What path did Saddam Hussein take to become president and chairman of the revolutionary command council (RCC) of Iraq?

There is a debate among scholars regarding the true power of Hassan al-Bakr and Saddam in their relation to the Revolutionary Command Council. Some scholars argue that early on the RCC "functioned as a genuine collective decision-making body, and was often the arena for heated debates."[8] Many argue it was Saddam who greatly changed and controlled the RCC by eliminating any manifestations of pluralism. The government under Saddam was often seen as a brutal dictatorship. In 1979, Saddam “accused dozens of party officers and party officials, including five of the RCC’s twenty-two members, of taking part in a Syrian plot against the regime.[9] The accused were put on trial and sent to death. Saddam’s actions at the beginning of his presidency greatly limited the plurality in the RCC with his accusations against the Syrian plot “conspirators.” This action consolidated his power in the RCC.