. No anointed candidates for NWC, says party chair
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday summoned to the presidential villa the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and chairman, PDP special national convention, Prof. Jerry Gana over the face-off that led to the cancellation of the August 31 rescheduled date of the convention.
The meeting which was still holding as at press time yesterday was expected to be a platform for the President to settle the humiliation that Gana and his secretary, Senator Ike Ekweremadu suffered last week when they were locked out at the residence of the National Chairman on his directives.
A Presidency source told National Mirror that the President will overrule the National Chairman over the cancellation of the August 31 date earlier proposed by the Planning Committee for the South-West convention and special National Convention.
The party's NWC at its meeting on Monday suspended the Gana committee for overreaching their duties.
"In view of the anomalies and breaches of the constitution of the PDP observed in the actions so far taken by the Special National Convention Planning Committee, the NWC has directed the Committee to put on hold all activities relating to the Special South- West Zonal Congresses and the Special National Convention pending the regularisation of the anomalies and breaches so as to forestall a repeat of the events that affected the party's convention in 2012."
But the Villa source said President Jonathan wants to restore peace to the party and he is also disposed to the party conducting the conventions as planned.
"President Jonathan called for a truce between Tukur and Gana as the matter could degenerate to a full crisis situation. It is certain the August date for the convention will stand but the President is insisting that discipline must be maintained in the party and the party leadership must be supported to instil discipline in the PDP," the source said.
A PDP source told National Mirror that Tukur "had to be brutal because, he sensed that his office is being undermined. How can the committee change a date of the conventions, sells forms, solicit funds from the Villa and draw lists of the membership of the sub-committees without consulting the NWC.
"NWC noted that lists of membership of the sub-committees were filled with persons that have no business in the party, where people are now using the sub-committees to settle relatives. One of them listed two of his immediate brothers. While NWC members who are committee members were subjected as just ordinary sub-committee members while their cronies were awarded with juicy subcommittee chairmanship."
Meanwhile, Tukur yesterday disclosed that the leadership of the party has no special or anointed candidate for the position of National Secretary, Publicity Secretary or any other position.
In a statement by his Special Assistance on Media, Mr Oliver Okpala, Tukur said that the party will take a practical step to ensure that the forthcoming convention and congresses of the party will be transparent and credible in line with the party's avowed creed for internal democracy.
He said that the leadership of the party will not have any hand in deciding who wins at the congresses or the special national convention, since it is going to be transparent, free, credible and fair, adding that any candidate who wins must have done so on his or her own merit.
"Those to be members of the new NWC of the party to fill the vacant positions will emerge from due process and will be those the party delegates will chose at the congresses and special convention," he said.
Reacting to the insinuations that he has hand in the unfolding and unfortunate event in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Tukur said that "it is the desire of the PDP that peace returns immediately to the Rivers State House of Assembly in particular and the state in general."
He called on all Nigerians to join hands and ensure that peace returns to Rivers State House of Assembly, insisting that without peace "our much coveted democracy will be meaningless."
