Anyim C’ttee to Push for Wamakko’s Recall

Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko

To meet Tukur, other PDP NWC members today 

Expected to submit report to Jonathan tomorrow

By Chuks Okocha

Reprieve is underway for Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, as a committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve the multi-faceted crises in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is set to recommend his recall from suspension.

Wamakko was suspended by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) on June 5 for alleged disrespect to the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

With his suspension, the PDP crises had taken a turn for the worse, especially coming on the heels of the suspension of his Rivers State counterpart, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, for alleged anti-party activities.

President Goodluck Jonathan, on June 8, had set up a committee, headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, with the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, six governors and the president’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, as members to recommend ways of arresting the worsening crisis in the PDP.

The six governors are Chief Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Alhaji Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Mr. Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi) and Theodore Orji (Abia).

The committee, which has engaged in a series of meetings since it began sitting last Saturday, THISDAY gathered, would submit its report to the president tomorrow in which it would recommend that the party should lift the suspension slammed on Wamakko.

But it was learnt that the Anyim committee did not entertain any discussion on the suspension of Amaechi.

Ahead of the submission of its report to the president, the committee, which was expected to meet yesterday night, will in continuation of its assignment, meet today with the PDP NWC members to get their input into how to halt the swirling crises in the party.

A source said the meeting with the NWC is to find out how the NWC would rescind the suspension of Wamakko that has further divided the party, as the governor who enjoys the support of some of his colleagues in the party has remained defiant.

For example, Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has described the suspension of Wamakko and that of Amaechi as a ‘costly mistake’.

The North-west zonal chapter of the party and that of Sokoto State have also kicked against the governor’s suspension.

In his first public response to his suspension, Wamakko had last week accused Tukur of running the party as a personal estate, describing him as ‘incompetent.’

In his response, Tukur called on the suspended governor to obey the party’s constitution or resign, as the party would no longer tolerate acts of indiscipline.

The source told THISDAY that the Anyim committee frowned on Wamakko’s suspension, which is considered unreasonable, and would send a wrong signal to other PDP governors that Jonathan was after them at a time he actually needed them for the actualisation of his yet-to-be-declared second term bid.

THISDAY gathered that the presidential committee, after its meetings yesterday night and today with the NWC members, would write its report and present it to Jonathan latest by tomorrow.

It was gathered that the committee would also wade into the crisis in the Adamawa State chapter of the PDP, which has pitted loyalists of the state Governor, Alhaji Murtala Nyako, against those of Tukur’s.

The committee will recommend the reconciliation of the Joel Madaki faction that is loyal to the PDP national chairman and the Mijinjiwa Kaugama faction, loyal to the governor.

A presidential committee, headed by Lamido, had earlier recommended the harmonisation of the offices between the two factions, with Kaugama retaining the office of the chairman, while the Madaki faction retains most of the local government executives of the party in the state.

But the recommendation did not resolve the crisis as during a state House of Assembly by-election in Mayo-Belwa, the governor’s camp worked for the Kowa Party candidate that eventually lost the election.

THISDAY also gathered that the Anyim committee would revisit the matter and settle it finally as Nyako was said not to be happy with how the matter was resolved, apparently in favour of the pro-Tukur faction.

It is the belief of the committee that Nyako is still nursing some grievances and that was why he and some other northern governors voted for Amaechi in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) chairmanship election to defeat the PDP and presidency’s anointed candidate, Chief Jonah Jang, the Plateau State governor, who lost to the incumbent chairman by 16 votes to 19.

THISDAY learnt that the Anyim committee also frowned on the continued non-holding of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP, stating that it is sending a wrong signal to party members.

By the PDP constitution, the NEC meeting, which is expected to hold quarterly, since the assumption of the present NWC, has held only once with the last NEC meeting taking place in July 2012.

According to the source, “There is the need to hold the NEC meeting regularly to help check some of the budding crises on time. This is not the time to entertain any crisis in the party.”