…Party’ll bounce back, Ayu vows
‘… Be proactive, constructive to earn Nigerians forgiveness’
… Reconciliation sacrosanct says analysts
‘… You should provide better alternative’
As the newly elected national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) awaits official inauguration on December 9, 2021, ABDULRAHMAN ZAKARIYAU examines the hurdles before the leadership of Nigeria’s major opposition party and asks: Can the executive provide needed opposition?
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was founded in 1998, in the run up to the 1999 general elections and the return of democracy after several years of military rule, by members of numerous groups and organisations, including the G-18 and G-34.
The party, which had a broad membership drawn from all spheres of life, quickly became the country’s dominant party winning majority of seats in the executive and legislature.
The party in 2003 maintained majority win in the executive and legislature with President Olusegun Obasanjo being re-elected for a second term in office.
Following the party’s unofficial policy of rotating the presidency between the North and the South the former Governor of Katsina state, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, emerged the party’s flag bearer and was elected president in 2007.
However, the power shift equation was disrupted following President Yar’Adua’s death and the swearing in of Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as president.
Jonathan’s decision to run in the 2011 presidential election generated much controversy leading to division in the party across region and religion, a situation that appeared to have festered despite the party’s victory at the 2011 general elections.
As the 2015 general elections approached the PDP had become weakened on all fronts following in fighting and mass exodus by party chieftains including governors.
The party’s defeat in 2015 and the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari brought to an end PDP’s 16 years in office at the centre, just as the party also lost its majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives to the APC as well as some states it controlled.
Things fall apart
Expectation was that the party would have regrouped after the 2015 elections as the major opposition party; however, the PDP have continued to record gales of defections, with the leadership of the party being blamed for the party’s misfortune.
The defection of three PDP governors: Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state, Ben Ayade of Cross River state, and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara state, to the ruling APC, is viewed in some quarters as the last stroke that broke the carmel’s back leading to the removal of Prince Uche Secondus as national chairman of the PDP.
The suspension of the PDP National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus by a Rivers State High Court led to a series of legal tussles. After weeks of uncertainty and tension over the future of the PDP, the party held its national convention electing a new set of national officials on October 30 and 31, 2021, in Abuja.
In a bid to avoid rancour and further in fighting the party leaders, before the convention, achieved consensus candidates for 18 out of the 21 elective national offices of the party while agreement could not be reached for three offices.
The PDP National Consensus Convention produced former Senate President, Iyorchia Ayu, as the national chairman; former Deputy Governor Oyo state, Taofeek Arapaja, as deputy national chairman (South), while former governorship candidate of Yobe state, Umar Damagum, emerged deputy national chairman (North).
Similarly, Senator Samuel Anyanwu was elected national secretary; Setoji Kosheodo as deputy national secretary; Ahmed Mohammed as national treasurer; and Ndubisi David as deputy national treasurer.
Other elected members of PDP NWC include: Umar Bature who was elected as national organising secretary; Ighoyota Amori as deputy national organising secretary; Daniel Woyegikuro as national financial secretary; Adamu Kamale as deputy national financial secretary; Debo Ologunagba as national publicity secretary; and Ibrahim Abdullahi as deputy national publicity secretary.
Other are: Stella Effah-Attoe elected as national woman leader; Hajara Wanka as deputy national woman leader; Muhammed Suleiman as national youth leader; Timothy Osadolor as deputy national youth leader; Kamaldeen Ajibade as national legal adviser; Okechukwu Osuoha as deputy national legal adviser; Okechuckwu Daniel as national auditor; and Abdulrahman Mohammed as deputy national auditor.
PDP won’t break up – Ayu
Like a man who understands what is expected of him, the national chairman-elect in his appreciation remarks said, “Many people imagine that this convention will lead to the breakup of PDP. Those people who are dreaming like that, their dreams were misplaced.
“PDP will come back to unite our people, put them together, North and South, East and West. We will move ahead to win elections and develop this country. We did it before. We are going to do it again.
Ayu assured that he would emphasise internal democracy in running the affairs of the party noting that: “Once we start promoting internal democracy in the party, those defections will stop. They can’t stop totally but they will be minimised and I believe that there are so many who left that will come back to PDP.
“Many of them are already calling me that they left in error. If you check the top list of APC members, most of them are former PDP elected governors, senators etc. I believe they will all come back.
“I believe PDP will get stronger and will be in very good shape in a few months. We will mobilise ourselves, mobilise the country and fight for the election as a democratic party.
“This is what PDP is known for. We are not like the other party that imposes candidates on the people. I have done it in the past and I will continue to uphold democratic principles.”
… Ologunagba too
Also, the PDP national publicity secretary and two-term member of the House of Representatives, Hon Debo Ologunagba, said the new leadership of the party would retrieve the country from the failed All Progressives Congress (APC) and restore to PDP days of better security, economy among others.
Ologunagba said, “What I know and what we are projecting is the fact that we intend for PDP, the greatest party in Africa, to get gas to the tenets of democracy. Now, three things we are going to emphasize during this period knowing the state of this country right now is on unemployment, insecurity, and infrastructural decay.
