Posted by From Adeniyi Olugbemi, Yola on
Ahead of the sitting of the special panel instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to try Vice President Atiku Abubakar and two govrnors, the Adamawa State chapter of the PDP Tuesday suspended the vice president and the state's governor, Mr. Boni Haruna. But reacting to this, Atiku described it as a huge joke.
• It's laughable and illegal - Atiku
Ahead of the sitting of the special panel instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to try Vice President Atiku Abubakar and two govrnors, the Adamawa State chapter of the PDP Tuesday suspended the vice president and the state's governor, Mr. Boni Haruna. But reacting to this, Atiku described it as a huge joke.
Rising from a stakeholders' meeting, which had in attendance PDP leaders at the ward, local government and state level, the party said that the duo was being suspended for funding, organising and promoting the ideals of a rival political party, the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD).
Reading the decision of the PDP stakeholders, in Yola, Adamawa State capital, Senator Jubril Aminu said that the meeting established that Atiku and Haruna have penchant for politics of violence and promoting disorder in Adamawa politics.
Senator Aminu said: 'We cannot remain quiet while the Vice President gallops on as a great source of embarrassment to us in Adamawa State.
His outbursts have effectively thrown overboard all decorum and all the dignity around the office of the Vice President as he has transformed himself into a champion of political street fighting," adding: 'We find it sad that the Vice President has not, at this time, given up his well known penchant of old for the pursuit of politics of violence as we vividly recall his role in the disorder in the state during President Ibrahim Babangida's transition programme and even later."
On Governor Haruna, he said: 'It is also no secret that Governor Boni Haruna has left the party. In many months, he has not said anything good of the party. We remember, during the last party registration exercise, how he tried to use government officials to prevent people from registering. He and the Vice President organized their own parallel double registration in order to confound the exercise. During the state congress and party convention, he organized an illegal parallel congress each time."
Aminu accused Haruna of working for ACD, adding: 'All commissioners and local government chairmen, and all other associates of the governor in the state are campaigning for the ACD and they are planning, in the next few days, to hold a rally of ACD in order to launch that illegitimate child of a party.
'We here cannot just sit down and watch the vice president and Governor Boni continue their nefarious programme of trying to destroy the party in Adamawa State without challenging them.
We have, therefore, taken the decision to suspend them from the party at their respective wards, local governments and state levels in the first instance, while we respectfully await the decision of the National Executive Committee on the outcome of the disciplinary committee sitting."
Those who attended the meeting include: Senator Aminu, Brig-Gen Mohammed Marwa (retd), Admiral Murtala Nyako (retd), Maj-Gen Abdullahi Shelleng (retd), Senator Paul Wampana, PDP National Vice Chairman, North East zone, among others.
Meanwhile, Vice President Abubakar has described the action of Adamawa PDP as a joke.
In a statement by Mallam Garba Shehu, Media Consultant to Atiku, the vice president said the purported suspension was laughable, illegal and evil.
The statement said: 'We find the purported suspension not only laughable but illegal, evil and to say the obvious, undemocratic. The PDP constitution clearly stipulates the procedure for suspending members from the party. The so-called 'stakeholders" never followed such procedure. This, for us, clearly represents a new level of illegality and political brigandage by the anti-democracy forces, which have hijacked our dear party for their own selfish motives.
'Stakeholders" is not a known organ of the PDP. It is a manifestation of the desperation of third term promoters who have failed to secure the support of the ward and local government branches of the party to suspend the vice president. This is an act of lawlessness and a manifestation of the sickness afflicting this democracy.
'The vice president is encouraged by the virtually unanimous opinion of Nigerians that tenure elongation for a life presidency is morally wrong and unconstitutional. Recall a Punch newspaper poll published on 18th April 2006, citing 85percent supporting the Vice President's advocacy for democracy and open declaration against life presidency. All Nigerians must join hands to stop it. As a leader of his people, the Vice President will continue to defend the best interest of the Nigerian people and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which he swore to uphold."