2023: PDP WOBBLES ON

Razaq Bamidele

Basically,  politics the world over, Nigeria inclusive, is nothing more than the struggle for power. Major players jostle with one another to attain power and dictate what happens. If it slips off the hands of the ruling party’s hands for whatever reason, it is expected that frantic efforts should be made to regain it. To do that successfully, all hands must be on deck to assure cohesion and a united house. In a situation that the house is divided against itself, achieving the desired success can turn out to be a mirage. That appears to be the current situation in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

At the beginning

When the party was formed in 1998, it appeared to be the largest single political party on the African continent. In fact, that was how it described itself. It was so big and formidable its members boasted they would rule the country for 60 years uninterrupted. But as fate would have it, the party succeeded in holding forth for only 16 years before it fell by the wayside for a coalition of opposition parties that formed the All Progressives Congress (APC), to take over on May 29, 2015.

With this development, only the PDP that had savoured the sweetness of power for 16 years would appreciate how bitter it is to be in the opposition. It is against this background that pundits believe that the party should roll out all the weapons in its armoury to fight its way back to power.

On the other hand, the former opposition party, now on the seat of power in the Presidential Villa, which had experienced the bitterness of being in the opposition for 16 years, would definitely want to do everything humanly possible to retain the newly won political crown for as long as possible. And to snatch such a political sweetness from it by the opposition, the latter must double its efforts at succeeding.

Present situation

However, right now, it is interesting to note that the situation in the PDP does not show that the party is desirous of returning to the seat of power it vacated in 2015. Reason: The intraparty crisis rocking the party appears intractable so much that it looks gloomy that the party could get its acts together ahead of the 2023 year of the general election. The situation in the party could be likened to ‘One day one trouble’.

Four months to the proposed National Convention of the party, initially slated for December 2021, the problem of its National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus’, seems to have made the party’s fate hanging in the balance. After a ding dong affair among three factions of the leadership of the party -pro-Second, anti-Secondus and those sitting on the fence, a Rivers State High Court presided over by Justice O. Gbasam of the Degema Judicial Division vacation court, sitting in Port Harcourt, had last Monday granted an order, restraining Secondus from parading himself as either the national chairman or even as a member of the party henceforth.

Hardly was the judgement pronounced than a chieftain of the party and one-time South-west National Vice Chairman of the party, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, dismissed it with the wave of the hand, describing the judgement as strange to the party.

“The removal of National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, by the court was unknown to the party’s constitution,” he was quoted to have declared at a media parley in Akure, Ondo State capital, adding, “It will fail as the party does not belong to an individual.”

Concluding, Olafeso insisted that “the party belongs to the people and the constitution of the party holds supreme. Section 59(1) stipulates how you can discipline a National Chairman. If it were not followed to the latter, people are just wasting their time.”

Two acting national chairmen

Olafeso’s submission must have emboldened the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the PDP, Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, to claim the leadership of the party quoting some relevant constitutional provisions.

Akinwonmi in a signed directive, following the court order cited section 45 (2) of the PDP constitution, where he said he was permitted to oversee the party’s affairs till all issues were resolved.

“3) In a result of resignation, removal, death, incapacitation or absence of the national chairman, a deputy national chairman from the region part of the country where the national chairman originates from shall assume office as the national chairman in acting capacity without prejudice to Section 47 (6) of the party Constitution,” he quoted, saying since he (Akinwonmi) and Secondus originate from the same region (South), of the country, he is the right person to act as the national chairman.

But this new development did not go down well with some members of the NWC, under the leadership of the Deputy National Chairman (North), Suleiman Nazif, who also held a counter meeting where he claimed authority, as the authentic acting chairman of the party in the absence of the substantive National Chairman and the Deputy National Chairman (South).

Nazif admitted though that Akinwonmi was qualified to take over, going by the constitution. He, however, based his action on the section of the constitution that says, “In the absence of the national chairman and the deputy national chairman from the region or part of the country where the national chairman originates from, the other deputy national chairman shall act as the national chairman without prejudice to Section 47 (6) of this Constitution.”

