Sunday Oguntola reports on the many behind-the-scene intrigues and politicking playing out ahead of Wednesday’s proposed national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)
STAKEHOLDERS in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are agitated over the nagging crisis in the main opposition party ahead of the national convention slated for Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital. The convention, which was designed to serve as the springboard for the relaunch of the PDP, is not only being threatened but also poised to further polarise the party.
While the Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff’s faction has called for the outright cancellation of the convention, the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee insisted nothing will stop the exercise. Though the party has set up a reconciliation team headed by Prof Jerry Gana, there are feelers that the disharmony within key chieftains might be far from over.
Talks are ongoing with the feuding camps to resolve the lingering crisis, which has turned the party that ruled the nation for 16 years until last May, a sorry shadow of its old self. Investigations revealed that self-interest and big egos are the main challenges to healing old wounds in the PDP. The national convention, which is highly controversial, on its self has further bought this to the fore.
Sources informed the caretaker committee and governors elected on the platform of the party are at loggerheads over who should emerge national chairman of the party. Both camps, according to finding, are aware occupant of the post will essentially dictate the direction and shape of the party for the next three years or so.
This realisation, it was gathered, is at the heart of the volcano threatening to descend on the party over the post. While PDP governors are bent on picking a candidate that will dance to their tune, the caretaker committee backed by elders in the party are poised to stop the governors at their track.
The elders, who are working with the committee, are looking towards a candidate that can stand up to the governors and keep the party from influences, especially from elected politicians under the platform. The elders, according to sources, are bothered that the governors have had undue overbearing influences that affect the fortunes of the party in several states.
An elder from the South south told our correspondent under strict anonymity: “The root of our crisis are the governors. Many of them govern the states and still want to dictate what happens in the party.
“It is worse for those who are leaving offices. They always want to impose their candidates. That is what is responsible for the many disgruntled elements we have in several states. “That is why we have factions in almost all states in the federation. We are determined to stop the governors from hijacking the party’s apparatus and the first move is to fight off whatever candidate they have in mind.”
The forces for, against Dokpesi Already, this dichotomy is already playing out in the race for the party’s chairmanship. On my side is the caretaker committee, which is reportedly rooting for Emeritus Chairman of DAAR Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi.
Dokpesi, as far as the committee is concerned, is a heavyweight that no governor can push around. Highly travelled and exposed, it is believed that he would put the governors where they rightly belong while also muscling the PDP back to reckoning ahead of 2019 national elections.
His expansive media empire, some of those disposed to his candidature say, will also help to project the activities and rebirth of the party across the nation. They consider him a gallant fighter who cannot be bamboozled by the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
His preference, it was gathered, was responsible for the zoning of the post to the south. Last week, Dokpesi visited Makarfi at his Kaduna’s country home to solicit support for his candidature. The visit, PDP sources said, was planned to send a clear message that the media mogul is the preferred candidate of the committee.
Makarfi, who warmly received the chairmanship contestant, said: “I stand by what I’ve been saying that the race is open. Even though zoning has always been in the party’s constitution, it does not exclude other aspirants because nothing should exclude any other person and at the end of the day, the people will freely have access to all the candidates and freely vote for whoever they want.
“Our party needs to move away from the era of imposition as events of “automatic ticket” led PDP to its present situation, and that is why I want to ensure level-playing field for all.”
He praised the Edo-born politician, saying he is the kind of unifier and dogged fighter that the PDP needs at a moment like this. He is said to have been assured by the Makarfi-led committee that he would contest and win the post.
But the governors are not unmindful of the thinking of the committee. They, on their part, are determined to stop Dokpesi at all costs, a development that reportedly led to his tactical exclusion through the micro-zoning arrangement.
The arrangement, according to findings, was hatched by PDP governors spearheaded by Rivers State’s Nyesome Wike. The Rivers governor, investigations revealed, is the arrowhead of the plans by PDP governors to run the shows in the party.
They believe Dokpesi is too independent-minded to follow their leading. Some of the governors have also pointed out that he has a running case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) bordering on alleged involvement in N2.1 billion arms deal.
His ongoing trail, they believe, will be a further dent on the battered image of the party at a time it is struggling to rebrand.
Enter Bode George With the active connivance of Ekiti’s Ayo Fayose and Ondo’s Segun Mimiko, Wike reportedly plotted to have the post zoned to the south-west last week.
Rising from a meeting last week, the South West zonal executives said the position of the National Chairman has been zoned to Ogun/ Lagos states; treasurer to Ondo/ Ekiti and Deputy Publicity Secretary to Oyo/ Osun states.
The factional National Deputy Chairman South West, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, said the arrangement was to prevent needless rancours ahead of the exercise in Port-Harcourt.
