PDP govs recommend ambassador job for Tukur

Governors elected on the platform the Peoples Democratic Party met in Abuja on Friday night and agreed that the National Chairman of the party, Bamanga Tukur, be given an ambassadorial position to ease him out of office.

The meeting of the governors, it was gathered, was aimed at preparing their final position which they would table before President Goodluck Jonathan.

Tukur, who has vowed not to resign from his position, is being seen as the major problem bedevilling the ruling party.

The former governor of old Gongola State was at the State House to confer with the President on the crisis rocking the party on Wednesday, where he told reporters that there was no basis for him to resign.

The President was said to have invited him to defend himself against several accusations levelled against him about the running of the party by the governors and also inform him about their calls for him to resign.

It was however learnt that the governors had made up their mind that the embattled national chairman should leave office, however, they have not decided on which state should produce his replacement.

While others said Adamawa State should be allowed to provide his replacement, others were said to have preferred that his replacement should come for either Borno or Yobo states.

One of sources at the meeting said the governors would prefer Tukur's replacement to come from states being run by the opposition.

All the states, including Adamawa, Borno and Yobe are in the North-East, where the position of national chairman is zoned to.

One of the governors, who was at the meeting told reporters in confidence in Abuja, 'We have agreed that the man must leave office. That is unanimous and we said okay let him be made an ambassador. We hope the President will listen to us this time around.'

He said the recommendation was aimed at giving Tukur what he called 'soft landing', adding that if this was not done, the fortune of the party would continue to dwindle ahead of 2015 general election.

Other issues that would dominate the PDP Governors meeting with the President include the letter by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the management of the economy, especially against the background of the letter by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam  Lamido Sanusi, that the NNPC had refused to remit over $49.8bn to the federation account.

Also, the non holding of the meeting of the National Economic Council, it was gathered, would form part of the meeting. Punch