How PDP Governors Are Striving to Rescue Party

There is no doubt that the Peoples Democratic Party is witnessing a most trying period in its over two-decade existence, but Nigerian governors elected on the party’s platform have waved an olive branch at the warring camps in the party, writes Chuks Okocha.

For months, the crisis threatening the soul of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appeared insurmountable. For a party desirous of journeying to the centre in the 2023 election cycle, the self-inflicted troubles couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Although, forces bent on shoving national chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus out of office have been at work for close to one year; internal squabbles hit new heights when a few weeks ago, a member of the party and former Commissioner of Information in Edo state, Prince Kassim Afegbua accused him (Secondus) of financial recklessness, an allegation he denied, availing journalists the state of party finances with regards to accruals from sales of nomination forms.

Despite the various efforts of the PDP governors, the leadership tussle has remained unabated At a time, the embattled National Chairman, Uche Secondus was give a relief by the court in Kebbi state, another court threw him off balance

A Port Harcourt High Court had restrained Secondus from parading himself as the National Chairman of the party and his membership of the PDP.

The Rivers High Court interim order in the suit No HC/240/2021, specifically restrained Secondus from assuming the office of National Chairman of the 2nd Defendant, (Peoples Democratic Party, PDP).

Twenty four hours later, to the NEC meeting, a Kebbi state High Court reinstated him as the chairman of the party.
Secondus had obtained a Kebbi High Court order to reinstate him as national chairman last Thursday following an earlier injunction obtained against him from a Rivers State High Court.

The injunction granted by a Cross River High Court also barred the PDP from allowing Secondus to function as national chairman or preside over the NEC meeting of the party.

The interim order was issued by the court, presided over by Justice Edem Kufre, on Friday upon an application brought by a member of the party, Enang Wani, ahead of the PDP NEC.

But in a deft political move, Secondus asked the Deputy National Chairman (South), Yemi Akinwomi, to preside over the National Executive Committee meeting of the party in his stead.

Secondus in a letter to Akinwomi, said, “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.

All these backward and front, the PDP governors have not relented to see to the resolution of the leadership crisis. As at the last count, they have endorsed the position of Elder Yemi Akinwomni as the acting chairman of the party. They were instrumental to the setting up of a six man committee led by former senate president, David Mark to resolve the crisis.
The role and the importance of the governors is crucial for more reasons than one. They are the funders of the party. It is through that capital they provide that the PDP is funded as a political party. They are also relevant because, they control the delegates.

Their aim, is to ensure that all court cases are resolved out the court. As the chairman of the PDP governors forum, Tambuwal said, “PDP cannot afford to go into the 2023 general elections as a divided party.”

This position informed their several meetings to bring peace to the party. The PDP governors assumed this yeoman’s role because the party is in the opposition. Hitherto, this role was played by the President because the occupier of the seat is seen and acts as the leader of the party.

As in the days of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’adua and even Goodluck Jonathan, in crisis, issues were resolved at the presidential villa, where the resolution becomes binding. But in the circumstances, the PDP governors have stepped in albeit through persuasions, carrot and stick policies.

At the moment, through the actions of the governors, the David Mark committee has intensified efforts to resolve the crisis. The committee has met with both Secondus and Wike. It is expected that there would be light at the end of the day, as it is not in the interest of the party for the crisis to linger

It is therefore expected among stakeholders that the resolution of the crisis is now in sight as the date of the national convention has been confirmed.

One of the resolutions reached which cannot be changed is that a national convention would hold between October 30 and 31 in Abuja, except by a court order. A new NEC meeting is expected to hold September 9 to ratify the zoning of the offices for a new National Working Committee of the party

A fortnight ago, the plot to ease Secondus out of office grew intense following the resignation of seven national officers who branded the national chairman a lone ranger, running the affairs of the party almost like a personal fiefdom.
To worsen an already bad situation, Mr Sunday Udeh-Okoye, National Youth Leader of the party joined the anti-Secondus forces and claimed that in the event of the PDP boss’ failure to throw in the towel, some members of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party would leave.

Almost simultaneously, more voices, including placard carrying youths, joined the call for the sack of Secondus and despite the attempt by highly-placed PDP stalwarts to resolve the crisis; it only festered and grew more intense with each passing day.

