BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
Almost throughout last week, the leading opposition party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party, had only one preoccupation – save the party from imminent disintegration. Prior to Thursday last week, the party was living dangerously on the brink. But as at the time of filing this report on Friday; it had almost wrapped up the processes that would return peace, unity and singleness of purpose to the party.
The national caucus of the PDP on that day agreed to an October 30-31st, 2021 date for the party’s national convention. Before that meeting, the NWC had earlier met the previous day and the Board of Trustees was scheduled to meet on Saturday. The NWC had agreed that the party’s convention must be held in October.
Sokoto State Governor who doubled as the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, said on Friday after the national caucus meeting that “We have just risen from our 40th meeting of the national caucus of our great party, the PDP, where we have resolved to submit to the NEC of our party tomorrow recommendation from the national working committee for the National Convention of our party, to be held between Friday, 30th of October to Saturday, 31st of October. The venue will be determined tomorrow by NEC (Saturday).
“Also, this distinguished body had empaneled eight distinguished leaders of our party under the able leadership of ex-President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, to interface with our leaders who are involved in these issues of court, so that all court matters can be now withdrawn and then for normalcy to continue to return to the party.
“I appeal on behalf of this body to all well meaning members of our party in the interest of the party to shield their swords and let us embrace peace because Nigeria is waiting for PDP; and I believe that we have the capacity to resolve whatever issues we have internally.”
The PDP ruled the country for 16 years in the Fourth Republic. It called the shots and dictated the political direction of the country from 1999 to 2015 when, against all odds, the All Progressives Congress, an alliance of four legacy parties, wrestled power from it in a historic general election. PDP had boasted that it would rule the nation for 60 years. But alas, it could only manage 16.
Since losing power to the ruling APC, the party has had to contend with one crisis or another. It has been badly hit by intra-party squabbles with its fortunes viciously depleted in the last six years of being in the opposition hit by an untold gale of defection. The last time it suffered such a gale of defection was in 2014 leading to its loss of power in 2015.
The recent crisis revolves around the leadership of the party. While a section of the party faithful felt, rightly or wrongly, that management of the party by the National Chairman, Uche Secondus, has been poor and uninspiring and so should step down and give way for new leadership, another tendency in the party, apparently supporting the chairman, would want his tenure to be fully served with a possibility of re-contesting.
It was the struggle for the soul of the party that almost brought it down to its knees and drove it to the brink in recent weeks.
It took the intervention of faithful party leaders and members to give Secondus a soft landing by asking his NEC to conduct the congresses and convention but on the condition that the exercises would not exceed the month of October as against the formerly envisaged December.
However, when the party followers and sympathizers felt all was well, the crisis deepened with the order of a Rivers State High Court sitting in Degema, restraining Secondus from parading himself as national chairman and member of the party. The pronouncement brought yet another dimension to the party as two acting national chairmen emerged on the scene.
But the party quickly bounced back from crisis to the path of peace on Thursday when the National Working Committee of the party in a meeting at the National Secretariat, Wadata House, under the National Deputy Chairman, South, Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, who now acts as the National Chairman of the PDP confirmed that after a robust deliberation with the NWC members, they agreed that in the overall interest of the Party a NEC meeting be fixed for Saturday, the 28 August, at 12 noon to affirm and approve all Convention activities which will hold in October this year.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy National Chairman, North, Sen Nazif, the National Secretary and all other key members of the National Working Committee.
A chieftain of the party had told The Point that “This latest development put a final stop to the issues and speculations that PDP was in disarray. This has shown that PDP has a very strong internal conflict resolution mechanism.”
The source had revealed that moves were afoot to resolve the crisis once and for all with the meetings of the party’s Governors holding, Board of Trustees on Friday and that the generality of stakeholders across the party were rooting for a Convention before the end of October.
Less than 24 hours after the seeming return of peace however, Justice Nusirat. I. Umar, a vacation Judge of the Kebbi state High Court, on Thursday, ordered Uche Secondus to return to his position as the National Chairman.
“this latest development put a final stop to the issues and speculations that PDP was in disarray. This has shown that PDP has a very strong internal conflict resolution mechanism
“
Giving the order in a suit brought before her in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital in case KB/AC/M. 170/2021, Justice Umar said she was satisfied after reading the affidavit of the respondents that an interim order should be granted on the purported suspension of Secondus pending the determination of the case.
The three concerned members of the party, Yahaya Usman , Abubakar Mohammed and Bashar Suleman are the claimants/Applicants in the case while Prince Secondus and the PDP are the defendants/Respondents.
Nevertheless, the party through its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiya had persistently assured Nigerians that the party is on top of the situation. He said the party is handling the matter well and as such all is well.
As for Secondus, he continues to maintain that “For us, the truth remains that the constitution shall prevail at the end. Whatever anybody does, this party is beyond an individual. This party is beyond any one of us.
“The party belongs to the people and the constitution of the party holds supreme. Section 59(1) stipulates how you can discipline a National Chairman. If it were not followed to the letter, people are just wasting their time.”
Executive Director of Adopt a Goal for Development Initiative, Dare Ariyo Atoyebi believes the party still has a chance to take over the mantle of leadership from the ruling APC in 2023.
“The PDP is the only option Nigerians have to rescue them from the failed APC. It is the only party that will enjoy the goodwill of the people, not any emergency group trying to metamorphose into a political party but the PDP must end this crisis and be focused.”
With a NEC meeting scheduled for Saturday and overwhelming agreement that the national convention of the party hold in October, the hope that the party may still wriggle out of the crisis bedeviling it is high.
And if it does manage to shake off the crisis, the prospect of the party going into the next round of electioneering activities as a formidable force is high. But should it fail to mend its broken fence, Nigeria may go into the next round of political activities as a one-party state.
