UDOM EMMANUEL AND THE PDP CRISIS

The PDP Presidential Campaign Council Chairman is committed to forging a united front within the party, writes Ugochi Okonkwo

The crisis that is rocking the main opposition political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has castrated a once formidable and largest political party in Africa. The forces within the party are waging war of attrition following the fallout of last presidential primaries that produced a former Vice-President of Nigeria, Waziri Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar as the Presidential candidate. 

The vexed argument of North producing both National Chairman and Presidential candidate is a sensitive matter that leaders and elders of PDP had intervened without much success. The party threw its Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jubrin under the bus to pacify some governors and leaders of Southern extraction. All was to no avail. 

In the midst of the confounding conundrum, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, a loyal and dedicated party man maintains an unbiased and courageous position between the warring factions. All he wants is for the party to forge a united front to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general elections. In doing this, Governor Emmanuel anchors his truce mission on truth.

Governor Emmanuel, who heads the 520-man PDP Presidential Campaign Council is equal to the task. He is endowed with both administrative skills and native intelligence ability. This has played out prominently in the ways and manner he has been managing the high-calibre power game in the party.

In November, 2022, during a media interview, the governor admitted that the party made a mistake and urged aggrieved members to sheath their sword in the interest of peace.  His words, “I must also confess as a party, we’ve made mistakes, and as individuals, we’ve made mistakes. But these mistakes, I can assure you, will not break us. We are trying to come back, review and then reappraise and see how we can move forward, and I can assure you, we’ll do that.

“Even spoons and plates hit themselves and create a lot of noise; that doesn’t mean they’ve broken. I think that is the situation here. For the fact that people are unhappy, it is inevitable, definitely inevitable, with a large party like PDP.

“I’m not boasting, but among those contesting today, there is no candidate with the same capacity, knowledge and understanding of the problem and what to do for Nigeria like Atiku. There is none. I’m not being biased at all; I’m giving you a very objective opinion.

“So, that is why you see me following, because I love my country. I love my people. I want this country to get better, and even in terms of the assemblage of good people with genuine intentions, give it to Atiku; he can put a square peg in a square hole and get the result.

“I say I’m not looking at any permutation. I’m going into this with optimism, because if I’m going with a permutation, it means I shouldn’t be the chairman of the campaign council. I’m going with optimism. I would not have accepted being the chairman if I was not optimistic that I’m going to win. So, we are in the race to win. There’s no permutation in this case at all”.

As an outstanding leader, Udom remained optimistic that the tide will change in favour of his party and its Presidential candidate. He was not fanning the ember of discord by firing salvo and innuendos that further inflamed the crisis. The level-headed governor was calm, tactical and emphatic in his approach.

Governor Emmanuel has become a beacon of hope for many distraught members of the party. He is leading from the front, providing the required leadership needed at this most challenging period since the establishment of the party in 1999.

He has been very vocal at presidential rallies across the country. From Lagos to Bauchi, Abuja and other locations, Governor Emmanuel has been canvassing for votes for the PDP flagbearer and all candidates of the party in the 2023 elections. 

Such a performing governor, who has blazed trails in every aspect of development indices needed no much rhetoric before the electorate listened to him. He has a solid, sterling record of achievements in Akwa Ibom to convince the people. 

Emmanuel has not given up on the G-5 governors led by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike. He was in the Garden city of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Saturday to meet the governor ostensibly on how to close ranks and put aside grievances and animosity ahead of the critical 2023 general elections.

Governor Wike and Udom Emmanuel were both contenders at the PDP presidential primaries. The Rivers State Governor has tremendous respect for him, describing the meeting as convivial. He said: “Politics is not what will divide brothers and divide friends. Everybody knows my relationship with Udom, and we will continue to maintain that relationship. We may have different political affiliation or thinking, that should not divide the brotherly love or create a gap among us.

“This is the season of love. I think that is what we are trying to demonstrate, brotherly love, friendship. And then in the spirit of the season, we must visit one another.”

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, another key figure of the G-5 Integrity Group was present at the peace parley. Ortom said, “We are going into 2023 and we shared among ourselves how we can best add value to our government, how we can best add value to our people, how we can do things that will help add value to our country.

“And that if there are any issues in the past which we have done wrong, we looked at it and said look let’s forgive one another and move forward. They are private issues.”

Governor Emmanuel should be commended for these peace moves. If other leaders had approached the sensitive issues with utmost sincerity and empathy, perhaps, the crisis might have been over by now. 

Okonkwo writes from Abia State