Presidency shops for Tukur’s replacement

The Presidency has finally moved against the National Chairman of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, as it is now certain that it is shopping for his replacement.

Reliable sources told Vanguard that Tukur “will lose his position on January 16, as his exit is now a foregone conclusion.’’

The sources said the out-going Chairman may be replaced by Waliki Adamawa, Alhaji Hassan Adamu.

The sources said the party needed a new hand to pilot its affairs as it seemed that many party faithful were against the chairman, whose alleged imposition of his maternal cousin as a candidate for one of the elections in his home state, Adamawa, precipitated the crises that had been rocking PDP for over a year now.

The party postponed its National Executive Council, NEC, meeting from January 8, to 16 because the National Assembly was on recess, and most of its members, who would participate in the meeting, travelled for their vacation.

Also, the meetings of other organs of the ruling party, the National Caucus and Board of Trustees, BoT, scheduled to precede the NEC meeting, had been shifted to January 14 and 15, respectively, to dovetail into the NEC on 16.

Earlier reports had it that the alleged resolve by majority of the governors of PDP to remove Tukur, forced the Presidency to suspend the meetings of BoT and NEC.

It also emerged that President Goodluck Jonathan wanted the party leadership to have more time to persuade warring Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and his Jigawa State counterpart, Alhaji Sule Lamido, to return fully to PDP before the NEC meeting.

According to the sources, Jonathan, who is opposed to disgracing Tukur out of office, reportedly asked for the postponement of the two meetings to allow for peace to reign.

However, Secretary of PDP BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, explained that the meetings were postponed for logistics reason and to enable members return from their Christmas and New Year break.

He said: “We actually want to have a full house during the meetings so that all party issues could be effectively discussed.”

Since the defection of governors Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara; Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto; Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano; Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers to APC, there had been pressure on Tukur to convene the NEC meeting where the problems of the party would be addressed against the backdrop that the last NEC was held before the August 31, 2013 Special National Convention of PDP.