PDP Govs to Meet as Appeal Court Rules on National Convention Tuesday

•Atiku’s former aide asks party not to field northerner in 2023
•Ayu’s emergence dampens prospects for youths in 2023

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

As the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal rules on the suit seeking to restrain the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from holding its National Convention on October 31, the governors elected under the platform of the main opposition party will hold an emergency meeting to consider any emerging threats against the party’s national convention scheduled in Abuja, THISDAY has learnt.

A former special adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Dr. Umar Ardo, has however cautioned the PDP against nominating Atiku or any other northerner as its presidential candidate in the 2023 general election.
However, the emergence of the 69-year-old former President of the Senate, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as the anointed chairmanship candidate of the PDP has dampened the prospects for the youths to take over the administration of the country in the 2023 general election.

THISDAY also gathered that the governors elected under the platform of the main opposition party may hold an emergency meeting to consider the emerging threats against the national convention of the party scheduled this week in Abuja.

The inability of the various organs of the party to broker a truce between the suspended national chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus and the Rivers State governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, is casting doubt over the possibility of holding the national election convention of the party.
The anxiety is further compounded by the letter dated October 22, 2021 by Secondus lawyer, Mr. Tayo Oyetiba (SAN), asking the party to suspend the national convention, pending the determination of the suit at the Court of Appeal.

THISDAY gathered that when the case comes up on Tuesday, Oyetibo is expected to ask the court for an interlocutory injunction to stop the party from going ahead of the national convention.
Oyetibo would premise his request on the fact when a case is in court, parties are not supposed to take further action so as not to tie the hands of the court.

The embattled national chairman had approached the Port Harcourt Division of the Appeal Court, asking it to quash two High Court orders restraining him from parading himself as the chairman of the party.

Secondus had also urged the appellate court to declare that his tenure ends in December 2021.
It was gathered that the PDP governors may consider an emergency meeting to discuss the letter by Secondus’ lawyer, especially as the Court of Appeal will on Tuesday in Port Harcourt hear and rule on the suit seeking to restrain the party from holding the national convention.

A source close to the PDP convention committee told THISDAY that the letter from Oyetiba jolted the governors.
Meanwhile, a former special adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Dr. Umar Ardo has cautioned the PDP against nominating a northern presidential candidate for the 2023 general election.
He also called on the PDP to allow the suspended national chairman, Secondus to complete his tenure of office that comes to an end on December 9.

He said that he believes in the THISDAY Economic Intelligence Report that said that PDP will make an impact in the 2023 presidential election, if the PDP fields a southerner as its presidential candidate.
“Let the truth be told, the PDP has no numerical strength in the north. The strength of the PDP is in the South. If the PDP nominates a northern presidential candidate and the APC nominates a southern presidential candidate from the south, it is a foregone victory for the APC.
“The PDP despite having governors in Benue, Taraba, Sokoto, Adamawa and Bauchi states, it cannot equate it with numerical voting strength in the north,” he said.

The former aide to Atiku tackled his former boss for insisting to contest in 2023, stating clearly that apart from Adamawa State where the former vice president won in the 2019 presidential election, there was no state in the North, he won convincingly in the last general election.

He said that in 2007, “PDP fielded the late President Umaru Yar’adua; Action Congress fielded Atiku, while ANPP fielded Buhari – all northerners from the three major political parties. In 2019, PDP fielded Atiku and APC fielded Buhari and the heavens did not fall. He who goes to equity must go with good conscience.”
Ardo argued that since Atiku has been contesting presidential elections after he retired from the services of the Nigeria Customs Service, it was only in Adamawa State that he won.

He said:”It is a political fool hardy and miscalculation for the PDP to field Atiku or any northern presidential candidate and think that it will win the 2023 persistent election. Mark my words. It is impossible and political suicidal mission, if the APC will nominate a southern presidential candidate.”
“If the APC nominates a southern presidential candidate, the PDP will not have a chance, even in the north”, he added.

Ayu’s Emergence Dampens Prospects for Youths in 2023

Meanwhile, the emergence of the 69-year-old former President of the Senate, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as the anointed chairmanship candidate of the PDP has dampened the prospects for the youths to take over the administration of the country in the 2023 general election.

With the growing youth population, efforts have been made to end the jinx of recycling old leaders and allow the young people to take over the country’s political structure.
In May 2018, Nigeria passed a new law which lowered the age limits for political office from 35 to 30 years in the Senate, and 30 to 25 years in the House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly.

Known as the “Not Too Young to Run” bill, the move was intended to reflect the changing demographics of Africa’s most populous nation and help usher in younger leaders.
In the run-up to the 2023 general election, it is expected that the two major political parties –All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP will quickly take advantage of this growing youth population to their advantage, especially in their leadership.

But from the ongoing contests for the national chairmanship of the two major parties and their presidential candidates in the 2023 general election, there is no evidence that the two parties are making deliberate efforts for the youths to take over leadership positions.
The selection of Ayu by the PDP is evident that the parties are still favourably disposed to recycling old leaders.

Born on November 15, 1952, Ayu is a former Nigerian Senator, who was elected President of the Senate during the Third Republic (1992–1993).
He became the Minister for Education in the late General Sani Abacha’s military government.
He also later served in various ministerial positions under President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007.
Though the APC is yet to announce its potential national chairman, most of the front-runners are old generation politicians, with only one youth, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, in the race.
Others are former governors Abdullahi Adamu, Tanko Al Makura, Danjuma Goje, Ali Modu Sheriff and Abdulkari Yari.

Mustapha has paid his dues in political party administration, from the All Peoples Party (APP) in 1999 to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2003.
Born on September 25, 1972, Mustapha was among those that formed the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
When contacted, the spokesman of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan declined to be drawn into the age bracket controversy saying, “this is the choice of our party to help retrieve political powers from this clueless APC and reset the nation on the path of growth.”

On his part, the Secretary of the National Caretaker Committee of APC, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, told THISDAY that “when we get to the bridge, we cross it in the best spirit of what is good for party.”
“Our focus for now is the state congresses across the states,” he added.

The main sponsor of the ‘Not Too Young To Run Act,’ Mr. Samson Itodo, in his reaction said that one of the most incapacitating drawbacks for the political aspiration of young people is the pervasive culture of vesting political party leadership in elderly persons.

“Young members of political parties are pushed to the fringes of party leadership for inexcusable reasons such as political inexperience, limited access to patronage networks and poor leadership capacity. This attitude of the political class towards youth fuels discontent and disenchantment amongst youth.

“This is so because the high handedness of the older and more established political parties is considered detrimental to the political aspirations and livelihoods of young people. These frustrations led to the Not Too Young To Run campaign believing it will open the political space for young people but the parties continue to perpetuate exclusion by restricting party leadership positions to gerontocrats,” he explained.
He argued that if the membership of most political parties in Nigeria is dominated by young people, then young people should be vested with key leadership roles in parties beyond the youth leader position.