It seems that the departure of the National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur is a foregone conclusion as there are indications that President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP governors have started searching for his replacement.
This comes as the President is said to have finally caved in to long-time demand of the governors that Tukur be sacked as a solution to the lingering crisis within the party.
However, even though Jonathan has agreed that the Second Republic governor of the old Gongola State be shown the way out, he is yet to be satisfied with all the suggested replacements.
Some of the names said to have been suggested to the President include those of a former Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu; and Dr. Musa Babayo, who emerged as the PDP chairman at the North-East congress in 2012.
It was gathered that while Jonathan rejected Mua’zu because of his closeness to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the President was said to have expressed the fear that Babayo was “too close to the governors” and could hijack the party from him.
Atiku’s son, Mohammed, got married to the daughter of Mua’zu, Malama Badariya, in June.
A member of the PDP National Working Committee who spoke in confidence with one of our correspondents said, “From all indications, both the President and the governors have agreed that Tukur should go.
“Although the governors have tipped Mua’zu and Babayo, the two candidates are not acceptable to the President.
“Jonathan wants Tukur to stay until a good replacement is found for him. He does not want to lose the control of the party because of the governors’ desperate move to sack Tukur.”
As a ploy to stall the removal of Tukur, the President was said to be insisting that the governors should wait for the outcome of the party’s mini-convention before taking a final decision on Tukur.
It was recently reported on Monday that five PDP governors – Murtala Nyako, Adamawa; Rabiu Kwankanso, Kano; Babangida Aliyu, Niger; Sule Lamido, Jigawa; and Aliyu Wamakko, Sokoto – at a meeting with the President on Saturday insisted that Tukur should resign before the convention and all National Working Committee posts be declared vacant.
The party’s mini –convention, where some national officers of the party including the Deputy National Chairman are to be elected, has been fixed for August 31.
As a ‘Plan B’, it was also learnt that the President was banking on the emergence of Chief Uche Secondus as deputy national chairman to check Tukur.
The second leg of the plan, it was learnt, would see the President appointing Secondus as the deputy to continue to act as national chairman in the event that Tukur is still pushed out after the convention.
Jonathan, under the plan, would refuse the possible appointment of a substantive national chairman thus allowing Secondus to conduct the party’s presidential primaries for the 2015 election.
Secondus, a former National Organising Secretary of the PDP, hails from Rivers State and he is a close ally of Jonathan.
He aspired to be the deputy national chairman during the last national convention of the party but did not receive the backing of his state governor, RotimiAmaechi.
Tukur’s spokesman, Oliver Okpala, on Monday, refused to respond to the latest development but promised that “an official statement” from him would be issued on Tuesday (today).
He said, “Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning I am issuing an official statement on the meeting of the governors with the President.
“You will also get the reaction of the national chairman to all the issues raised, including the call for his removal.”