or ask the entire members of the NWC to go.
“We cannot wait and see the opposition coming up stronger while we are disintegrating just because of the interest of one or two people.
JD:Can Jonathan drop Tukur?He will be damned if he does and damned if he doesnt.Ordinarily he should drop Bamanga Tukur because the elderly gentleman just doesnt have it.Since he becoming chairman its been one crisis or the other,the least being his burning desire to see his son in government house in his home state.He is not respected by most of the Governors who have accused himof nepotism against their colleague,Nyako.Question is can the President drop him now,?Well,it creates a problem because the emergence of Tukur is part of the 2015 strategy to stay on as president.Should he drop Tukur,how is he sure that the system will produce a Chairman that will help him on the lonesome road to 2015?The whole process might be hijacked by the governors in which case he might have to hold further thanksgivings for the permsec in Otuoke after 2015.So what should Jonathan do?Consult marabouts?Thats growing out of fashion.Packing his bags and making a honourable exit might be more like it
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