PDP Papers the Cracks

R-L: Tukur, Jonathan, Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, Vice-President Namadi Sambo and Anenih after the last PDP INEC meeting

The Monday Discourse

The current challenges of the Peoples Democratic Party pose a huge threat and call for a genuine intervention!

The giant party is weak and its umbrella, having weathered different seasons, has begun to wear off; naturally because there hasn't been a maintenance culture. And of course, those who call the shots now in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are mostly newcomers who, either do not have a grasp of the philosophy of the founding fathers or were not interested in pursuing their vision.
The last few weeks have thrown up such challenges that are still threatening the strength-in-unity of the PDP and although several steps are being taken to paper the cracks in the party, the sectional undertone that the crises have taken has further compounded what ordinarily would have been the usual intrigues in a party as complex as PDP. However, at the root of the multi-faceted crisis in the party are ambitions connected with the 2015 elections.

Indications that the national leadership was in trouble started to manifest when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) dismissed the convention that produced some members of the National Working Committee (NWC), who have now resigned from their offices. And coming less than two years to the 2015 elections, the party dismissed the claims by INEC and described it as a destabilization plot. In the end, it changed nothing as the INEC report was too profound to be ignored. And thus, a fresh journey into crisis began.

The Controversial INEC Report
Twelve months after the national convention of PDP that took place on March 24, 2012, INEC came up with a report and faulted the outcome of the election of some principal officers of the party. INEC clearly stated that the mode of election of some of the officers and members of the NWC was not acceptable.

In the report titled: “Report of the 2012 National Convention of the PDP Held on March 24th, 2012 at the Eagle Square, Abuja”, INEC said the mode of election of those described as ‘single candidates’ was not acceptable to the commission.
The report was signed by Col. M.K. Hammanga (rtd) Team Leader to the PDP national convention, Dame Gladys Nne Nwafor, national commissioners in INEC, Regina Omo-Agege; Director Political Parties Monitoring and Liaison, Emmanuel Umenger; Director Public Affairs, Nnamdi Nwaeze; Chief Legal Officer, Babalola O.O; Deputy Director Political Parties Monitoring and Liaison, Aminu K. Idris and Assistant Director, Political Parties Monitoring and Liaison, Pricilla Ezeigwe.

Others who signed the report were Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in the Political Parties Monitoring and Liaison, Nkechinyere Abuh; PAO in the Political Parties Monitoring and Liaison, Sefiya and Bulus D. Davou, CCO in the Political Parties Monitoring and Liaison. They all said the mode of election at the PDP national convention was not acceptable to the commission.
“The mode of election adopted for single candidates was not in accordance with the mode of election stipulated in paragraph 6.5 (i) of the guidelines for the conduct of the year 2012 congresses and national convention and therefore not acceptable to the commission,” the report stated in part.

By that provision, the affected candidates whose elections were by affirmation were the deputy national chairman, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja; National Organizing Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha; National Youth Leader, Alhaji Garba Chiza; Deputy National Youth Leader, Dennis Alonge Niyi; Deputy National Auditor, Senator Umar Ibrahim; Deputy National Woman, Hanatu Ulam; National Woman Leader, Kema Chikwe; Deputy National Organising Secretary, Okechukwu Nnadozie; Deputy National Treasurer, Claudus Inengas; National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwom, National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Meth and the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Binta Goje.
This was in spite of the fact that the single officers were duly nominated and their candidacy ratified by a majority voice vote at the national convention.

In the Certified True Copy of the report signed by the Acting Director of INEC, Legal Department, Ibrahim K. Bawa and dated March 19 2013, INEC also noted that the “open secret ballot system was adopted for the election into the offices of the national chairman, Auditor, Financial Secretary, Secretary, Treasurer and deputy treasurer in accordance with paragraph 6.5 (i) of the guidelines for the conduct of the 2012 congresses and national convention.

“All other positions had single candidates and were affirmed by motion except for the position of the national chairman which was put to vote by open secret ballot despite only one candidate.”
For INEC, therefore, there was no going back and that naturally generated fresh crisis for the party leadership.

The Gale of Resignation
When it was clear that INEC had taken a position it would not renege on, the party sought a political solution to the problem.  Members of the NWC affected by the INEC report were persuaded to resign their positions to pave the way for a mini-national convention where the lapses in their election could be rectified.

