By ANAYO EZUGWU
With the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) preparing to conduct congresses in nine states, ANAYO EZUGWU examines the internal challenges in the states and the possible impact of the congresses on the party ahead of the 2023 general election
There is no doubt that the main opposition political party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is still reeling from the loss of elections in 2015 and 2019. The party has been moving from one crisis to the other and presently, some chieftains of the party are battling to unseat their national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus ahead of the national convention on scheduled for October 30 and 31. But political watchers are of the view that the major issue is control of the party’s structure ahead of the 2023 presidential election. While some members are insisting that Secondus must go on the ground that he lacks what it takes to lead the party to victory in the next general election, those backing him maintained that he has done well so far and should be allowed to serve out his tenure and possibly contest for a second term if he so wishes. The tenure of the Secondus-led National Working Committee (NWC) is supposed to elapse in December but some chieftains of the PDP, who have their eyes on the 2023 presidential ticket of the party, want to ease him out in order to have a firm grip on the party before the national convention and the presidential primary. But before the convention, the party would conduct congresses in nine states of the federation.
The states are Lagos, Oyo, Adamawa, Kebbi, Borno, Kogi, Osun, Kwara and Ebonyi states. The party, in most of these states is engrossed in crisis but it is hoped that the forthcoming congress would address them. From Lagos to Oyo, Adamawa, Kebbi, Borno and Osun states, the party is factionalized with unending court injunctions and counter injunctions. The National Working Committee (NWC) had tried to resolve some of these challenges by setting up the National Reconciliation and Strategy Committee led by a former President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki. Despite efforts of the committee in visiting all the troubled states and meeting all the gladiators, the chal-lenges and crisis in states like Lagos, Oyo, Osun among others remain unresolved. Political observers are of the opinion that if the gladiators and other interests in the party fail to allow members to determine their representatives at the ward, local government and state levels, the party may implode before the general election in 2023.
They insist that free, fair and peaceful congresses is the sure way the party can win the confidence and trust of many Nigerians yearning for change in 2023.
Lagos State
The Centre of Excellence is one state PDP would be hoping to restore peace with the state congress. The state is very important in any electioneering in the country considering its voting strength. So, for PDP to win the state, it needs to put its house in order by resolving the lingering leadership crisis in the party through the forthcoming state congress.
The internal crisis in the state chapter of the party recently took another dimension when a Lagos State High Court, not only sacked Engr. Adedeji Doherty as chairman of the party in the state, but named a former caretaker chairman, Adegbola Dominic, as the new chairman of the party. Dominic died on August 25. Since 1999 the party has failed at every election in Lagos State even when the party was in control of the federal government through to internal crisis. For instance, former President Olusegun Obasanjo failed to win the state for the party in 2003 and 2007 general elections despite widespread allegations of electoral fraud. But in 2011, through the popular ity of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the party managed to win the presidential election in the state.
Like his predecessor, Jonathan lost the governorship election to the Action Congress Nigeria, ACN. Likewise, in 2015, the former president also failed to win Lagos for the PDP both in the presidential and governorship elections. However, the party managed to win some seats at the State House of Assembly. But the party’s fortune has continued to dwindle further as a result of an unending internal leadership tussle leading to the defection of some of its chieftains to APC. But since then, the party’s electoral performance in the state has gone from bad to worse, with the party failing to win any local government seat in the recent council elections in the state.
Oyo State
Though some members of the PDP in Oyo State and appointees of the Governor Seyi Makinde have maintained their stand that all is well with the party, there is an evidence of crack in Oyo PDP. The crisis rocking the party started shortly after the 2019 governorship election, when some leaders of the party accused the governor of abandoning those who laboured for his victory and pandering more towards non-PDP members in appointments and patronages.
A former majority leader in the House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, explaining the situation recently, said: “I feel used, l feel dumped. I think this was the situation from day one but l didn’t see it, l was just like PDP must win, PDP must win. That was what l was saying.
