By the close of 2012, the atmosphere within the party was already charged with almost a third of the PDP governors choosing not to work with the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
These governors had undermined all the directives from the party national headquarters including the endorsement of Plateau state Governor, David Jang as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, rather they opted to stick with Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi; a development that not only divided the rank of the governors but worsened the already charged atmosphere in the ruling party. Recall that in March 24, 2012 at the Eagle Square, Abuja, party members came together to affirm the choice of the President, a select team that he hoped to work with in the management of the party all in the name of National Convention, but in the process, jettisoned the party constitution which stipulates that proper voting must take place for candidates to duly emerge.
That singular disregard to the party’s constitution turned to haunt the party in 2013 as almost all the positions which were produced at the convention were rejected by both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the court.
INEC, in a report by its 12-member committee under the chairmanship of Col. M.K. Hammanga (retd.), rejected the adoption/ affirmation of some members of the PDP NWC, a decision ably supported by the court. The commission faulted the process adopted by the PDP in electing the said officials, arguing that it violated paragraph 6.5 of the guidelines used for conducting the 2012 congress and national convention of the party. It, however, approved the election of the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur; the Financial Secretary, Bolaji Anani; the sacked National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and the sacked National Auditor, Chief Bode Mustapha.
To remedy the anomaly, the PDP organised a Special National Convention which ended up reelecting most of these officials with the exception of a few officials who were seen as not loyal to the Tukur leadership, chief among them, the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja.
But in what appeared to be more than a coincidence, former, Vice President Atiku Abubakar on the same day of the Special Convention led the famous G7 governors including Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Abufatah Ahmed (Kwara), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa) into a historic breakaway from the mainstream party to form the New PDP. Members of the new PDP also included some former governors, legislators and party leaders while the former National Chairman, Abubakar Kawu Baraje was anointed to lead the pack.
Among their conditions for peace to reign again ws the resignation of Tukur as the National Chairman; that President Jonathan should do one term only and forget re-election in 2015; that the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Rivers State crises should be resolved; and “harassment” of governors by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should be stopped.
Between that dates in March till October, a dozen reconciliatory meetings held but they all ended in dissension. Some of the meetings included the Tukur’s reconciliation tour of the zones and with the grand finale in Abuja; visits which were largely boycotted, the state tour by the Chief Tony Anenih led BoT, as well as meditative roles of Seriake Dickson which brought some cushion to the embattled Tukur leadership.
Other visits included that of the G7 governors to notable party leaders like former head of states, Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, Generals Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and former Vice President Alex Ekwueme.
There were several meetings at the Presidential Villa between the ‘rebel’ governors and the hierarchy of the party as well as the President, with warnings that if nothing urgent was done, the governors will jump ship. Unable to meet at a common ground, five out of seven rebel governors and other members of Baraje’s led new PDP on Tuesday, 26th November ceremoniously moved to the APC and warned that many more will join them.
Both Govs. Lamido and Aliyu refused to leave PDP. Speaking when he arrived Yola airport on return from Abuja, Governor Nyako insisted that the PDP and its leadership had disappointed Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora by the high level of impunity and injustice in the party. “No Nigerian no matter his level in the society today is comfortable with the way and manner the country is drifting.
The image of the country is completely eroded at the international level and yet the PDP-led government and its operators are in Abuja making noise”, Nyako fumed. As for Kwara State Governor, he said that the PDP could no longer “meet their aspirations.” He spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Dr. Femi Akorede. Also Governor Chibuike Amaechi said he joined the APC because President Jonathan failed to address issues raised by the G-7 governors.
“Rivers State must know that for me to have taken that decision, I had looked at the general interests of Rivers people. I was not elected to lead Nigeria, I was elected to lead Rivers State and I had looked at the interests of Rivers people and have seen that these interests were not protected in PDP.
I have seen the fact that we are losing our oil wells in Etche, in the Kalabari areas and that the more they continue to pilfer these oil wells, the more we will continue to lose our wealth”, he said. Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano said the governors met and decided that “we must meet with the APC leadership and when we met with the APC leadership, it was important we took a position and the position we took is for the good of our democracy and ensure that Nigeria moves forward”.
“We can’t continue the way we are, where we are. The picture painted by the PDP was as if we were begging to come back to PDP and issues were not being looked into, issues were not being resolved and it’s important that we resolve it one way or the other”.
While the euphoria of the governors’ defection hardly died, about 37 PDP members of the House of Representative also decamped to APC in a power changing game that saw the APC now commanding a norminal majority in the lower chambers.
The lawmakers said they joined the APC due to division and factionalisation within the PDP while claiming that their defection to APC is in obedience to section 68 subsection 1G of the constitution. The 37 members are from the states of Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kwara, Rivers, Katsina and Adamawa. These are some of the states whose governors recently decamped from PDP to APC.
With this development, the APC now commands 172 members from its initial 137, while the PDP has 171 from its initial 208. The Umaru Dikko led party’s Disciplinary Committee had only last month expelled the trio of Baraje, Jaja and Oyinlola while the National Chairman of the party in the North East, Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure was placed on a watch list.
This action was taken in line with Tukur avowed commitment to ensure that discipline is sacrosanct. But obviously shaken by the gale of defection in the party, Tukur has moved fast to ensure that more defection does not take place again with an automatic ticket to the lawmakers at the National Assembly, a proposal that is already believed to be seriously considered by the lawmakers.
Tukur, in all these believed that the crisis faced by the party will soon peter away even as he has located his insistence on due process to allow democracy thrive, led to the conflict he had with G-7 governors, “We won’t allow anyone to hijack the party structure to determine who gets what. I am happy that majority of the legislators are in favour of free and fair primaries. “The crises we are witnessing in PDP are about 2015.
The promoters are members who wanted to be President at all costs, they are those who wanted to be vice President at all costs and those who wanted to seek re-election as governors. Most of them felt if there was no crisis, their different ambitions would not be fulfilled.” To this end, it is believed that PDP may have seen off its worst year and that with almost certainty that President Jonathan will declare his Presidential ambition in the first quarter of 2014, things will begin to look up for a party that once boasted that it would remain in power for 60 years.
Nat'l Mirror
No comments:
Post a Comment