First to resign was the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Olisa Metuh, followed by others who turned in their resignation letters before the NEC meeting last Thursday.
Metuh, who confirmed his resignation to reporters, said other officials of the party affected by the INEC report were to follow soon. And it happened.

“I want to inform you that I am resigning as the National Publicity Secretary with effect from Thursday, June 20, 2013. This resignation is in the overall interest of the party and is being done to put a final stop to the controversy generated by the INEC report on the mode of my election as National Publicity Secretary.

“I have served this party as a member of the National Executive Committee for over 10 years and therefore, my interest is to ensure that this party stabilizes. I have written and submitted my letter,” Metuh said, adding that he took the decision after several meetings and consultations with the various stakeholders in the party, particularly those from the South-east Geo-political zone which produced him. But Metuh, like many of those forced to resign may re- contest.

However, the national chairman, Tukur, survived the onslaught. This was believed to have stemmed from the assurances he got when he led his party leaders to meet with Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock. The president was said to have told him that many of the PDP governors were not amenable to his being sacked as demanded by a few others.

Although, the crack in the governors’ camp over Tukur’s alleged style of leadership was linked to the fall-outs of the election into the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), he survived it still after all.

Besides, the presidency was said to have had a rethink on its endorsement of the recommendation of the Anyim Pius Anyim panel that the entire PDP leadership headed by Tukur should resign, for peace to return to the party. The thinking that later prevailed was reportedly borne out of the realization that even if Tukur and others were to go, the PDP governors that voted against Jang at the NGF election might still not back the president in his bid for a second term in office.

As a result, rather than sack Tukur to assuage the feelings of the aggrieved governors, the presidency decided to forget whatever issues it has with the party leadership and stuck with it.

Enters the Special Convention
Already, details of the July 20 special convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been thrown open to all members of the  party interested in contesting, including members of the NWC  that resigned last Thursday because the elections that brought them in were not acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

Also, the PDP National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of last week showed that the presidency deliberately blocked former deputy national chairman of the party, Chief Bode George, from presenting the vote of confidence on President Goodluck Jonathan. Whatever the rationale, that has also been subjected to different interpretations since the meeting last weekend.

A source said that “the idea of vote of confidence was entirely the brain child of Bode George but the president was not comfortable with him presenting it, hence, the former deputy senate president, Ibrahim Mantu, was called to present the confidence vote on the president.

“The NEC meeting was conducted by the officials of the presidency with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim and the Political Adviser to the President, Ahmed Gulak moderating,” the insider source said.

On the convention, the offices slated for election has been zoned to the states and zones where the former NWC came from as over 4,000 delegates are expected at the special national convention. The details of the exercise were disclosed by chairman of the Special National Convention Committee, Professor Jerry Gana, who also informed that the party had written a letter to INEC to inform it of the special convention and the resignation of NWC members whose election on March 24, 2012 were not acceptable to the commission.

The decision of PDP to write INEC is in line with section 85 of the Electoral Act (as amended) which requires political parties to inform the commission of any convention or conference as it may deem fit.

Gana, who spoke with newsmen after the inauguration of the Convention Planning Committee, said “The election of offices at the convention is thrown to all members of the PDP that are interested in contesting for offices at the Special National Convention of July 20.”

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who is Secretary of the committee, also said the zoning and states where the previous NWC members that resigned came from shall be maintained.

“We are going to keep all the positions within the zones, but within the zones. If there is any strong reason for us to change a particular candidate, that will happen, but for now, we are going to keep all the positions in the zones that keep them presently. We are not changing the zoning formula of the NWC members; we are reopening nominations, yes, we are reopening nominations. This is a new convention. They will pay; it is not the old convention.”

By implication, therefore, the office of the National Publicity Secretary is retained in Anambra State, while the office of the National Women Leader is retained in Imo State. The office of the National Legal Adviser is retained in Plateau State; the office of the National Treasurer remains in Kebbi State; the office of the deputy national chairman is retained in Rivers State; the office of the National Organising Secretary is retained in Kaduna, while the office of the deputy national secretary is retained in Ebonyi State.

