The former national chairman of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur, has declared that he was
forced to resign his post in order for the
seven defected governors to return to the
party.
Tukur, however, said that following the
defection of the seven PDP governors to
the All Progressives Congress (APC) in
2013, pressures were mounted on
President Goodluck Jonathan to remove
him to enable the governors’ return to the
party.
In a counter-affidavit he filed to a suit
instituted by an aspirant to the House of
Representatives in Adamawa State, Aliyu
Abuba Gurin, who is seeking to unseat the
present national chairman of the party,
Adamu Mu’azu, and also stop the party’s
planned delegates convention, described
Mu’azu’s appointment as a nullity.
In the motion on notice filed by the
plaintiff, the court was asked to stop the
planned national convention of the PDP
scheduled for December 10 and 11, 2014.
The plaintiff in the suit also argued that
Tukur’s resignation did not comply with
the provision of Section 47(5) of the
constitution of the party which stipulates
that a 30-day notice be given to the
party’s National Executive Committee
(NEC) by Tukur.
The defendants in the suit are the PDP,
Tukur, Mu’azu and the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In his counter-affidavit to the plaintiff’s
suit, Tukur said that he was surprised
that 10 months after he quit the post, the
governors were yet to return.
He further contended that, according to
the party’s constitution, if he could not
finish his four-year tenure as chairman,
he was to hand over to the deputy
national chairman as acting chairman,
pending the holding of a national
convention to elect his successor.
Tukur further stated that the NEC of the
party had no power to appoint the
national chairman, adding that the votes
and proceedings of the NEC held at
Wadata House on January 15 and 20,
which deliberated on his resignation as
national chairman and appointment of
Mu’azu as chairman, were null and void.
He added that even if he had submitted a
letter of resignation on January 15 to the
party, the letter did not comply with
Section 47(5) of the party’s constitution
which requires that a 30-day prior notice
should be given.
Furthermore, Tukur stated that the
subsequent presentation of Mu’azu to
NEC as the new chairman for
appointment did not comply with Section
47(6) of the party constitution, Section
85(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010 and
Section 223(1) of the 1999 Constitution
(as amended).
He stated that at the time of Mu’azu’s
appointment, no vacancy existed in the
office of the national chairman, adding
that Mu’azu lacks power to preside over
the planned convention as such will
nullify its proceedings.
He, however, submitted that it would be
in the interest of all parties if the status
quo ante bellum is maintained, pending
the election of a new chairman via a
national convention.
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