Nazif, therefore, declared: “On this note, distinguished NWC members, I hereby take full charge of the Peoples Democratic Party as chairman in an acting capacity. We have waited this morning for the Deputy National Chairman (South), who has been incapacitated and who has not been attending the NWC meetings in the last nine months.”

He reminded that, “as you know, in the absence of the Deputy National Chairman (South), I take full charge,” because an order came from a competent court and stopped the chairman from parading himself as the chairman of the party.

In response to the incapacitation angle, Akinwonmi admitted that he is currently recovering from a protracted illness but quickly added that, he is now fit sufficiently to discharge his constitutionally assigned duties of the party.

His words: “Sickness is not the friend of anybody. I was coming to Wadata House here and I had a stroke; I was in Cedar Crest Hospital for three months. I’m getting better now; my recovery rate is up to 70 per cent now. I trekked from the car park to this place.”

He went further to insist that, “It is the call of duty that caused me to be here. I come to address you as the acting national chairman. All other meetings conducted in which I was not here are null and void. At the appropriate time, I will arrange for a proper meeting of the party.”

At the Nazif meeting, rumoured to be pro- Nyesom Wike, Rivers State governor, and anti-Secondus, according to reports, were the PDP National Secretary, Senator Ibrahim Tsauri; National Auditor and Adamu Mustapha; National Vice Chairman, South-South, Dan Orbih; his South-East counterpart, Ali Odefa; National Vice-Chairman, South-West, Toafeek Arapaja; and National Youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye.

All the stakeholders involved in the crisis unanimously believe that if not resolved properly, amicably and promptly, it will cost the party the desire to come back to power in 2023. Every faction in the crisis, interestingly, is claiming that its actions are to put the party in the right position to succeed electorally in 2023.

As this was going on, another court from faraway Kebbi State ruled in favour of the embattled National Chairman, Secondus, reinstating him as the authentic chairman, raising his hope of retaining his seat till the next national convention.

However, almost immediately after the latest declaration, another interim order came, this time from the High Court of Cross River State in Calabar, in a suit, HC/240/2021 brought before it by Mr. Enang Kanum Wani, as Claimant/Applicant against Prince Uche Secondus and the PDP as first and second defendants/respondent,s respectively.

At the end of the day, the presiding Judge, Edem Ita Kooffrey, on Friday August 27, granted the prayer of the applicant, restraining Secondus from office before adjourning the hearing to September 7.

Reacting to the three conflicting court orders, a veteran journalist in judiciary reporting, Richard Akinnola, expressed displeasure over the development, describing it as a shame.

Akinnola, who took to his Facebook account wrote: “Another High Court, Calabar, restrains Secondus from acting as Chairman of PDP. Three different orders – Rivers, Kebbi and Cross River. It’s obvious the judiciary is on a self-destructive mission.

“I’m eagerly waiting to see the action the NJC would take on these embarrassing orders. It’s a big shame.”

Earlier, however, when the party’s caucus in an emergency meeting presided over by the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Senator Walid Jibril, the Deputy National Chairman (South), ratified Elder Akinwonmi, as the acting national chairman according to the party’s constitution, putting to rest the claim of Nazif faction that wanted to use the illness of his counterpart from the South, as a ladder to climb to the seat.

The caucus also suggested October 30 and 31 for the national convention against the December date to prevent elongation of the crisis.

Crisis taking a toll on the party

But the situation on ground proves that the leadership crisis has started taking toll on the party as about seven members of the party’s national executives resigned their positions, citing Secondus’ style of leadership as their reason for resignation.

The irony of the matter is that the ruling APC that the party is planning to unseat has invariably become the beneficiary of the crisis, suggesting that, the PDP’s loss is the APC’s gain.

