Following accusations by the splinter Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction, popularly called the “New PDP”, the Presidency has denied scheming to remove Senate President David Mark as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal.
The new PDP in a recent statement had alleged that the Bamanga Tukur-led faction had set up a “strategy group” to monitor Tambuwal’s political moves.
But the Presidency dislodged the allegation as the handiwork of mischief makers.
The Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, in an interview on Thursday, insisted that there is no such move because Jonathan had enormous respect for members of the National Assembly as well as their leadership.
Emodi also said that those alleging a plot against Mark and Tambuwal were determined to overheat the polity for their own interest.
“The President is one president that has refused to interfere in the activities of the National Assembly. There will be no way he will be involved in such a thing.
“This is an attempt by mischief makers who are bent on overheating the polity by flying kites of imminent crisis in the National Assembly. I want to state categorically that such only exist in the minds of the peddlers”, Emodi stated.
Earlier in the statement, the faction’s National Publicity Secretary , Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, had advised the presidency to also stop overheating the polity out of self interests of some “undemocratic elements”.
The statement reads in part; “To us, this plot by the hawks in the Presidency is politics taken too far and it illustrates the extent to which they are prepared to go in their determination to plunge this country into chaos.
“We wish to warn those who are planning this ‘coup’ to desist forthwith as such a misadventure is capable of plunging this nation into a crisis of monumental proportion. These undemocratic elements should stop overheating the polity just because of their selfish ambitions.”
The faction noted “that there is a limit to how far they can push us” when it warned that politicians should desist from practicing politics by way of threats and trying to discourage lawmakers who did not share their “unprogressive” thoughts.
It was added that the aim of “well-intentioned visit was to brief and discuss with members of the National Assembly, in view of their position as leaders of the party, on how to reposition our great party to be united and face other parties by 2015”.
It was learnt that a group which has been discussing series of issues concerning the latest developments in the party is been headed by a lawmaker from the south, had been set up to monitor the speaker.
According to the allegations, the group has the mandate to investigate the speaker’s alignment with the confirmed 57 New PDP members in the House.
The New PDP claimed that the plot to sack Mark and the Speaker emanated from the consequences of the visit of its National Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje and G-7 to the National Assembly on Tuesday.
New PDP commended that the leadership of both Mark and Tambuwal which it stated that had institutionalized a unique and reasonable leadership style that has harmonized the members of the National Assembly.