Conscious of a possible implosion, the PDP Governors’ Forum, ably led by its chairman and governor of Sokoto state, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, swung into action and convened series of meetings in a bid to resolve the crisis. The governors, acting in sync with party’s organs went to the heart of the matter by inviting warring parties to brainstorm on the way forward.

It is to the credit of the Tambuwal-led Governors’ Forum that both parties conceded grounds and accepted the resolution to bring forward the national elective convention of the party to October, two months before the expected expiration of the tenure of incumbent NWC.

It was not just the demonstration of sufficient leadership will that mattered but the manner Tambuwal, with the backing of his colleagues, seized the moment to drive home some salient points that arguably drove fears into the psyche of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to the governor, Nigerians must learn to dismiss insinuations that some PDP governors were nursing intentions to defect to the APC, stressing that “if you want to go, go where?”

In an extempore speech, reminiscent of politicians of the First Republic famous for peerless oratory; Tambuwal jibed the ruling party this way: “There is no party to defect to, no government to defect to,” even as he reminded anyone who cared to listen that all 13 governors elected on the platform of the PDP, including deputy governor of Zamfara state, Mohammed Mahdi Gusau attended the meeting.

The way out to salvage Nigeria from the clutches of backwardness, according to him, is for all Nigerians regardless of status or political affiliations to stay united and work assiduously to send APC packing in 2023.

Perhaps, the biggest take away from that meeting with the possible exception of the resolution of the crisis, was Tambuwal’s apt admonition to party chieftains to stop seeing governors as their financiers.

In his words, governors remain the servants of the people, the ambassador of the electorate who defied obstacles to queue in sunny and rainy ambience to elect them to power.

Given the resolution of the crisis, the governors are expected to go the whole distance to ensure party cohesion in their various states, preparatory to the 2023 general elections.

The efforts of the PDP governors in bringing the crisis to an end would not be complete without the admonition of the former governor of Bayelsa
State, Senator Seriake Dickson who is also a serving senator.

In his intervention, Dickson said that the party cannot stand the risk of a caretaker committee in the face of the 2023 general election. The former governor cautioned that the issue of a caretaker committee is unknown to the party.

He explained that stakeholders have observed for sometime the
growing tension, recriminations and outright attack on the National Chairman and members of the National Working Committee by some leaders of the party.

As an elder and stakeholder, Dickson said he had to refrain from making statements because it is believe that the party has internal mechanisms
and levels of leadership that will handle it and that he was aware that BoT members, governors and other elders, reconciliation committee, collectively and individually, have been making efforts to resolve some of these disputes and challenges affecting the stability of the party.

However, he said, “As we are all aware, some officers of our party, resigned and we should thank them for their services but if their resignation is aimed at causing crisis in the party then we should all condemn it and those behind it.

“By the party’s constitution the appropriate authority, the NWC is empowered to make replacements. I, therefore, call on the National Chairman and other members of the NWC in accordance with the constitution of the party to immediately make appropriate consultations from the states and zones from which these officers have resigned and forthwith, make those replacements subject to ratification by the NEC.”

Like the serving governors, who called for NEC meeting, Dickson aligned himself with the decision, stating that the convening of the NEC which should take appropriate decisions to stabilize the party.

According to him, if there is any member of the working committee who wants to resign, such a person should consider the overall interest of the party and have a rethink.

He stressed that If, any NWC member goes ahead to resign, the resignation should be accepted and consultations be made by the Chairman and NWC to fill those positions as temporary
vacancies subject to ratification.

He appealed to the National Chairman and NWC members to utilise their powers under the constitution to discipline erring members involved in the nefarious plot to destroy the party.
The former Bayelsa governor said that PDP is bigger than any individual and should no longer tolerate people with inordinate ambitions to destroy the party which belongs to all Nigerians.

According to Dickson the party’s window of opportunity to take over power in 2023 was fast receding as a result of these self-inflicted challenges.

QUOTE

The victory did not last long ago as a new twist was added to the leadership crisis plaguing the PDP. A court in Calabar, Cross River State restrained the embattled National Chairman from presiding over the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party billed for Saturday. The injunction granted by a Cross River High Court also barred the PDP from allowing Secondus to function as national chairman or preside over the NEC meeting of the party