Ekwueme report gave Tukur amnesty, Metuh tells New PDP

 

The Peoples Democratic Party said on Monday that its National Chairman, Dr.  Bamanga Tukur, would not resign from office as demanded by the New PDP.

Though the party refused to be categorical on whether Tukur was dismissed from the party 13 years ago as claimed by the breakaway group, it said if that was even true, it was not enough a reason for Tukur to resign.

Speaking with journalists in his office on Monday, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the Ekwueme Committee Report on Reconciliation had given the affected people blanket waiver or amnesty.

It will be recalled that the New PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, in Abuja on Sunday, had insisted that Tukur and nine other members of the party were expelled from the party 13 years ago for anti-party activities.

Eze had said, “Tukur was expelled from the PDP in 2006 with nine others following the disciplinary action taken against them for anti-party activities.

“Since then, he has not officially returned to the party. All the records at our disposal show that Tukur has not followed due process for his readmission into the party.”

But Metuh said he had checked whether Tukur  was  actually disciplined or not, but he said he could not “recollect.”

He said, “I have checked the record to know whether it happened or not, to tell you the truth I cannot recollect. I don’t remember whether it happened or not, but our position is that normally if any such thing happened it becomes a law in the party except there is an intervening force

“If it actually did happen, in  2007 we set up the Ekwueme Reconciliation Committee, the committee gave a blanket amnesty, a blanket waiver to all members, who have left the party or offended the party or the party sacked.

“They were allowed to come back and we wiped away every single thing and started on a clean slate as if it had never happened.

“So, what that meant is that even if it is true that the National Chairman or some other people have been suspended or expelled by the party,  that Ekwueme’s report gave a blanket amnesty to them and brought them back and restore them to their original position.”