According to the guidelines obtained by THISDAY, “All the delegates that took part at the March 24, 2012 national convention have been ratified to attend the special convention. The process of election, shall be by secret ballot where the candidate is unopposed by voice vote. In the event of a tie, a run-off election shall be immediately conducted between the candidates with the highest equal votes.
“The election of zonal officers shall recognise the principles of zoning and spread of party and public offices. Each candidate seeking election must be nominated by 20 registered members from the two third of the states in the zone. Election shall be by simple majority to produce the offices of the zone.

“Election of national officers shall recognise the principles of zoning and be conducted on the basis of existing zoning formula as amended by the National Executive Committee of the party. Each candidate shall be nominated by at least 20 registered members, five of whom must come from the aspirant’s zone.”
The guideline further emphasised that all members seeking elections into the various offices must be registered members for at least two years.

Facts emanating from insider sources showed that the former National Organising Secretary of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, may return as the deputy national chairman of the party. He is to replace Dr. Sam Sam Jaja. In the same manner, Olisa Metuh may come back as the National Publicity Secretary, while the Mustapha Abubakar may also return as the National Organising Secretary.
However, it is not clear yet whether the former national treasurer, Hon. Bala Kaoje, a chartered builder, may come back because of the constitutional provision that said only an accountant should hold the office.

From all indications and the level of ill-feeling that majority of the stakeholders may carry to the convention, the tendency that the party will come out of the convention more divided is very likely. Events preceding the current initiative are believed to have exposed the poor managing of the party which pans only to entrenched interests at the expense of larger concern.

Whilst the PDP is quick to boasting its ability to managing crises, however blustering they might appear, the split in the ranks of the governor which is believed to be the rallying front is a factor that cannot be waved aside in the ensuing drama, much more, the sectional agitation which has come to be known as the fulcrum for the present crisis as 2015 remains the reason for the pending implosion.

Besides, the threat by the opposition waiting to cash-in on the implosion has become more palpable and a concern for those who see the situation as very likely, especially given the underhand that is likely to tweak the already settled understanding amongst the stakeholders in the party as well as other indicators.

Flashback to PDP Crises
Like a comet blazing across the evening sky, the PDP, in 1998 stormed the political firmament of the country, bringing under its umbrella the decision makers from different parts of the country. With its sweeping victory in subsequent elections since the rebirth of democracy in 1999 and the complex and conflicting interests that converged under its umbrella, PDP became an atomistic part, perpetually in crisis.

But it took pride in its avowed ability to manage its crises and resolve them with the usual "family affair" approach. But more than ever before, it faces the real threat of disintegration as it now appears buffeted by crises from many fronts that even true blue PDP members nurse the doubts it could overcome as the 2015 polls gather momentum.

A very large political formation, perhaps, the largest on the continent as it is wont to say, PDP boasts 23 governors out of 36. It has comfortable majority in both chambers of the National Assembly. The situation is the same in many of the state Houses of Assembly. But in all parts of the country, the party is in one crisis or the other, most of which are self-inflicted. Many of the crises are so daunting that they also pose serious threats to its chances in 2015.

Across the six Geo-political zones, the party is wobbling from one crisis to the other. Some of the crises, including one of confidence amongst PDP governors on the one hand and the lingering face-off between the governors and the party leadership on the other hand as well as the crack in the party over President Goodluck Jonathan's undeclared second term ambition are some of the potent threats to the party's electoral fortune in 2015, if not well managed.

Poignantly, the re- conciliatory tours embarked upon by the former NWC of the party had done nothing but further exposed the underbelly of the crisis confronting the PDP as a political family.

Starting from the South-west, Ogun State offers a typical example of a bitterly factionalised party for many years even though the development manifested clearly during the last elections. The party is divided alongside many factions. There is a faction loyal to the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, against the Buruji Kashamu group, which eventually consumed Chief Bode Mustapha as the national auditor of the party. The new national auditor, Olawale, is from the Kashamu group.

The state executive committee hitherto loyal to Obasanjo had been sacked and another committee put in place. It was the hopelessness of the in-fighting that compelled former governor Gbenga Daniel to form his own party, Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), which eventually contributed to the unseating of the PDP by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2011 governorship election in the state.
At the zonal level in the same zone, the Olusegun Oni committee had also been sacked by the former NWC, following a court pronouncement and a caretaker committee led by Mr. Ishola Filani, installed. Although, Oni fought hard to regain his office as the national vice chairman of the party, it is already a lost battle with the turn of events.

