Tukur Says Reports On Ambassadorial Posting Sponsored, Insists PDP’ll Overcome Crises

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Thursday, December 19th, 2013

The African Examiner

The National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has dismissed media reports purporting an ambassadorial posting for him in respect of the protracted crises within the party.

PDP national Chairman, Bamanga Tukur

He said there was no iota of truth in the reports which he described as figment of imagination on the part of the authors, stressing that the Presidency never contemplated sending him out of the country as an Ambassador under any guise.

Tukur said he was not distracted by the sustained campaign of calumny against him, the PDP and the Presidency, more so when, according to him, the source of such campaign had been traced to familiar quarters.

He said, “I have a Job to do as the PDP Chairman, and I cannot throw in the towel in the middle of it just because certain individuals known for selfish motives get to the media to fund fictitious report often crafted to precipitate crises in our party and ultimately cause its fall.”

The Chairman made this known when a team of PDP youths from 19 northern states led by Arch. Galadima Yahya, paid him a Solidarity visit at his residence in Abuja.

He told the PDP members that the crisis within the party was a phase which, according to him would pass away once preparations for 2015 elections begins.

“The crises we are witnessing in PDP are about 2015, Tukur said, adding, “The promoters are members who wanted to be President at all costs, they are those who wanted to be vice President at all costs and those who wanted to seek re-election as governors. Most of them felt if there was no crisis, their different ambitions would not be fulfilled.

According to Tukur, the National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP has always had the mind set to institute reforms meant to deepen democratic ethos in the party. He said efforts by the Committee to kick start the process had consistently been rebuffed by member who, he said were against reforms.

“If you check it very well, the People who say Tukur must go cannot lay hand on one reason to justify their wish. I did nothing to violate the constitution of the party. I did nothing wrong to anyone. I did nothing to soil my hands in anything. My conscience vindicates me every time. So I am free as the PDP National Chairman.

“Now some people said I am not a friend of the governors. But they forgot that during my campaign, I visited all of them one by one to sell my programmes for the party. We started with the process of reconciliation and asked estranged members to return to the party. Some people opposed it.

“We said in PDP internal democracy should start with transparent elections and in some cases, consensus. But those who opposed reform preferred selection and imposition of candidates during elections. They preferred the way of dictatorship rather than being democratic. And when these are not allowed, then they say Tukur must go”.

The National Chairman however urged members of the party to key into the agenda of reform in order to make the PDP Nigeria’s strongest and most dependable party.

He said it is only when Nigeria has a strong ruling party that the government would be strong, adding “A strong government would always produce a strong economy, and then a strong society. That is why we are always behind President Goodluck Jonathan to succeed”

Tukur told the team from Adamawa and PDP members in general to put behind them issues about crises within the party while bracing up for the challenges of taming the opposition ahead of the next general election in the year to come.

He said he was convinced that Nigeria has no alternative to PDP, as according to him, the opposition party has not developed the capacity and the wisdom to manage Nigeria effectively like the PDP. He warned Nigerians not to yield the ground to the opposition party, as doing so, according to him would bring nothing to Nigeria but chaos.