“So the major role for PDP today is because the people are waiting for hope. Like I always say, hope is a superpower. And the superpower is in PDP, where hope resides. So two things are going to be key in this communication mantra, it will be retrieved and restored.”
Continuing the publicity scribe elect said, “We want to restore the country to the PDP days when it was easy for you to go to bed at 10pm and take your car and drive down to Lokoja, go to another part and come back.
“We want to restore where for instance, a bag of rice that was 10,000 seven years ago is now over 25,000. We want a situation where kids will go to school, and they won’t be kidnapped. We want to restore fundamental freedoms that are guaranteed, for instance, the freedom to worship.
“Now, the first and the only duty of the government is the security and welfare You can’t detach one from the other. The security is a foundation for the other.”
He also stated that the party would partner with all major stakeholders and the Media to restore the country to greatness, adding that “We’re not going to be reactive anymore. We’re going to take the conversation war to the liars.”
Hurdles before new leadership
Following the emergence of the new leadership of the PDP, party faithful and other stakeholders have continue to set agenda for the executive especially as the 2023 general elections draw nearer.
It goes without saying that the Ayu-led NWC have many hurdles to cross in order to set the party on the path of a true opposition party as well as return it to winning ways.
According to a political observer, the Ayu-led executive needed to jump these hurdles by first strengthening its internal democracy to avoid the party being consumed.
“From what played out during the build-up to the PDP National Elective Convention we saw and read how many aspirants who intended to run for one position or the other in the NWC were frustrated out of the contest.
“Going forward, if such continues the party may drag itself into another crisis. So, the new leadership should ensure that there is a level playing field for every party member,” the observer stated.
Some political analysts have also concurred that the party’s presidential primary election to elect a flag bearer for the 2023 election would make or mar the new leadership.
They recalled that the beginning of the problem for the Prince Secondus-led NWC was in 2018 after the presidential primary election in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, which produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
They noted that the primary election that will produce the party’s 2023 Presidential candidate will not only determine the party’s future but will also determine the future of the Ayu’s NWC.
Though it may be difficult, other analysts that are close to the party’s hierarchy believe the Ayu-led NWC once inaugurated should free itself from the grips of some state governors.
This, according to them, remained one of the greatest hurdles for this NWC, almost all of them came to be because of the support of their governors.
The question is, when push comes to shove on whose side will the Ayu-led NWC be? On the said of the majority party members or a few party governors who finance them and the party?
Reconciliation sacrosanct says Mohammed
Many people, within and outside the PDP are optimistic that the outcome of the convention would mark a turning point for the opposition party.
However, for party that have gone through a lot and are still in crisis at the local government, state, zonal and national level this may not be unless there is true reconciliation.
For political analysts like Aminu Mohammed reconciliation is sacrosanct for the PDP to survive and perform well in future elections.
Mohammed in a chat with Blueprint Weekend said, “Many of us that watch from the sideline, understand and even agree that for the new leadership of the PDP to succeed they must ensure true reconciliation.
“I say true reconciliation because of some politicians who use their term to only favour these who are loyal to them and push others out.
“If Ayu and other members of the NWC want to get the party back on the path of winning elections, their immediate tasks will include reconciling aggrieved members across the country who are currently dissatisfied with the state of things within the party.
“Many party chieftains, including governors and national assembly members, are aggrieved and they are hoping and praying that this NWC will identify them and address their various concerns.
“Even though there are other critical expectations from them, to me Nigerians and even their members expect a true reconciliation in South-west, North-west, South-south and other places where there are issues among party faithful because this will set the pace for other actions and steps that will bring the party back to the light.”
‘You need to put APC on its toes’
Many Nigerians have argued that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has failed to play its role effectively as the major opposition party.
They claimed that the party was reactive and not proactive, adding that it failed to put the APC-led federal government on its toes as expected of a proactive opposition party in a growing democratic country like Nigeria.
One of these Nigerians is an analyst, Agboola Olawale Abdulrahman, who like many others was expecting the new leadership of the PDP to lead the party to ensure that it provides better alternatives to national issues.
Abdulrahman, who is the chief executive officer of Safety Nigeria Network, told Blueprint Weekend that in the last six years the PDP has not been effective in its role as an opposition party.
He said, “Over the years, what the PDP does is to issue a press statement to condemn government action or inaction, lambast and lament. I think they need to do more than that. They need to be very strategic in their approach and provide a better alternative to national issues.
“I expect this new leadership of the PDP to put on its thinking cap, take a critical look at the economy, education, security and others through conferences or programs to constructively come up with a position and better suggestions to how the government should address these issues.
“Opposition parties like the PDP should be proactive and put the country first by providing alternatives and reasonable suggestions that will help take the country out of the woods. So when the new PDP leadership ensures it is proactive and constructive perhaps Nigerians will forgive the party and consider the party in future elections.”
“Ayu would be NWC members are expected to lead an opposition party that will provide solutions or alternative ways to address Nigeria problems and not remain the old PDP that only laments or comments on issues. This is the only way they can put the APC on its toes.”
