Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto
State seems poised for a long-drawn battle with the national chairman of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, following the
governor’s suspension from the party for alleged insubordination.
And he has the backing of nine of the party’s 15 governors in the North. Their objective is Tukur’s removal at the next meeting of the PDP National Executive Committe (NEC).
Wamakko and his nine supporters are already mobilising party members sympathetic to their cause.
The Sokoto State governor, who was
abroad when his suspension was announced last week, returned to Sokoto
on Wednesday brimming with anger.
He denounced Tukur and the Presidential
Political Adviser, Ahmed Gulak, for what he called incompetence and
called for their removal.
The governor accused Tukur of running the party as a private business.
“We don’t have confidence in him anymore,” he said while speaking to his supporters in Sokoto.
A source said yesterday that the Tukur-must-go governors could call for a vote of no confidence on Tukur.
But Tukur is said to be ready to meet fire with fire.
His camp is said to be considering Wamakko’s outright expulsion from the party.
The calculation, party sources said, is
that not only will it serve as a warning to other ‘rebels’, it will also
frustrate the plot to remove the chairman.
The PDP governors, it was gathered, are
discussing how to prevail on President Goodluck Jonathan to “do away
with Tukur” if he must secure the North in 2015.
The governors are said to be unhappy with Tukur for treating them like school boys.
In one of their meetings, the governors
were of the view that the party leadership had been giving wrong
information to Jonathan as a survival strategy.
One source said: “ Northern PDP
governors are pushing for Tukur’s exit because if care is not taken, our
party may lose at least eight key states to the opposition.
“The tenure of the chairman has left the party polarised such that we cannot go into 2015 poll decimated as we are now.
“Removal of Tukur is the only agenda that these nine northern governors have for the President.
“To prove their resolve, the governors have asked Jonathan to prevail on Tukur to convene NEC meeting to test his popularity.
“Out of the six geopolitical zones,
party leaders in the South-West, the North-West, the North-East, and
three states in the North-Central, and two states in the South-South are
against Tukur.
“Even NWC members have their grouse against the PDP National Chairman but they are only suffering in silence.”
It was gathered that a quiet governor among the aggrieved nine is the arrowhead of the anti-Tukur’s campaign.
The governor, who has kept away from
Tukur and his team, was said to have complained that “this party is
dying, we need to rescue it.”
Investigation revealed that some of the
aggrieved governors may also come out to “say their mind on how to save
PDP from disintegration.”
One of the governors said: “Wamakko is right. He spoke our minds. Things must change for the party to move forward.”
But Tukur’s camp is already pushing for the expulsion of Wamakko for alleged “rudeness” to party leadership.
A loyalist of Tukur said: “Wamakko is
behaving as a larger than life politician. The party will clip his wings
and prove a point that without him, PDP can win election in Sokoto
State. We are pushing for his expulsion because he was too hard on
Tukur.”
Although Tukur and NWC are currently on
performance tour of Katsina State, it was gathered that Wamakko might be
referred to a disciplinary committee next week.
A member of the NWC said: “I think the NWC may refer Wamakko’s case to a disciplinary committee when we return next week.
“Wamakko’s case is more serious than
even Amaechi’s. He came out frontally to attack Tukur without exhausting
the necessary party organs. He risks expulsion if such is recommended
by a disciplinary committee.
Sources also said many members of the
National Working Committee of the party, on performance tour of Katsina
State with him, are embarrassed by his anger at the slightest
provocation.
Another NWC member said: “Some of us were also shocked by Tukur’s anger. This is not the time to ask anyone to leave the party.
“Definitely, we are all not on the same
page with Tukur on the sack notice given to Wamakko. But we will meet
next week on the issue.”
source: The Nation
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