I stepped on toes and a lot of people were not happy with me because l supported Governor Seyi Makinde. I was blinded by the success l wanted for PDP and nothing more, it was nothing personal,’ she lamented. The crisis assumed another dimension recently as the faction of the party opposed to Governor Makinde opened its own state party secretariat office in Ibadan, the state capital. Pundits are saying the emergence of the parallel state secretariat may not be unconnected with plans for the PDP congresses expected to hold soon.
Few days after the secretariat was opened, the crisis deepened as hoodlums suspected to be sponsored by members of the same party attacked and vandalised the building. In acknowledgement of the crisis in the party, Governor Makinde set up the Dr. Saka Balogun-led Elders Steering Committee of the PDP in Oyo.
Adamawa State
Despite being the ruling party in the state, PDP is also facing crisis in Adamawa State. And the party would be hoping to resolve the crisis through congress and prepare for the governorship election in the state. The crisis in the party worsened when a Federal High Court in Yola summoned the chairman of the party in the state, Tahir Shehu, over the crisis rocking the party. Dr Umar Ardo and two others had filed a suit seeking the dissolution of the party’s executives in Adamawa State over issues bordering on the conduct of congresses that ushered in the leadership of the party in 2017. Upon hearing the motion exparte by counsel to the plaintiffs, Abubakar Ali, the court issued an order granting leave to the prayers to serve the writ of summons on the PDP and INEC as 1st and 12th respondents at their respective headquarters in Abuja.
The court also granted the prayer for a substituted service on Shehu and other officers as 2nd -11th respondents by delivery to staff at the state party secretariat in Yola. The Ardo-led faction had in 2020 formed a faction called Reformed PDP in the state. And they also threatened to start the registration of members. Interim Chairman Hammajoda Girei said most members of the mainstream PDP would register with the faction because they have lost faith in the party.
“Ninety per cent of the PDP members will register with us, having lost hope in the Fintiri-led administration’s capacity to treat them just,” he said. Girei said the splinter group was prompted by ‘irredeemable disposition’ of the PDP leadership towards addressing complaints of injustice despite repeated appeals by affected persons. According to him, the party is turning into a behemoth that thrives by trampling on all constitutional provisions.
Kebbi State
Like most state chapters, where the main opposition party will conduct congresses, the Kebbi State chapter of the PDP is also in crisis. For instance, in August 2019, the state chairman of the party, Mallam Haruna Saidu, suspended five local government party chairmen and nine others for anti-party activities. He accused the suspended members of exposing the party and its leadership to public ridicule and disrepute. He explained that the 14 PDP stalwarts had shown total disregard to the party constitution and its hierarchy.
Saidu also accused them of spreading lies and engaging in a sustained campaign of calumny against leaders of the party to promote widespread disaffection among PDP members in the state. Despite the challenges in the state chapter of the party, Saidu is optimistic that the party would defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 governorship elections in the state. Speaking during the defection of APC chieftain, Abdulmalik Halliru Milton, to the party, Saidu said, “If people of Milton’s political calibre, who after assisting APC to clinch power in the state, could pitch his tent with PDP, it means PDP is on its way to taking over power from the under-performing APC government in the state.”
Borno State
Another state with long-running internal crisis in PDP is Borno State. The party had been sharply divided into two factions between Usman Badeiri and Zanna Gadama, who claimed the chairmanship position in the court since 2017. The crisis in the party has also led to the conduct of two parallel primaries through the national leadership of the party and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) attended only that of Zanna Gadama’s group that produced Mohammed Imam as PDP gubernatorial candidate in 2019.
But Badeiri maintained the Gadama’s primaries and outcome were illegal, adding that a previous court ruling had declared him the authentic chairman of the party. Ahead of the congress, chieftains of the party in the state would be expecting the gladiators to respect the agreement reached with the PDP Reconciliation and Strategy Committee, led by Saraki. The committee had in March this year extracted a verbal commitment from the gladiators, as well as other stakeholders, to work together in the interest of the party.
