THE NATION MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2014
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NEWS
PDP crisis: NWC members opt to boycott meeting with Tukur
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EADERS of the crisis-ridden Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) are not getting close to peace, with National Working Committee(NWC) members vowing yesterday to boycott any meeting with National Chairman Bamanga Tukur. They said Tukur should meet them on Thursday at the National Executive Committee (NEC) session of the party where a decision will be taken to either sack or retain him. The 11 NWC members are angry that Tukur’s loyalists accused them of taking between N30million and N40million bribe each to demand for his removal. But Tukur, who is banking on First Lady Patience Jonathan for survival, embarked on intense
From Yusuf Alli, Abuja
horse-trading among governors and party leaders last night to retain his job. Some of his loyalists may head for court to stop the NEC from entertaining issues regarding his removal pending the determination of a motion on notice. It was gathered that the NWC members opted to boycott any meeting with Tukur at an impromptu strategy meeting yesterday. The meeting was held in Abuja. They asked Tukur to state his position on the bribery allegations leveled against the NWC members by some of his loyalists.
Gusau gives conditions to accept minister’s job Continued from page 1
Gen. Gusau is being offered the portfolio of the Minister of Defence. It was gathered that when Mark met with Gen. Gusau, he pleaded with him to put national interest above personal consideration. It was learnt that Gen. Gusau gave some conditions on which he could return to the cabinet. The conditions are: * a free hand to operate and reorganise the Armed Forces and security agencies; *all service chiefs, security agencies and their directors will report to the Defence Minister for better synergy; *adequate funding of the Armed Forces and security agencies to restore normalcy to all parts of the country; and *political will to back up recommendations on how to address security challenged as they occur. Jonathan wants Gen. Gusau back because of his rich experience, a source said. A source close to Gen. Gusau said he would accept the offer to help his country, but with some conditions. “He does not want to be messed up with dirty politics. He is coming to address the security challenges in the country,” the source said. There are indications that Gen. Agwai may replace Balat. Another source in the Presidency said: “Agwai may come on board as a replacement for Balat. I think some people were trying to raise issues on Balat about some comments which ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo made some years back during a cabinet reshuffle. “Yet, no allegation or proof of
any misdemeanour has been found against Balat while in office as a minister. But you know in politics, mischievous people rake up one insinuation or the other once you have an edge. “Those against Agwai are also flaunting the credentials of a Senator. Whatever it is, the slot is for Southern Kaduna to fill the vacuum created by the death of ex-Governor Patrick Yakowa. The people of Southern Kaduna have been complaining of marginalisation since the demise of Yakowa.” As at press time, the battle for Niger State’s slot was still on. Some stakeholders are said to be in favour of former Governor Abdulkadir Kure, who they feel can deliver Niger State to PDP. Others are opposed to Kure’s choice because, according to sources, his wife is a senator. “Also both the governor and Kure have some political differences. With Kure as a Minister, the influence of the governor might be whittled down. Babangida Aliyu will have cause to eventually leave PDP,” a source said, adding: “Yet, the President is determined to retain the governor in PDP having listened to his plea not to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC). At least, the governor deserves compensation for being ‘loyal’.” Hajiya Kuchi is seeking reinstatement, having been removed for identifying with the Niger governor during the G-7 crisis in PDP. “There may however be a moral dilemma for the President in reinstating Kuchi. Nigerians would have confirmed that the sack of nine ministers last year had political undertone,” said the source.
An NWC member said: “We have resolved not to sit with Tukur or hold any NWC meeting with him again. We cannot have any session with someone who is accusing us of taking bribes to remove him. “We know that since the game is up against him, Tukur’s strategists have resorted to voodoo politics. They have forgotten that we all have impeccable antecedents. It is so sad that they attempted to smear our image.” Another NWC member added: “We have explained our side of the crisis to the President; we have also reached out to First Lady Patience Jonathan to ignore sentiments from Tukur that we are plotting against the President. “Tukur is not the only one that
loves the President; NWC members do too. This was why we told the President on Thursday that with Tukur in charge, PDP will lose in 2015 because he is not adding any value to the party. “The cock and bull story of loving or protecting the interest of the President will not work. This is politics of burning goats alive.” A third source in NWC said the party had uncovered alleged plans by Tukur’s camp to head for court on Monday to stop the NEC meeting from holding until some issues are resolved. But, in his view, going to court will not help matters “because the era of frivolous injunctions is gone”. But Tukur remained hopeful last night.
A source in Tukur’s camp said: “This is the third time the PDP National Chairman will face rebellion from NWC members; he will survive. Some governors and party leaders are solidly behind Tukur as a reformist; they believe the party needs to change from the old order. “I can tell you that horse-trading is ongoing, Tukur is reaching out to all organs, governors and BOT members to appreciate why he is leading the campaign for change in 2015. He will certainly survive this latest crisis.” Responding to a question, the source said: “If NWC members are threatening to boycott statutory meetings with the National Chairman, they are living up to their agenda. The President
should find out who is pulling the strings.” On recourse to court, the source said: “I will not respond to presumptive allegation; wait and see whether they are telling you the truth or peddling falsehood.” PDP leaders from the Northeast were last night opposed to any plan to replace Tukur with Deputy National Chairman Uche Secondus from the Southsouth, should the need to arise. A chieftain of the party said: “It would amount to double jeopardy for the Northeast to sacrifice Tukur and forego the right to replace him. This will amount to political injustice. Our position is that if Tukur leaves, another chairman must come from the Northeast.”
