Federal lawmakers supporting New PDP dismiss Tukur’s threat, call him a drowning man

By Wale Odunsi

The threat by embattled national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Bamanga Tukur, to eject National Assembly members, who have publicly declared support for the Abubakar Baraje-led faction of the party, from their seats has been dismissed and regarded as an empty threat.
Tukur had on Wednesday vowed to ensure that office holders elected officials on the platform of the PDP, now supporting the Baraje faction, are removed as punishment for their actions.
Members of the House of Representatives loyal to the New PDP on Thursday, said Tukur’s statement was wishful thinking and a sign of a “weakling”, a “loser”, and a “drowning man”.
The lawmakers in a statement signed on their behalf by Sekonte Davies from Rivers State noted that, “Weaklings and losers always seek to use whatever powers they think have at their disposal, irrespective of how inappropriate that may be”
According to them, Tukur’s comments were characteristically “garrison attitude” that has brought the party to its present undesirable state.

“Again, as he had operated the constitution of the party, mostly in breach, he thinks that he can also do the same with the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act. From all relevant sections of these laws and as severally pronounced by the Supreme Court, you cannot declare anybody’s seat vacant especially when the party is in factions,” they said.
“Moreover, since he has not been a member of the party, he does not also know that PDP is the greatest beneficiary of party factionalization and fractionalization in the present dispensation of our democratic journey.”
On Tukur’s call on security agents to go after leaders and supporters of the new faction, they said: “We don’t know when political disagreements within a political party became a State offence such that the former Chairman of PDP should ask the security agencies to harass and arrest his opponents. We thought this was what the military and the political cowardly did.”
“However, we are not surprised, nonetheless, because a drowning man can always hold on to anything he thinks will help him to stay afloat and survive.”
Presently, nearly 60 House of Representatives members and 27 Senators have declared support for the new faction of the party, which has Abubakar Baraje as Chairman and Olagunsoye Oyinlola as Secretary.
Other prominent members are former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and governors of Jigawa, Niger, Adamawa, Sokoto, Rivers, and Kwara and Kano states.

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