In the same vein, former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, was suspended as national secretary of the party. His removal from office also followed a court order and fallout of the crisis in Ogun State. Without much ado, the recent tsunami that ravaged the NWC has ended his attempt to revalidate his mandate.

In Ekiti State, the pattern continues. There is a popularity contest between former governor Ayo Fayose and Oni over the former’s planned return to the PDP.
Similar scenario is playing out in Oyo State. It was a similar in-fighting within the party that led to the party losing the state to the ACN in 2011. PDP was a party divided against itself in Oyo. A former governor, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, had left the party under unfavourable situation and formed his own party, the Accord Party, which is a major contender in the state today.

Ondo is also not insulated from the crisis as it was believed to have led to the Labour Party maintaining hold on the state. The former National Legal Adviser, Olusola Oke, was allegedly sabotaged from winning the October 20 governorship election in the state. Elders of the party in the state were alleged to have shifted allegiance to the Labour Party during the election and at the end of the day, Oke lost to Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

Indeed, Lagos PDP is also not at peace with itself. There are different factions in the party. While George leads the dominant faction, former Works Minister, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, heads the other faction. But the party is striving hard to play down its crisis and present a facade of peace. Besides, the duo of George and Ogunlewe had come out to admit to reconciliation. But how far that can be sustained remains to be seen in the light of the intrigues that are waiting to play out, preparatory to 2015.

In the entire South-west, it would have been safe to infer that Osun maintained an executive with a semblance of peace, recent developments have however proved otherwise as the ambition of some persons is believed to be threatening the relative peace in the state. But with the party machinery comfortably in the hands of former Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Osun can still wriggle out of the league of crisis-ridden PDP states.

Attempts by the PDP Governors' Forum to wade into the crisis in the South-west, met a dead end. Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State and his colleagues from Benue, Delta, and Ebonyi States had tried in vain to resolve the crisis. At the end of the day, they advised the zone to go and resolve the crisis amongst them and report back to the committee. This was because all entreaties for them to embrace peace failed.

In the South-east and the South-south, the party has continued to have it rough. For instance, in Abia State, there is vehement opposition to the planned return of the former governor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, by other players in the state. To that extent, the incumbent governor, Theodore Orji, led a delegation of the stakeholders from the state to the national secretariat of PDP where they staged a protest against Kalu’s return bid to the party.

In Ebonyi, also, there is a simmering cold war between the PDP stakeholders and Governor Martins Elechi. Almost all founding members of the party in the state are said to be observing a ‘siddon look’ approach to the crisis which is not promising. The same scenario applies in Enugu, where a war is gradually brewing between the Nsukka and Awgu zones in the state over whose turn it is to produce the party's governorship candidate in the next general election.

The bone of contention is that the Agwu zone where the incumbent, Governor Sullivan Chime, hails from would be serving out eight years in office and the same zone is said to be itching to continue in office with Ekweremadu’s alleged governorship ambition. The Nsukka zone is therefore alleging marginalisation.

The spectre in Anambra State is as worrisome, especially that a governorship election is billed to take place later in the year, preceded by local government elections. Presently, there is no recognizable chairman of the party in the state. The state has always been in crisis and there are several factions loyal to the various godfathers that dominate the turf of Anambra.

The South-south crisis is multi-faceted. It is believed to have been compounded by the high wire popularity contest between the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Godswill Akpabio. The acrimony between the two governors became pronounced when Amaechi and his Delta State counterpart, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, were alleged to have walked out on the zonal reconciliatory meeting of the party that held in Port Harcourt.

However, contrary to the spin given the incident, nothing of such happened. Rather, Amaechi had excused himself to see off Uduaghan who was leaving early because he had a flight to catch and that the Asaba airport was billed to close early.
Interestingly, this happened at a time Akpabio was making his speech. Though, both Amaechi and Uduaghan would later issue separate statements, denying insinuations that they walked out on Tukur, their actions were largely misinterpreted.

Thus, whether or not the PDP admits it, there is serious crisis in the zone, especially because of the circumstances that led to the formation of the PDP Governors' Forum with Akpabio as its chair and compounded by the emergence of two factions of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, led by Amaechi on the one hand and Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State on the other hand. Therefore, the NGF crisis is believed to have completely exposed the mess in the zone.

