Will Mini-Convention End PDP Crisis?

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting last week announced August 31, 2013, as date for its Special National Convention. The convention, meant to elect national officers of the party, is coming at a time the ruling party is clearly submerged in crises. The disagreements over the 2015 presidential ticket and the controversial leadership of the party’s National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, are some of the issues tearing at the heart of the party. The development has seen the split in the ranks of governors in the PDP family and debilitating relationship amongst several segments of the party, including zonal structures. The convention is thus going to be a very critical event that may help to reconcile aggrieved members or further alienate them, depending, perhaps, on how much the party leadership plays to the rule.
Tukur survives
Incidentally, the expected axe did not fall on the National Chairman Bamanga Tukur, as predicted by doomsday members of the party, as the issue of his removal did not feature in the emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party held last week. There were even reports that the Presidency has agreed with those calling for the head of Tukur and has therefore decided to give him soft landing by advising him to base his resignation on old age. Tukur, however, came out strongly to debunk the reports, saying he was not under any pressure to resign.
He said: “I had hardly settled down in office when some newspapers predicted that I would not last three months. Later, some newspapers wrote that I would resign in December. Another one said two days ago that I had been asked to resign. Well, I have spent more than one year in office and they still continue to write same and same thing all over. I really do not understand whether Bamanga Tukur is really the problem of the media or the problem of faceless individuals who were manufacturing the miserable reports.
“It was more ludicrous that some people funded a report that I had resigned when, indeed, I was on my way to Canada for an official engagement, and yet our so-called media bought the untruth without shuddering. Then I asked myself, where is the sense of fairness and professionalism by our media in this regard? The problem is so bad that when members of our party meet and discuss behind closed doors, the media would say Bamanga Tukur is the issue. The media do not seem to know that we have better things to discuss in our party than issue of crisis.
“Let me reiterate that I am not resigning, and I have no intention of doing so as an elected National Chairman of PDP. I accepted to become chairman based on my conviction that I can use my wealth of experience to help my party and my country. I am not looking for anything at my age other than putting it on record that God has helped me, and then, I am using the opportunities he gave me to serve the rest of Nigeria to the best of my abilities.
“I will not relent in using the good office given to me by God to bring peace to the party. It is on this note that I appeal to all our members to come together to face the challenges confronting us as a party. If we must remain the strongest party that we are in Africa, it is high time we buried the hatchet and then began to close ranks.”
Indeed, the closing of ranks in the last NEC meeting concerning the major issues up for discussion, could be an indication that Tukur’s leadership is receiving significant support, as the communiqué issued would indicate.
PDP insists on convention date
The communiqué issued at the end of the meeting was also silent on the expected motion to be moved to give the right of first refusal to a second term in office to President Goodluck Jonathan and the Governors of the party who are eligible for second term in office.
However, the NEC of the party agreed that the convention of the party should still go ahead this weekend, while the South West Zonal Congress was postponed until the party succeeds in getting the court injunction restraining the party from holding the congress, vacated. The NEC also empowered the National Working Committee (NWC) to fix another date for the South West Zonal Congress without referring the matter to NEC anymore as soon as the injunctions are vacated.
However, at the opening session of the meeting, President Goodluck Jonathan in his opening remarks admitted that there were challenges within the party, but assured that those who were expecting the party to collapse because of its numerous challenges would be disappointed at the end of the day.
In announcing the acceptance of the August 31 date for the Mini Convention, and the postponement of the South West Zonal Congress, the party said in the communiqué that “NEC unanimously approved and ratified August 31, 2013, as the date for the Special National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). NEC commended the Special Congresses and Convention Planning Committee for the efforts so far put in place in the preparation for the Convention. NEC acknowledged the service of a court Injunction restraining the conduct of the South West Zonal Congress earlier scheduled for Saturday, August 24, 2013.”
The communiqué continued: “In line with our avowed disposition to uphold the rule of Law and in deference to the court ruling, NEC unanimously approved the postponement of the South West Zonal Congress. Consequently, NEC directed the National Working Committee (NWC) to follow through the court process and when concluded set a new date for the South West Zonal Congress.
As observers have noted, the ability of the PDP to survive the internal wranglings that have taxed its coherence in the last few months would depend on the amount of internal democracy that is brought to bear on this week’s convention, to start with.
Confusion trails convention
