Tukur Bows to Pressures

• Africcon News
  Africcon Report: Tukur bows to pressures
  Africcon New Media – News
  
  From: Africcon Media – Nigeria
  
  The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has finally slated its much-awaited meeting for next month. A statement issued yesterday and signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Barrister Olisah Metuh, disclosed: “All is now set for the convening of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”
  
  Although he did not state when the meeting would be convened, Saturday Sun source revealed that the meeting “would hold next month when the delegation of the chairman of the party board of trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, was expected to have concluded visits to the governors.” The refusal of the PDP NWC, under the leadership of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to convene a meeting of the party was one of the contentious issues that have worsened the relationship between him and the governors.
  
  Saturday Sun checks revealed that the PDP governors, in one of their recent meetings, had passed a resolution demanding the convening of the PDP NEC meeting. They further submitted that Tukur’s failure to convene the meeting contravened the PDP 2009 Constitution, (as amended) which stipulates that the NEC meeting of the party must hold every quarter of the year.
  
  Section 12.74 of the PDP constitution 2009 [as amended] reads: “The National Executive Committee shall meet at least, once in every quarter at the instance of the chairman or at requests of two third of its membership who shall notify the chairman at least seven days to the meeting and an emergency meeting be summoned by the National Chairman having regard to all the circumstances of the agenda.”
  
  Investigation revealed that the meeting of the PDP NEC was conducted last June. Metuh, in his statement, further revealed the agenda of the meeting to include the issue of setting up standing and ad-hoc committees in the party and ratification of corrected version of the PDP Constitution approved at the 2012 Convention. Part of his statement reads: “The PDP National Working Committee (NWC) has decided that one of the items to be presented at the impending NEC meeting would be the issue of setting up standing and ad-hoc committees in the party.
  
  The approval of NEC, in this regard, will assist in widening the scope of participation by party stakeholders in the mobilization and sensitisation efforts and help the national leadership in driving the vision and manifesto of the party to ensure the success of the Transformation Agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP administration. “Also the corrected version of the PDP Constitution approved at the 2012 Convention will be presented to NEC for ratification.”