The relationship between the embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the Chairman of the party's Board of Trustees (BoT),Chief Tony Anenih has hit an all time low after Tukur allegedly shut the gate of his Abuja residence against a party delegation from him, last Thursday.
Those allegedly denied entry by Tukur were members of the party's National Convention Planning Committee led by its chairman, Prof Jerry Gana and the Secretary, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
They were on a mission for consultation with the PDP national Chairman on the preparation for the August 31 special national convention of the party.
They were reportedly kept outside the gate by security men who told them that Tukur was not at home and that they could not enter the chairman's expansive premises.
Gana, at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, neither confirmed nor denied the report, saying that as party leaders, they were not expected to be discussing party issues on the pages of newspapers.
"It's true that the Deputy President of the Senate and I went to the chairman's house to see him. But we will not take issues on that because we respect our party chairman. We are not going to discuss our party issues on the pages of newspapers", Gana said while addressing reporters on preparation for the convention.
Party sources said Anenih has not taken kindly to what he perceives as a personal insult on him by Tukur .
A party source said:"The leader is angry and he may have decided to back the convention committee against Tukur following the latter's refusal to give peace a chance. Anenih is very angry at the way the chairman treated respected chieftains of our party.
"He is not happy that in spite of his intervention, Tukur is not ready for peace. Should the issue be discussed at the next BoT meeting, it is likely Anenih will throw his weight behind the convention committee. He was the one who advised them to go to Tukur. He is not happy that they were humiliated that much by the party's leader."
Relationship between the two chairmen has not been particularly rosy on account of what many party members, including PDP governors, see as Tukur's arrogance.
Some of the governors are crusading for his removal, citing his style of management.
Investigations by The Nation revealed that following a prolonged disagreement between the committee and the party's interim National Working Committee over modalities for the planned convention, the BoT chairman was prevailed upon by some party chieftains to intervene in the matter for peace to reign.
Consequently, Anenih met with the committee on the issue following which he spoke with Tukur and urged him to work with the Convention committee in the interest of the party.
A member of the committee said: "Tukur wants the committee to be reporting to him as the national chairman of the party. But as members of the committee, we feel he should not be allowed to be an umpire in a game wherein he is a key player.
"Though we are not holding election for his post, we are conducting elections to fill vacant positions in the NWC of which he is a part.
"So the committee feels he shouldn't be the one dictating the modalities. That is the issue. And because we have not been able to make him see reason with us, things are not going well between the committee and the interim NWC. This has the possibility of affecting the planned convention. That is why the BoT had to intervene."
Tukur, on his part, is also said to be peeved by the arrogance of the committee leadership.
A party source familiar with the development said: "The chairman feels leaders of the committee are going outside their brief. The refusal of the committee to constantly report its activities to him annoys him. He cannot understand why Gana and his members will appoint sub-committees to handle aspects of the convention without telling him.
"That is why the NWC feels the committee is deliberately sidelining it in the preparation for the convention. That explains the no-love-lost situation between the two party organs."
It was gathered that as a way of dousing the tension between the two camps, Anenih convinced the Gana-led committee to visit Tukur and discuss the planned convention with him.
Gana and Ekweremadu reportedly arrived Tukur's residence as early as 9.30am only to be denied entry.
After waiting for about 35 minutes without seeing Tukur, they decided to leave.
Sources said soon after their departure, Tukur held a meeting in his house with members of the party's interim national Working Committee (NWC).
The meeting lasted for about an hour after which the party chairman left for the Abuja Airport en route Yola, Adamawa State.
