Strong Undercurrents in PDP Presidential Rally

Although the flag-off of the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential campaign in Uyo last Monday was a huge success with the large crowd in attendance, many fear that the inability of its leadership to resolve its endless internal crisis could potentially cost the party victory in 2023 general election, Okon Bassey writes

Agroup of five governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, were conspicuously absent at the flag-off of the presidential campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, last Monday.

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu; Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia; Seyi Makinde, Oyo; and Samuel Ortom, Benue, were absent at the event. Members of the group were also absent at the inauguration of the party’s presidential campaign council last month.

Although the event, held at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, attracted a large crowd and also went on successfully, the absence of the five sitting governors showed that the PDP crisis was far from being over.

The PDP was enmeshed in a leadership crisis after its presidential primary, which was won by the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at a special convention held in Abuja in May.

While making a presentation at the PDP primary, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, who had also been screened to contest the presidential ticket, announced his withdrawal from the race and asked his supporters to back Atiku.

At the end of the exercise, Atiku polled 371 votes and was declared the winner, while Wike, his closest rival, secured 237 votes. Former Senate President Bukola Saraki placed third with 70 votes, followed by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State (38), and Governor Mohammed of Bauchi State governor (20).

A day after the primaries, the PDP National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu paid a visit to Tambuwal where he hailed him as the “hero of the convention,” a comment that raised mutual distrust within the party. Further cracks in the opposition party widened after Atiku overlooked Wike and settled for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate.

In a response, Wike’s camp began to agitate for Ayu’s resignation as national chairman of the party on the grounds that he and Atiku are from the same region – the North. They argued that the constitution of the party does not support the emergence of the presidential candidate and the national chairman from the same geopolitical extraction. 

Ayu has insisted he would not resign because he was elected for a four year-term. The Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT), Walid Jibrin, who is from Nasarawa State in the north, resigned a few weeks ago, apparently to placate Wike and his group.

Wabara, a former president of the Senate, from Abia State in the South-east, had since stepped in to replace Jibrin. However, Wike’s camp is not impressed with Jibrin’s resignation. They insist that Ayu must step down from his position.

After several efforts to the aggrieved governors to reverse their decision fail, the party commenced its campaign in Uyo last Monday. The crisis had deepened when Wike’s allies who were appointed into the PDP presidential campaign committee last month, announced their withdrawal from the committee. 

Wike and his group insisted that the current leadership structure, where the North holds the presidential ticket as well as the national chairmanship positions, was against the Constitution of the party and a gross injustice to the South.

Wike had specifically argued that the resignation of the BoT chairman was a distraction because Atiku had told him that Ayu must relinquish his position. He added that it was erroneous to think that he was bent on destroying the party when he was actually advocating for justice and equity.

But in Uyo, Ayu appealed to aggrieved members of the party to forget their grievances and come on board for the sake of rescuing Nigeria.

He stated: “The PDP train has started moving and we have left the station, but we are moving slowly so that those who are yet on board will join us on the train. It is important for us as leaders. Nigeria is not interested in our personal quarrels, Nigeria is waiting for us to come and rescue them from what is worrying them.

“The PDP knows what is worrying Nigerians, Nigerians are hungry, Nigerians are suffering from all sorts of illnesses, Nigerians cannot move from one point to another without worries, Nigerians cannot sleep because of insecurity, Nigerians are getting more and more divided, Nigerians are complaining and are hoping that what we did for them in the last 16 years, we will come back and do it for them again.

“Let us all join hands together, because we have the solution. Already, we have penned down the covenant with Nigerians, we will restore the economy to its glory. Nigerians will be happy; all young people will get jobs, the economy will grow, there will be more industries,” Atiku explained.

On his part, Atiku vowed to end insecurity, hunger and unemployment in Nigeria. He pleaded with Nigerians to vote for PDP, saying a vote for the party would bring an end to poverty, hunger, unemployment, and other ills associated with the APC administration. 

He also promised to unify and restructure the country, as well as protect all Nigerians, saying his administration would create state police to tackle insecurity in the country, vowing that he would never disappoint the Nigerian people.

“Today, we have inaugurated our campaign to rescue Nigeria from hunger, poverty, and also to bring back the unity that we require in this country. If you vote for PDP, it will be a return to prosperity, unity. There will be no more hunger and there will be security. I swear, if you vote for PDP you will all go back to school. You will get jobs,” Mr Atiku said at the event,” he said.

Atiku said when PDP handed over the government to APC in 2015, it handed over the fastest growing economy, where the value of the naira to the dollar was N187. He lamented that today the exchange rate had gone to nearly N800 to the dollar.

The former vice president said the affairs of Nigeria could no longer be left in the hands of the APC. He bemoaned the present situation in the country, where children no longer went to school without fear of being kidnapped by bandits. He regretted the closure of public universities due to what he termed the mismanagement of the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

With the inability of the leadership of the party to manage the fallout of the party’s presidential primary, there are growing fears that the endless crisis could cost the main opposition party victory in the 2023 general election.

This is why many are of the opinion that if Atiku and the party do not make concessions that can lead to the resolution of the crisis in the party, it could re-enact the tragedy that eventually befell the party in November 2013 when the party lost five serving governors to the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which eventually led to the defeat of the party in the 2015 presidential election.

It is for this reason that former governor of Enugu State and Senator representing Enugu East senatorial district, Chimaroke Nnamani, faulted the decision of the party to ignore the five of its governors as it commenced presidential campaigns for the forthcoming 2023 elections.

Nnamani, in a statement, said the PDP leadership should have done more in a give-and-take manner to carry the aggrieved party faithful along. He recalled that state governors were not treated with ignominy during his days. He cautioned against erecting parallel structures in the five governors’ states, stressing that “politics is local and the folks from these affected states parading with the PDP leadership will not deliver their polling booths without the governors.

Nnamani recalled that state governors were not treated with ignominy during his days. He cautioned against erecting parallel structures in the five governors’ states, stressing that “politics is local and the folks from these affected states parading with the PDP leadership will not deliver their polling booths without the governors.

He said, “Today, I go on record in total condemnation of the treatment of the five governors mostly from the southern states within the PDP. The governors are our leaders and their humiliation rubs off on all of us. Without the involvement of the governors that are our leaders, these mere cheerleaders and feel-good political operatives cannot deliver. They can drag themselves from their home states to Abuja. Some are Abuja permanent residents. They dress the meetings and colour the rallies, but that is what it is, political colour dressing.’’