Kogi State
In the Kogi State chapter of the PDP, there is also internal crisis with alleged suspension by some chieftains that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party not working in the interest of all. For example, the former governorship aspirant in the last state election, Alhaji Abubakar Idris accused the NWC of allowing the crisis in Icheke ward in Omala Local Government Area of the state to fester by keeping quiet on the alleged suspension. As a result of the allegations, the Icheke ward chapter of the PDP suspended Idris, accusing him of anti-party activities.
Expectedly, supporters of the Idris political family rejected the move, accusing the party’s governorship candidate in the last gubernatorial election, Musa Wada, of being behind the plot. The rivalry between the two camps started during the build-up to the 2019 gubernatorial primary election of the party.
The party chieftains have since been divided over the crisis between the gladiators and many are concerned that it may affect the chances of the party ahead of the next governorship elections in the state. While many stakeholders have been calling on the state leadership of the party to promptly ratify the suspension and set up a committee to investigate the allegations against Idris.
Osun State
The Osun State chapter of the PDP is another interesting case. The crisis rocking the state chapter deepened recently, following the leadership’s decision to formally issue queries to some of its State Working Committee members. The notice of the query was made known in a memo signed by the state secretary of the party, Bola Ajao.
The signed query accused the party officials of allegedly neglecting, abandoning and willfully refusing to carry out their assigned constitutional duties, obligations and responsibilities since October 2020. The queried members were believed to be those that are loyal to Olasoji Adagunodo, the embattled chairman of the party. The party has been battling an internal crisis since 2017 with some key members defecting to the ruling APC. The party would be hoping that the congress would afford the gladiators the opportunity to resolve their differences in the interest of the party.
Kwara State
Since the leader of the party in Kwara State, Dr. Saraki returned to the state in 2020 after his self-imposed exile, the state chapter appears to have regained its confidence and has been keeping the Governor Abdul- Rahman AbdilRazaq-led administration on its toes. Though the party is still reeling from the all-around defeat it suffered in the last general elections but Saraki has taken the defeat in his stride. According to analysts, he has gone back to the drawing board to re-strategize for future elections. The defeat demystified the Saraki dynasty, but party members, loyalists and supporters have started picking up their pieces ahead of the next general elections in 2023. And the Kwara is one of the states where PDP would one a peaceful congress because Saraki has taken control of the party leadership and would definitely determine the outcome.
It is expected that the state chairman, Engr. Kola Shittu may continue in his position because he seems to be in the good books of Saraki and other leaders in the state. Shittu during the inauguration of the reconciliation committee said the committee was necessary to reconcile the various interest groups within the party and iron out issues related to lose of the party in the 2019 elections in the state.
Ebonyi State
Since the detection of Governor David Umahi to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the state chapter of PDP has been in disarray, with the NWC setting up a caretaker committee to manage the party. The NWC appointed Fred Udeogu as the chairman of the caretaker committee but the suspended chairman Onyekachi Nwebonyi went to court to challenge the action of the NWC. And a Federal High Court sitting in the state earlier in the year a Federal High Court judgement sacked the Udogu–led committee and affirmed State Executive Working Committee headed by Nwebonyi as the authentic leadership of the party in the state.
The political battle over who controls the PDP leadership in Ebonyi State started since November 17, 2020 when the NWC ordered the dissolution of the Nwebonyi led Ebonyi State Working Committee. The PDP NWC had premised its action on the allegation that the Nwebonyi-led SWC was loyal to the Governor who had switched political party. The two gladiators are still parading themselves as chairmen of the party in the state.
But Udeogu recently vowed that the forthcoming PDP congresses will be conducted without rancour, crisis or sidelining of chieftains of the party. He also said the congresses of the party will be free, fair and credible. The congress is also expected to set the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim against former governor of the state, Senator Sam Egwu. The two would be hoping to use the congress to take charge of the leadership of the party since the governor is no longer a member of the party.
Credit: New Telegraph.