To show its preference, the meeting had one of the main contestants, Chief Bode George in attendance. Mimiko and Fayose also attended to show support for his candidature. That effectively confirms George as the governors’ anointed candidate.
Surprisingly though, George does not have the support of all PDP governors. He is said to be riding only on the support of Fayose, Mimiko and Wike. A few in the Southeast are also to be disposed to his ambition.
But some like Enugu state governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and his Delta counterpart, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa are believed not to be too keen to George’s candidature. Some of these governors believe he comes to the exercise with a baggage following his imprisonment over alleged contract-splitting while he was chairman of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), an indictment that the Supreme Court finally ruled against.
Having someone like him as PDP chairman, they believe will be a hard-sell to the public, who will become seeing him as an ex-convict despite his vindication by the apex court. Besides, he is perceived as too old for the post. But his backers say what counts is the experience he brings to the job.
Agbaje as an alternative
This is why some of the governors are reportedly backing former PDP governorship candidate in Lagos state, Jimi Agbaje. Agbaje, according to his backers, is urbane and clean enough to spearhead the revival of the PDP. They say he comes to the contest without a baggage and a soaring public perception that is considered important to sell the PDP again to the weary public.
Agbaje, who has picked the nomination form, said: “What I bring to the table is that I am not a member of any faction or any tendencies. I am in a position to talk to everybody to ensure as you love the PDP, then it is time to come back to the zone and appeal to those who feel very strongly to join us because Nigeria cannot make the progress it deserves without a viable opposition and that PDP is going to provide that opposition as an alternative government and in a responsible manner.
“We are going to provide that robust opposition but in a very responsible manner.” On the zoning arrangement, he said: “So for me, I am not worried that there is this thing; the party is clear. It is zoned to the south, which is the preferred choice.
“Now it is for those in the south to decide what they want. If they say it is the Southwest, so be it. If you feel you can run against the tide, nobody will stop you.
“We must continue to go back to the constitution; the constitution does not give you the power to exclude anybody. When you exclude you create tension. If you say look, this is what we think is best, if you do not agree, then, get into the field and let us run this race.
“We accept that mistakes were made in the past in the PDP, especially with our internal democracy. So we have to go back to the position of the founding fathers of our party and that means that we have go back to our constitution.
“That is very important. We have to be more all-inclusive as we have been thus far. It is about bringing people nearer rather than sending them far away from the party. Everybody must fell to be part of this party.”
He is also said to have the support of a few elder statesman, who feels the public respect he demands is critical to reworking the party back to winning ways. But his critics believe he lacks any political clout to become chairman of the main opposition party.
Agbaje, they point out, has never won any election. They even claim he has never won his ward, let alone local government for the PDP despite being a governorship candidate. Besides, some believe he is just fronting for George, his godfather, who ensured his emergence as gubernatorial candidate in 2015 general elections.
Voices of dissent
There are also former Minister of Education, Professor Tunde Adeniran from Ekiti state and former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja from Oyo State. Both have picked the nomination form and maintained they remain in the contest despite the zoning of the post to Lagos and Ogun States.
Former Ogun Governor Gbenga Daniels has stepped down for Dokpesi. His move was allegedly influenced by PDP governors backing the media owner.
Adeniran, after picking his forms during the week, said he is still very much in the race as he is committed to repositioning the party towards greatness and redirecting it in actualising the dreams of the founding fathers if given the mandate.
“I want to assure all our party members and Nigerians at large that my venture into the chairmanship position of our great party has no other motive than to reposition, rebrand and put the party on the path of greatness. As a founding member, who has remained with the party in thick and thin and served in various frontline capacities, I possess the fortitude and experience to help the party achieve its objectives.
“At this crucial period of our party and national polity, we need someone who has genuine interest of the party and is acceptable across boards; someone that has no integrity issue. I believe our delegates will appreciate the great need of the party for the personality I represent,” he said.
Nowhere to hide Even if the convention holds, choosing someone to lead the party is certain to further polarise it. Should Dokpesi be excluded by the zoning arrangement, he is bound to fight back in no small way. If George wins the contest, he will find it hard to keep the party as one because some stakeholders will see him as a handpicked candidate.
Should Mr. ‘Neutral’ Agbaje gets the nod, he will have powerful governors and stakeholders to contest with. His gentleman mien may also mean the party will lose some of its bites as an opposition voice.
Aside from that, the Modu Sheriff’s camp is waiting in the wing to throw spanners into the party’s reconciliation efforts. It appears the PDP has nowhere to hide from crisis. Wherever the pendulum swings, the party, once dubbed the biggest in Africa, will have a lot of house cleaning to do for the next foreseeable future.