The Sectional Colouration
Of course, how well the party handles its crises is critical to its survival as the July 20 special convention closes in. This is especially so given the ongoing moves by the north to reclaim the presidency.

As some of the proponents of the idea had put it, “this is our turn, presidency must move up north”. This slant to the crisis had manifested early, following the claim by the Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Mu'azu Aliyu, that there was an agreement with President Jonathan that he would serve just one term. His expose, however, sparked crisis in the party.

The crisis festered further when most of the northern governors boycotted the zonal reconciliation tour set in motion by the NWC. As the reconciliatory train moved from the north-east, through the north-central, to the northwest, some of the governors of the party declined to show up at the meetings. As a result, the absence of 21 governors of the PDP at the grand finale of the reconciliatory tour in Abuja had also raised genuine concerns.

However, amid the rumour doing the rounds that their absence was a demonstration of their grievances against the party, Tukur dismissed such and explained the absence of the governors. He said the governors were not meant to be present at the grand finale tour, while Akpabio on his part said there was not enough publicity for the governors to attend the meeting.

Consequently, the crisis that emanated from the Adamawa State congresses of the party is noteworthy. For some reasons, the party was divided on the congresses in the state, even when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wrote to say that there were no democratically elected congresses in the state and nine others.

What was particularly surprising was the division within the former NWC as members, after supporting and working for congresses to hold in the state from ward to the state level, turned round to disassociate themselves from the decisions they took as a group. The situation got out of hands as Tukur, in a letter co-signed by the then acting national secretary, recognised a faction allegedly loyal to the national chairman.

This faction is led by Joel Madaki, the first state chairman of PDP in Adamawa state. But PDP members in the state claimed not to have seen any such letter.
Also, in Taraba, two serving senators are up in arms against the convalescing Governor, Danbaba Suntai, who is still abroad for medical treatment after surviving a plane crash in which he was the pilot. The bone of contention is the struggle over the state PDP structure.

There is also crisis on the Plateau as Jang did not want some members of the party who defected from the party to return to the fold. As a result, he, like his Abia State counterpart, also led a delegation to the national secretariat, seeking to prevent the return of some members.

The former National Legal Adviser of the party, Victor Kwom, who was nominated by the governor, described those seeking to return to the party as ‘snakes and reptiles’, who would not be allowed into the PDP.

At the National Assembly where the party has majority in the two chambers, there is no peace between the lawmakers and the president, both of whom were elected on the same party platform. The PDP, being in majority, produced the leadership of the National Assembly, yet, there is no cordial relationship between the two arms of government as the Senate and the House of Representatives are hardly on the same page with the president.

When Anenih Stepped in
It was in a bid to approach the crises from another angle that Jonathan reportedly mandated the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, to commence another peace tour. The tour which took Anenih to party leaders across the country, commenced with the northern governors threatening to leave the party.

The Niger Governor had told Anenih that the party should not force aggrieved members to leave the PDP. This was partly because of the crisis that the governors seem to have with Tukur on the one hand and Jonathan on the other hand over the agreement that the office of the presidency should move up north.

Though initially, the Anenih committee recorded partial success, given the fact that some northern PDP governors have been restating their commitment to the PDP and assuring the party leadership that they had no plans to leave the PDP, this may have been vitiated by both the NGF crisis and the recent NWC brouhaha.

The Opposition Headache
Unfortunately for the PDP, the threat that some of the governors might defect to other parties came at a time the opposition political parties were waxing stronger on the merger platform- All Progressives Congress (APC).  The two main opposition political parties in the north, the CPC and the ANPP, have concluded their merger talks with the main opposition party in the country, the ACN, and with a faction of APGA. The parties are merely waiting for the registration of their new platform.

It was as a result of this development that many believed the PDP took a panic-driven approach to containing the crises in its fold and the threat posed by the opposition.

However, with the threat of an implosion posed by the many dimensions of the crises, observers argue that only deft political moves that would place emphasis on unity as against the divide and rule tactics of the presidency and its leadership will suffice.
It is therefore, on the backdrop of this submission that analysts see the July 20 special convention as the strangest opportunity to have availed the PDP to redress its crises or go to the polls a divided family and remain shattered as one political party that never learned anything from its missteps.