Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on Thursday, in Abuja, said that the party and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan would have retained power at the centre, as well as the National Assembly and most of the states controlled before the 2015 general elections, if he had retained his position as National Chairman.
Tukur, who resigned his position in January 2014, had urged the court to nullify his resignation and sack his successor, Adamu Mu’azu, as he was compelled to stand down in the first place as condition for the PDP governors who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013 to return.
The court, however, dismissed his prayers, following which he appealed the decision. He was subsequently suspended by the party for taking legal action to reclaim his seat, instead of exploring the available internal mechanism for redress before challenging his ouster in court.
Asked to comment on the loss of the 2015 election, Tukur, who spoke at his private residence in Abuja on events lined up for his 80th birthday anniversary, told journalists: “When I was there, we won election, if I had been there we would have won the election (2015).”
Commenting on the loss of power by the PDP, Tukur noted that the party shot itself in the foot when he was tacitly pushed out of office.
He further gave an insight on why he left the PDP chairman seat for Mu’azu, saying the party was averse to internal democracy.
“Well, I thought we were in a system of democracy and my views are such that what I believe in is what I will preach.
“I want election and people say they want selection. If the majority or the strong people in the PDP did not believe in it, then the choice or the next thing for me to do was to leave.
“It is either I leave or they leave but I did not want them to leave, so I decided to leave. At that time, people said I am preaching internal democracy instead of imposition. So it will be difficult for me to sit down,” he said.
Also commenting on the nature of persons who should be appointed ministers under the APC administration, the former PDP chairman, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint into his cabinet only those he chooses personally, rather than those currently jostling for positions.
“Don’t give the job to who wants the job, give the job to whom the job wants,” he told the President, whom he said, should seek men and women of proven integrity, for the government to achieve its set objectives.
The president who has been running his government without a cabinet since his inauguration on May 29, has promised to constitute his team before the end of this month.
Tukur said Buhari has not deviated from his set targets in his first 100 days in office and is indeed “going according to his agenda.
“When Buhari came into office, he said he wants to confront corruption, insecurity, unemployment and power; he set an agenda, the nation is working and is going on.
“To me, the government is going the right way, they are not deviating from what they said they will do,” Tukur added.
Taking a deep look into the socio-cultural and political situation of the nation, Tukur said for the country to attain greatness, issues of religion, ethnicity and other artificial dichotomies should be de-emphasised in politics.
“We must remove religion from politics. We must accept ourselves as Nigerians and not see ourselves as being from A or B state, or local government. We must ensure that anything, culture or ethnicity that we cannot change we don’t bring to the table.
“What you cannot change we must endure. You cannot change yourself from being an Hausa man to Igbo man or an Igbo man to a Yoruba man, or a Yoruba man to an Ijaw man. You can’t. So forget about that, it is not an issue. So don’t bring it on the table.
“Ethnicity should be removed from our politics. What we must bring into our politics is equity, justice and for us to be our brother’s keeper. We can do it. I have told you, God has given you land, water and us, as a people; that is what He gave to every nation on earth,” he said.
Daily independent
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