Political Briefs
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THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, does not want Bamanga Tukur to return to the party as its national chairman. The PDP and Adamu Mu’azu, its national chairman, on Wednesday, November 26, at a federal high court, Abuja, opposed the move by Tukur to return as the party leader.
Tukur resigned as the national chairman of the party on January 15, this year, following series of crisis rocking the party. He wants the court to reinstate him to the position. This is contained in a counter suit filed Aliyu Gurin, a member of the party, who is challenging the propriety of Tukur’s resignation and the appointment of Mu’azu in his place. Thus, Tukur is asking the court to declare that he remained the party chairman because his resignation letter fell short the party’s constitutional requirement of 30 days notice to be given before the resignation would become effective.
Besides, he also argued that the national deputy chairman should have taken over the affairs of the party and not Mu’azu, who was only appointed and not elected at a national convention as prescribed by the party’s constitution.
But the PDP and Mu’azu, through Solomon Umoh, SAN, their counsel, said both the main suit and Tukur’s counter-claim constituted an abuse of court processes and urged Justice Evoh Chukwu to dismiss them. Umoh argued that Tukur was, by his prayer, seeking to benefit from his wrong act of walking away without giving the party the 30 days notice.
“The court should hold that the second defendant (Tukur) cannot take benefit of his wrongful act,” he added.
He said contrary to Tukur’s contention, the deputy chairman of the party took over the affairs of the party and not Mu’azu, after his (Tukur’s) resignation. The counsel disclosed that the national deputy chairman actually took over after Tukur’s departure and he was the one that summoned the meeting which produced Mu’azu as the national chairman, pending the time of the party’s national convention.
Umoh argued that the counter-claim filed by Tukur, who is a defendant in the suit, was unknown to the law as there was no provision for a defendant to file a counter-claim. “By virtue of provisions of Order 13 Rule 35(15), all that a defendant is expected to do is to file a counter-affidavit and showcase his exhibit,” he said.
But Adeboro Adamson, Tukur’s counsel, insisted that his client’s counter-claim was not an abuse of court process as Order 10, Rule 3 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2009 made provision for the filing of a counter-claim by a defendant.
Adamson insisted that Tukur remained the national chairman of the party “in the eyes of the law”, claiming that his purported resignation from office on January 15, 2014, was null and void as it flouted provisions of section 47(5) of the party’s constitution. He also asked the court to order the PDP, Mu’azu, and the Independence National Electoral Commission, INEC, “to recognise and permit him to continue to preside over the affairs of the party till 2016.”
Justice Chukwu, after hearing parties in the suit reserved judgment, saying the date for delivering the judgment would be communicated to parties at the appropriate time.
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Senate Probes Police Invasion of National Assembly
THE Senate on Wednesday, November 26, set up a seven-member ad hoc committee to investigate the police invasion of the National Assembly on Thursday, November 20. The lawmakers after more than one-hour debate, resolved to constitute the committee to help it get to the roots of the matter. The police have been under serious scrutiny since the incident.
David Mark, Senate president, said the incident defied comprehension, named Ahmed Makarfi, senator and former governor of Kaduna State, as chairman of the committee, which include Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, Sefiu Kaka and Paulinus Nwagu. The rest are Mohammed Bindowo and Ehigie Uzamere.
Mark, in his speech, said that whatever way the Senate decided to condemn the incident was okay. “It is a manifestation of where we found ourselves because what happened is simply beyond my comprehension… Whatever happened to us was a sacrifice we have to pay for democracy and we have to make sacrifice for democracy. The speaker is touch with me and I am in touch with the speaker and we have put all that behind us.”
Victor Ndoma-Egba, Senate leader, had tabled the matter in a motion called breach of security at the National Assembly. Ndoma-Egba in his submission said it was regrettable that the premises of the National Assembly was barricaded while Mark, Aminu Tambuwal, speaker of the House of Representatives and other lawmakers were prevented from gaining access into the National Assembly. He noted that the police action led to the unfortunate incident of some lawmakers scaling the fence.
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PDP Screens Jonathan Presidential Ticket, Tafawa-Balewa Withdraws
THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Wednesday, November 26, screened President Goodluck Jonathan and Abdul-Jhalil Tafawa Balewa, son of Tafawa Balewa, former prime minister, to enable them contest the party’s presidential primary scheduled for January 10 and 11, 2015.
Jonathan, who was at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, in the company of Namadi Sambo, vice-president, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and other members of his cabinet at about 3:00p.m., was screened by the screening committee headed by Ahmadu Alli, a former national chairman of the party.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the screening that lasted for one hour, Olisa Metuh, national publicity secretary of the PDP, said the president was only obeying the party’s guideline. “President Jonathan just abided by the party’s guideline; it is not that he stands the risk of disqualification. We don’t know the outcome, the screening panel will inform the leadership of the party of the outcome and submit their result in accordance with the constitution and guideline of our party. I hope by this evening or latest tomorrow morning, they will come up with the result,” Metuh said.
However, Tafawa-Balewa used the occasion to announce his withdrawal from the race, thereby leaving President Jonathan as the only PDP’s presidential aspiration. The former aspirant made the announcement shortly after he had met with the screening committee of the PDP. Tafawa-Balewa thereafter told anxious journalists: “I have decided to withdraw my aspiration for the strength and wellbeing of the party. Hope to see you all some other time. I am a strong PDP member.” He refused to answer questions after announcing his withdrawal from the race.
— Dec. 8, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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