Prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders from the Northwest
geo-political zone are lobbying for the recall of suspended Sokoto State
Governor Aliyu Wamakko’s, it was learnt yesterday.
The pressure on the PDP Central Working Committee (CWC) zonal leader,
Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure, who complained that the decision to suspend
the governor was taken without consultation with the zonal leadership, a
source said.
According to the source, prominent PDP leaders from the zone have
protested the suspension to the party’s national leader, President
Goodluck Jonathan, Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman Chief Tony Anenih
and other party elders across the six zones.
The source, who is a party chieftain from Sokoto State, said: “Many
party members were greatly troubled that the governor was suspended.
They do not know why Governor Wamakko should be punished like that
because they were not aware of any anti-party activity committed by him.
The governor has been facing the arduous task of governing the state
since he was elected. Since he crossed from the ANPP to the PDP, we have
had no cause to doubt his loyalty to the PDP. The party members are
saying there is no evidence of disloyalty against Wamakko.
“The governor was also personally sad because, since he defected to
the party from the ANPP, he had no major crisis, except the offensive
from the opposition. He has also avoided controversy. May be, if it had
happened to vocal governors making inflammatory statements, the people
would have understood. The governor, I think, has also lodged a personal
complaint with the national leadership.”
It was also gathered that the suspension has further divided the
Northern Governors’ Forum, led by Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu. A
section of the forum has taken an exception to the disciplinary
measure, which it described as part of tactics to cow party chieftains
to submission. “The other four Northwest PDP governors are solidly
behind Wamakko and see his present predicament as uncalled for. They are
of the opinion that the same fate may befall them as the crises in the
party escalate,” added the party chieftain.
A former member of the Sokoto State PDP executive committee, who is
now a functionary of the Wamakko administration said: “Our leaders at
the zonal level are still objecting to the suspension of our governor
from the party. I can tell you that they are taking the matter up with
the national leadership. Our zonal leader is part of the national
leadership and he has frowned at the suspension because there was no
consultation, meaning that he was not aware or carried along. This is a
dangerous trend. The party in this state (Sokoto) has been embarrassed
by the decision to suspend its leader, the governor”.
A close aide of Ambassador Kazaure, who said the zonal leaders were
actually pushing for the lifting of the suspension, said the move would
douse tension in the zone and rekindle the members’ confidence in the
party leadership.
Source: The Nation
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