By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Henry Umoru

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, survived an orchestrated campaign for his exit at the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC meeting last Tuesday. But nearly everyone agrees the prevailing peace is a temporary one

A participant at the decisive elders’ meeting of the PDP that endorsed Alhaji Bamanga Tukur’s continued chairmanship of the party on Wednesday night couched his summary of the meeting as the application of lipstick on a woman.

“This is like lipstick you apply on a woman, it would soon fade away,” the senior party member said in reference to the decision to uphold Tukur as national chairman despite the many controversies and issues around his stewardship of the country’s ruling party.

Describing Tukur, the bulk 78-year old national chairman of the PDP in feminine tones in part reflects the ironies that have been thrown up since the election, penultimate March, of Tukur as the national chairman of the PDP.

At the BoT meeting in the presidential villa on Wednesday night, not many words were spoken as the Chairman of the BoT, Chief Anthony Anenih, immediately set the tone for activities with his inclination towards Tukur. Anenih, it was learnt, was quick to rebuff the clamour against Tukur as he insisted that the national chairman should not resign as had been demanded by many party stakeholders.

PDP National Chairman, Dr Bamanga Tukur

Anenih’s stance was despite the report of a presidential committee constituted by President Goodluck Jonathan and chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, which had recommended that Tukur and all the members of the National Working Committee, NWC, should resign.

The basis of the committee’s recommendation was the report of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the 2012 national convention of the party, which had faulted the process in which eight of the national officers of the party had emerged.

The INEC report on the convention which became available last April had alleged that the process for the election of the eight national officers through affirmation did not follow the party’s guidelines that stipulated a ballot in the determination of all offices.

According to INEC, “The mode of election adopted for single candidates was not in accordance with the mode of election stipulated in paragraph 6.5 (i) of the guidelines for the conduct of the year 2012 congresses and national convention and therefore not acceptable to the commission”.

The eight affected officers were: Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja; National Organizing Secretary; Abubakar Mustapha; National Youth Leader, Alhaji Garba Chiza; Deputy National Youth Leader, Dennis Alonge Niyi; Deputy National Auditor, Senator Umar Ibrahim; Deputy National Woman, Hannatu Ulam and National Woman Leader, Kema Chikwe.

Also affected were Deputy National Organizing Secretary, Okechukwu Nnadozie; Deputy National Treasurer, Claudus Inengas; National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon; National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh and the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Binta Goje.

Following the submission of the INEC report, those in the party who had axes to grind with elements in the NWC as led by Tukur immediately went to court seeking the dissolution of the NWC.

For many of the antagonists, their target was Tukur, but remarkably, Tukur was not directly affected by the INEC report. However, there were many reasons for the party activists to grind issues with the national chairman, among which were his alleged blind inclinations towards President Jonathan’s perceived 2015 re-election ambition and his many troubles with some of the state governors.

Tukur had especially fallen out with his own state governor, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, who in fact did not support his emergence in 2012 as national chairman.

Tukur was also seen in some quarters as aloof, if not arrogant in his attitude towards some principal party stakeholders.

So it was not surprising that three members of the party: Hon. Abba Yale from Borno State, Hon. Yahaya Aruwa Sule from Taraba State and Barrister Bashir Maidugu from Borno had upon the INEC report approached the courts to compel the party to implement the report and sack the affected NWC members because they never had the requisite constitutional requirements to occupy their offices as NWC members.

However, even though he was not a target of the INEC report it was not difficult for enemies of Tukur to mobilize against him, alleging that he was the main problem of the party.

Among the harshest critics of Tukur in the days leading to Thursday’s NEC meeting was the PDP Stakeholders Forum, which through its National Coordinator, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, led a campaign for the ouster of Tukur. Chinyere also circulated text messages to NEC members raising allegations against the national chairman and why he should be sacked.

By Monday when the Anyim Committee submitted its report with a recommendation that Tukur and all the NWC members should resign, the momentum was indeed going against Tukur until high-profile insiders in the Jonathan administration intervened.

Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, was one of the first to come out with a ringing condemnation of those pushing for Tukur’s removal as he alleged that it was another conspiracy by some to get at the president.

At the same time, a whispering campaign also commenced among insiders close to Jonathan who built on the sentiment raised by Clark.

“Why must the president lose every battle? He lost the battle for NGF chairmanship and why must he lose every fight?” a source privy to the development queried.

So it was not difficult for support to begin building up for Tukur from Monday evening as associates of the president mobilized support for him.

At the national caucus meeting on Tuesday night and the BoT meeting the following day, the sustenance of Tukur was quietly and swiftly pushed through and it was not surprising that by the time the NEC took place the matter of removing Tukur was a non issue.

But as a source privy to the BoT meeting predicted after the meeting, Tukur would survive but the peace that would follow would be like the lipstick on a woman’s lip. It would soon rub off!