PDP: Anxiety over fate of Tukur as NEC holds emergency meeting Thursday

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is scheduled to meet in Abuja  on Thursday.

The PDP Interim National Publicity, Dr. Aderemi Akintoye, announced the NEC meeting  through a circular in Abuja on Tuesday.

The circular reads, 'Emergency NEC meeting to hold Thursday, August 22  by 2pm. Members are advised to be punctual.'

It however  did not include the agenda of the meeting.

NEC membership includes the President, NWC officials, governors, state chairmen of the party and the Board of Trustees (BoT )members.

BOT members have no voting power in  NEC.
However, it was gathered on Tuesday that  governors in the Jang faction of the Nigeria Governors' Forum  were bent on ensuring that the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur retained his job. However, those  backing  the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi,  as the NGF chairman,  it was learnt, might  at the meeting  table alleged constitutional breaches by the PDP chairman as a prelude to getting him booted out of office.

It was also learnt that the attempt to remove Tukur may be resisted by some groups sympathetic to the embattled chairman.

The committee, at its last meeting in Abuja on June 20 had asked eight members of the NWC  to resign.They were  the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja; the  National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha; the National Youth Leader, Mr. Garba Chima; the  Acting National Secretary, Mr. Solomon Onwe; the Woman Leader, Mrs. Kema Chikwe; the National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwom; the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh; and the National Treasurer, Bala Kaoje.

Apart from the eight national officers, 12 others , who were either deputies or ex-officio members,   also resigned.

Their resignations followed a  report by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which declared the way they emerged at the 2012 national convention, undemocratic.

NEC,  had at its last meeting, fixed the party's mini-convention for July 21, 2013.