FOREIGN NEWS
Egypt students injured in protest against coup, referendum
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LASHES erupted outside Giza Security Directorate, Dokki in Egypt yesterday between Students Against the Coup (SAC) demonstrators and Central Security Forces (CSF). A march of dozens of students moved from Cairo University and headed to Nahda Square. The march was organised through the student movement's official Facebook page, and led by flag bearers
who chanted to students holding up four fingers, the sign of Rabaa. Protesters blocked the road at Nahda, where they then started a tire fire as their numbers swelled to the hundreds. After causing a traffic jam, the group returned to Cairo University; female protesters demonstrated in front of the main gate while male protesters headed to the Giza Security Directorate.
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, who eventually retreated to Cairo University. Some of them were injured. Clashes lasted for hours as the CSF failed to disperse the demonstrations. Protesters were able to set fire to the hatch of one of the pursuing police trucks with a thrown Molotov cocktail, prompting the officers' retreat back to the Security Directorate. Mean-
•One of the injured students being carried away for treatment by fellow students...yesterday.
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while, protesters were able to wrest a general's cap and a teargas rifle from security forces. With officers having left the scene, protesters and a number of unidentified personnel in civilian clothes began to throw rocks at one another until all visible SAC members retreated inside Cairo University. The gates were subsequently closed and the unidentified personnel circled the university's main gate, including one carrying an assault rifle. The administrative security asked the students inside the university to leave the campus through the side gates and to clear the area in front of the main gate. Students Against the Coup has occasionally mobilised students to protest through its Facebook pages. The group recently announced their boycott of the 14-15 January referendum on the new constitution, naming it "the putschist document" and has called Sunday's protests a part of "The Week of Student Rage." Protests have taken place at Cairo, Al-Azhar, Ain Shams, and other universities, and have all resulted in clashes with security forces.
France brokers partial truce in CAR
IVAL militiamen have embraced each other in a district of the Central African Republic capital Bangui after the French military brokered a truce. Gunmen laid down arms in the city's southern district of Bimbo after days of bitter
fighting between Muslim and Christian groups. The violence-racked city is much calmer though fighting continues elsewhere, a BBC correspondent reports. Talks are due to begin on Monday on electing a new, acting president.
Michel Djotodia, who served as interim president after his mainly Muslim Seleka rebels took power in a coup last March, has left the country, with reports that he will go into exile in Benin. At least 1,000 people have been killed and tens of thou-
sands have fled their homes since violence broke out in the Christian-majority country in December. France, the former colonial power, has deployed 1,600 troops to try to restore peace, along with an African Union force of some 4,000.
South Sudan seeks Khartoum help on oilfields
•The late Messe
World’s oldest man dies at 140
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N Algerian man, Mubarak Rahmani Messe, believed to be the world's oldest, passed away on Saturday evening. He was 140. The late Rahmani was treated in hospital two years ago for the first time in his life to cure a stomach illness. Messe, it is believed, was born in 1884 in El Oued district, southeast Algeria, near the Libyan border. Messe witnessed the last century's two great world wars; Algeria's liberation revolution; the global economic crisis of 1929, the Palestinian Nakba in 1948 and his country's independence. The great grandfather who worked as a camel shepherd married three times; he is survived by nearly a hundred grandchildren.
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IL production, which formed more than 95 per cent of South Sudan's fledgling economy before the fighting began, has been affected by recent fighting. South Sudan's oil minister is seeking Sudanese help to restore oilfields damaged during fighting between government and rebel forces, official media reports say. Stephen Dhieu Dau, who met his Sudanese counterpart Makawi Mohammed Awad, said the visit aimed to
benefit "from the Sudanese experience to resume the oil pumping at Unity state's oilfields," the SUNA news
agency said. Unity is a key oil producing region of South Sudan, where crude production fell
by about 15 per cent after fighting began in mid-December, industry sources said earlier.
French First Lady in hospital after alleged Hollande affair
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RENCH First Lady Valerie Trierweiler has been admitted to hospital after media reports of an alleged affair involving President Francois Hollande. She entered hospital on Friday "for rest and some tests", her office said, after Closer magazine published images linking him to actress Julie Gayet. Mr Hollande did not deny the report but protested at invasion of his privacy.
Conservative opposition leader Jean-Francois Cope has suggested the drama has damaged France's image abroad. Ms Trierweiler is expected to leave hospital on Monday, her office told AFP news agency. A presidential news conference scheduled for Tuesday on plans to boost the flagging economy now looks like being overshadowed by Mr Hollande's private life, correspondents say.