It could be recalled that, earlier, three state governors had dumped the party (PDP) for the APC thereby diminishing its electoral capacity towards 2023. The governors are, Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, David Umahi of Ebonyi and Ben Ayade of Cross River.

It is against this backdrop that former Governor of Bayelsa State and now Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Seriake Dickson, warned against having a caretaker committee for the party just four months to the national convention, asserting “it is dangerous.”

According to him, such a step towards hijacking the party four months to National Convention will lead to implosion. Besides his kicking against the idea of a Caretaker Committee, Dickson was reported to have paid the embattled chairman a solidarity visit at the Wadata Plaza National Secretariat of the party in Abuja amid the crisis.

However, with the fearful developments in the party, the current minority leader in the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, sees nothing spectacularly worrisome in the crisis, saying it is a normal phenomenon in politics. According to him, it is a blessing that the crisis is brewing when there is a national convention ahead, assuring that, the exercise would address all the grievances amicably.

Abaribe likened what the party is experiencing to the normal strains of an incumbent, preferring to stay put in office. He cited the example of President Trump of America, who, he said, did everything humanly possible to stay put in office.

Exuding confidence, Abaribe said the governors and those PDP members that decamped to the APC are already regretting their actions because they are not getting what they went there to look for. He insisted that the APC would soon cease to exist after the exit of President Muhammadu, who he said is the only person that glues the APC together.   

Not a few Nigerians had been hopeful that the PDP crisis would be resolved at the 92nd  meeting of the party on Saturday, August 28. However, at the end of the meeting, the fate of the Uche Secondus, the embattled national chairman of the party, remained hanging.

Though Secondus had obtained a court order reinstating him as the national chairman, he opted to obey the court order restraining him. He had in a letter ceded power to Akinwonmi to take charge of the meeting in an acting capacity.

“I hereby request you to preside over the National Executive Committee meeting of the Party, taking place today, 28th August, 2021@ 12 noon, in my absence,” the letter read.

However, at the end of the meeting, the party’s national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, was silent on the decision of the NEC on the national chairman of the party but only said zonal positions for the National Working Committee (NWC) would be decided on September 9.

The PDP had fixed October 30 and 31 to conduct its national convention.

Ologbondiyan added that nominations into the respective national convention committees would be approved by the NEC and that Abuja had been approved as the venue.

According to Ologbondiyan, members had resolved to be in agreement and to work for the general interest of the party.

He said: “The NEC emphasises the indivisibility of the Peoples Democratic Party and the need to remain united as a party as we work assiduously towards removing the inept, indolence and corrupt All Progressives Congress (APC) government come 2023. NEC urges members to continue to make personal sacrifices in the overall interest of our party,”  he said, insisting that the PDP remained united and was working its way to upstaging the APC in 2023.

Ologbondiyan was upbeat that the PDP has credible and experienced hands to improve the fortunes of Nigerians if returned to power.

“The party boasts of more experienced hands in party politics as well as governance. NEC says its internal crisis management mechanism is far better than that of the APC as a political party and even as a government.

“NEC is confident that the PDP has earned the trust of Nigerians and our party will do better when given the opportunity to lead the nation,” he said.

Also, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jubril, said the problems in the party were surmountable, adding that challenges and disputes are normal developments in any party.

He reasoned that the PDP remains the last hope of citizens and urged the party not to disappoint Nigerians because it is not possible for PDP to win elections as a divided house.

Present at the NEC meeting was a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, former secretary to the government of the federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, PDP governors, as well as former and current lawmakers, among others.

Atiku also exuded confidence in the party’s internal mechanism to resolve its crisis, adding that the ruling APC government had reversed the gains of the PDP years in power and taken the country backward since they came into power in 2015.

Final analysis

In the final analysis, it is not a gainsaying that, the situation in the PDP now is like the proverbial fowl that perches precariously on a suspended line; it would be no longer at ease for both the fowl and the line. But since politics is unpredictable anywhere in the world, the centre of things that are falling apart now in the party may eventually hold during and after its national convention in October.