Group urges Jonathan and Tukur To Call Bode George to Order

President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, have been urged to call the former Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Chief Olabode George, to order.

A group, the Forum for Equity and Justice (FEJ), yesterday condemned “George’s attempt to usurp the functions of the Zonal Working Committee (ZWC) and the Zonal Executive Committee (ZEC) by calling an illegal meeting of some so-called party leaders to share positions zoned to the Southwest”.

In a statement by its National Co-ordinator, Mr. Enitan Ayelabowo, FEJ said George’s role as a member of the PDP’s BoT is advisory.

The statement reads: “We have noticed the way George has been carrying himself since he came out of prison. He has been running around to put himself in the forefront of Yoruba and Nigerian politics, breaching the law and protocol by side-tracking Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun, who was the party’s rallying point when George was away.

“It is even more nauseating when we recall the 2003 governorship elections, when the PDP won all states of the Southwest but Lagos, where he has been calling the shots in the last 14 years or so. The loss was majorly due to his half-hearted commitment to the party’s course. He does not really want the party to win any election, so that he would remain the numero uno and continue to corner the goodies meant for members.

“Having been tactically rejected because of his personality albatross at the recent PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Abuja, where he desperately sought to move a motion for the passing of a vote-of-confidence in the President, his next move is to usurp the functions of the Southwest Caretaker Committee by calling an illegal meeting of his ilk.

 

“The question now is: in what capacity is he doing this, since the caretaker committee has the responsibility of preparing for the congress?

 

It is only the caretaker committee constituted by the National Working Committee (NWC) that can summon its members and extend its hand of fellowship to other leaders and bodies it deems fit to put heads together to ensure a hitch-free congress.

“The Yoruba are decent people, who will not give any position of responsibility to questionable characters, more so when the reason for their personality cum political deficit has to do with financial impropriety and corrupt practices.

“If George was not allowed to move the motion at the NEC meeting because of moral deficit, it will be an insult to the sensibilities of the Yoruba if he is allowed to lay claim to the party’s leadership in the Southwest.

“More so, we know his relationship with Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako. They have been holding nocturnal meetings in Lagos and Yola in recent times. We are also aware of his flirtation with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his plans to take three names to him, out of which one, and most likely, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, will be endorsed.

 “We urge President Jonathan and Tukur to intervene and save us from the consequences of George’s albatross and indiscretion, especially given the events of the recent past. It is imperative for all well-meaning leaders and elders of the party to call him to order to avoid another round of controversies.”