14th January, 2014
Simon Ateba/Lagos
The embattled chairman of Nigeria’s ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has not resigned, his Special Adviser on Media, Prince Oliver Okpala, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Earlier reports had said that Tukur resigned today.
“Be informed that contrary to the report making waves in the internet and other social media, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has not tendered any resignation letter to any person or quarter as the National Chairman of the Party.
“Please disregard any information or report in this regard since the National Chairman is busy fashioning out new structures and areas of taking the party to greater heights,” Okpala said.
Only yesterday, Tukur said he would not resign from the exalted chair as he was elected at the national convention of the party and that not even President Goodluck Jonathan could pressure him to do so.
In a statement he personally signed on Monday evening, Tukur declared that not even President Goodluck Jonathan can ask him to resign from his position unless there is a national convention.
In the three paragraph statement titled, “Convention, Not Jonathan Can Remove Me”, the PDP national chairman said since his appointment was done through a properly convened convention, he can also only be removed through the same process.
The statement said “I am an elected national chairman, I have my certificate of return,” said Tukur.
“I cannot resign. The convention brought me, so it has to take the convention that brought me for me to resign,” he added even as he insisted that “not even the president can ask me to resign”.
Reports indicated that nine out of 12 members of the party’s National Working Committee refused to show up for the emergency meeting called by the national chairman earlier today, another indication of the increasing isolation of Tukur ahead of the party’s National Executive Committee meeting scheduled for next Thursday.
The meeting, it was believed, was called ahead of the NEC meeting by the embattled national chairman to shore up support for his bid to remain in office.
Reports indicated that members of NWC of PDP, the administrative organ of the party had at a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan last week complained about the autocratic administrative style of Tukur.
Another report indicated that the President, once the strongest backbone of the embattled national chairman has also asked Tukur to resign ahead of the NEC meeting.
But Tukur told journalists that there was no such directive from the President.