BEVERLY HILLS, CA, October 13, (THEWILL) – The Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led New Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday lampooned the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP over the setting up of a Disciplinary Committee by the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP led by Alhaji Umaru Dikko, describing it as amusing.
It maintained that if it was true that the committee was set up to witch-hunt the new PDP members led by Baraje, then there would be no need for further evidence that Tukur and his National Working Committee (NWC) are indeed not ready for peace.
“By reviving the so called disciplinary committee at a time when the Party Leader, His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan, is busy holding peace meetings with the Baraje-led PDP shows that he is working at cross purposes with Mr. President,” the Baraje group said in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze.
” To call a spade a spade, it is tantamount to anti-party activities and exposes, exposes Tukur’s hypocrisy and vindicates our stand that he is an obstacle to peace in our great party.
“If indeed a disciplinary committee has been set up by Tukur, we make bold to say that he should be the first with his illegal NWC members to appear before it for usurping the office of the National Chairman of our party even when he is not legally a member of the party as he did not revalidate his membership of the party during the 2011 revalidation exercise.
“We commend our brother, Chief Olisa Metuh, the former National Publicity Secretary of our party, on his theory of institutional memory loss. Ironically, Metuh was referring to himself as he succeeded in exposing his ignorance about the party he assumes to be speaking for.
“For him to refer the Baraje-led PDP as people who suffer from institutional memory loss indicates that he needs to visit a mental health specialist for proper evaluation.
” How can any sound member of PDP describe a party that still has Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of the Federal Republic, as a member as not knowing the history and records of the party?
“For the record, Atiku Abubakar apart from being a principal member of the PDP also recruited both Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Alh. Gambo Jimeta, Senator Silas Zwingina and Chief Joel Madaki, among others, to the party in 1988 through Chief Nat Yaduma.
“Metuh should properly research into the records of people in the Baraje-led PDP before trying to deceive Nigerians with his lies arising from institutional memory loss.
” Maybe Metuh may not even know that it was Atiku Abubakar that rented and paid for the present National Secretariat of PDP for three years and paid the working staff salaries for three years.
“Most of the times those of us who laboured and established PDP to its present level laugh when some onlookers like Metuh want to tell us about the history of PDP which was formed when most of them never contemplated of joining politics talkless of joining PDP.
“For the record, while we don’t dispute the fact that in 2008, the Reconciliation Committee led by His Excellency, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, recommended a blanket waiver for both Alhaji Tukur and others expelled by the party, the fact that Metuh may not know is that Tukur did not accept the waiver as he refused to revalidate his membership of the party by 2011. In the circumstances, he was not a member of PDP before his illegal entry as the National Chairman of PDP.
“Though Tukur resides in Mayo Kalaye ward but claims Jada 1 Ward, all in Jada LGA of Adamawa State, he did not revalidate his membership as directed by PDP NEC on 6th Sept. 2011. Anybody who doubts this sacrosanct fact can apply for the PDP Register of Ward of Jada 1 Ward in Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State where Tukur is registered as a former member of the party.
“For the avoidance of doubt, let me inform Metuh and his co-travellers in the defunct NWC of the party that those of us from Adamawa State know ourselves. Gulak the Political Assistant to Mr. President can assist him with this fact though by 1988 he does not talk when we talk about politics in Adamawa State.
“We shall not allow anybody to rewrite the history of the party while we are still alive and we can no longer allow undemocratic characters to ruin a political party that some of us sacrificed much to take to this level. In this regard, we still maintain that all actions assumed to have been performed by Tukur since his assumed election in 2012 as our party National Chairman stand null and void and of no effect.
“This includes the last disputed special convention of the party where some of the aides of President Jonathan who were not members of the delegates voted to elect the outgone NWC of PDP.
“In this regard, if Umaru Dikko’s Disciplinary Committee is actually serious with its task, they should immediately after their inauguration start to investigate why a non member of our party should be elected to such a highly exalted office of the National Chairman of our party.
“If this step is not taken the committee should try and save the nation from looking at our party as a funny and unserious group by dissolving itself on its own accord.
“To demonstrate how magnanimous Alhaji Baraje and his NWC can be, we have instructed the Adamawa State Chapter of PDP to get Alhaji Tukur formally registered once he shows interest in rejoining the party in view of his interest and commitment to serve the party.
“On the turning down of our letter for recognition by INEC, we are expectedly disappointed but we thank God that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Chapter 1V Section 40 recognizes our right to associate amongst ourselves. To say the least, this decision by INEC to recognize Tukur’s faction is unfortunate because INEC is aware of the flawed nature of the last convention where some of the aides of President Jonathan who are not our party’s delegates were allowed to vote .
“This alone nullifies the outcome of that illegal convention. We need not to say much on this as we are very convinced that the Court will give us fair hearing and by that time, INEC will be compelled to recognize us accordingly,” the statement added.