Unfortunately, confusion appears to have engulfed the process as some aspirants have raised allegations of bias against members of the National Working Committee (NWC), Convention Planning Committee (CPC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party.
Some of the aspirants who spoke anonymously to Daily Independent accused the party leadership of favouritism and bias against some candidates. An aspirant who does not want his name mentioned said: “Most of their favourite candidates were allowed to buy the nomination forms outside the statutory period which should have been an automatic disqualification from the race while others paid less than what the party collected from us. The exercise is fraught with many discrepancies and anomalies, making some of us believe that the process will not be free and fair. It is like what happened in the last convention where some candidates were muzzled to step down for the preferred candidates and this is what made the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the process unacceptable.”
Most aspirants of the PDP are set to take part in the exercise while a high-powered horse trading is already on among the elected delegates that will vote at the election.
Similarly, some aspirants are alleging that the exercise has already been manipulated to favour particular candidates, adding that there would be no internal democracy in the process. The aspirants, who spoke anonymously for fear of being accused of anti-party activity, however, noted that they would challenge it if the convention was not free and fair. Nevertheless, some other aspirants were of the view that they were ready to accept the outcome of the election and support whoever emerged in the convention.
Our Correspondent confirmed that Prince Uche Secondus, immediate past Deputy National Chairman; Jaja Sam Jaja; and Senator Stella Omu, are among the six contesting for the office of Deputy National Chairman. Contestants for the office of the National Secretary are former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope; former Ondo State governorship aspirant, Olusola Oke; former Minister of Information, Chief Dapo Sarumi, and former Minister of Education, Professor Tunde Adeniran.
The immediate past National Organising Secretary, Mustapha Abubakar, will slug it out with the other aspirant for the position, Sidi Ibrahim Bamali. Immediate past National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh; Chyna Iwuanyanwu; Anyanwu Longers Nzennata, are among the 11 aspirants for the position of National Publicity Secretary, even as former National Woman Leader, Kema Chikwe, will fight it out with 10 other aspirants for the position of National Woman leader.
The immediate past National Legal Adviser from Plateau State, Victor Kwon, could be returned unopposed as no other person indicated interest in the position.
Also unopposed are Jalo Abdullahi Ibrahim (Deputy National Legal Adviser), Ullam Hanatu (Deputy National Woman leader); Gwalabe Auwalu Abdu (Deputy National Financial Secretary) and Alhaji Lawal Anche (Deputy National Auditor). Alhaji Garba Umar Chiza from Niger State raised a stir following his election as National Youth Leader on account of reports that he is more than 60 years old. He is being challenged by four contestants.
Meanwhile, the immediate past National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar, over alleged moves by some persons to frustrate him from returning, through the courts.
In a petition, Metuh alleged that some elements were out to manipulate the judiciary as well as procure fraudulent court orders to stop him from contesting for the position of the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the August 31, 2013, PDP Special National Convention. In the petition, Metuh prayed the CJN to intervene and stop the apparent abuse of court process, stressing that an aspirant for his former job has embarked on forum shopping and the use of surrogates as plaintiffs to a case that had been withdrawn in Abuja.
Interestingly, some reports have claimed that there have been attempts by Metuh and Chikwe to persuade the party leadership to ensure they were adopted as consensus candidates – a development which, the reports claim, may have provoked some stir in the South East zone.
Now the Rivers conundrum…
Meanwhile, with just four days to go before the special convention there is confusion over who would make the final list of the Rivers State delegates. Last week, one of the national dailies (not Sunday Independent) reported that the name of the state governor, Rotimi Amaechi, was sighted on the fourth position in a list which nobody could give credence to as to its origin, while that of the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, came tops. When contacted on telephone, the State Chairman of the party, Chief Felix Obuah, denounced the list, saying that he would in due course present the authentic list of delegates that would make it to Abuja this weekend.
There was initial fear in some quarters in the state that the suspended executive council of the former chairman, Godspower Ake, may play a smart one by presenting a list of members for the convention to the NEC, thereby deepening the already critical situation facing party in the State. But Obuah was able to clear the air, saying that Governor Amaechi and the 27 lawmakers in the state House of Assembly remained suspended and therefore would not be part of the train that would make it to Abuja for the special convention.
However, the full strength of the Rivers PDP may not be represented at the convention, given the fact that about 28 of the PDP members in the state are under suspension, a situation that may generate fear in the minds of many as to how bright the state’s chances may be when it comes to the election of national officers.
Nonetheless, it is few days to the convention, and the outcome would prove or disprove the PDP enigma which has helped the party to stay afloat despite very deep crises in the past.

Source: Daily Independent

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