Barely six days to the presidential election, JOY EMMANUEL from Yenagoa writes that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has boxed itself into a cesspit by allowing its internal feud fester like a malignant sore which has seemingly put it in electoral jeopardy.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to have successfully prepared a fertile ground to woefully fail the 2023 presidential election which is less than a week from now.
The factors gravitating PDP’s seeming inevitable failure at the polls are quite obvious even though the political players are blind to them, therefore complimenting the proverbial saying that “who the gods want to kill they first make mad”.
A repeat of history?
One major factor PDP is most likely going to loose the election is because the party seems to enjoy a repeat of ugly history.
Prior to the 2015 presidential election, the Peoples Democratic Party, which was too self confident and acclaimed to be the largest political party in Africa, boasted that it would lead Nigeria for sixty uninterrupted years. That was when it was just sixteen years old as a ruling party.
Despite her boastfulness, the PDP made negative history in 2015 by becoming the first ruling party in Africa to lose a democratic transition to the opposition party.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) which was formed in less than a year to the 2015 presidential election defeated the then ruling party square and clear.
Before the election, political eagle eyes saw the PDP’s imminent fall coming and the party was dully forewarned but they didn’t listen.
Few months to the polls, aggrieved five state governors pulled out of the PDP, citing high-handedness on the part of the leadership of the party.
To the PDP then, the exit of five governor’s from its fold was as inconsequential as a bird that loses only one of its feathers which can not stop if from soaring.
The five governors and other aggrieved members who left the party to form the newPDP were neglected and left to do their worst until they helped to sink the former ruling party and made it an opposition player.
From all indications, the PDP is back on the threshold of facing presidential defeat three times in a row.
In 2019, the peoples democratic party under the presidential candidacy of the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, suffered another defeat to the ruling APC led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Despite the dismal performance of the APC at the centre of Nigerian governance as being adjudged in different quarters, the PDP’s approach to the forthcoming presidential election does not suggest that they are out to take advantage of the APC’s adjudged none performance to win.
They seem to have caved an opening for a repeat of a repugnant political history. For instance, another G5 governors scenario is glaringly playing out in the PDP with no sight to an end of the political quandary that is fast consuming the once great party.
The Wike factor
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state is leading the G5 governors splinter group and he is unpretentious about it. Other members of the group include: Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state.
Wike, who aspired for the PDP presidential ticket but lost to Atiku has drawn a battle line against his party and his grouse is double-headed. On one hand, he feels betrayed by his co-South-South governors all of whom had reportedly agreed to support a southern presidential candidate for the next election but turned against him at the eleventh hour.
Wike believes that the north, having ruled the country for the past eight years, should allow power return to the south for the sake of equity and fairness.
On the other hand, Wike and his co- travellers have been demanding, to no avail, the resignation of Iyorcha Ayu, the PDP national chairman who is from the north where Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate hails from.
A few days ago, Governor Wike told the people of Rivers state on the governorship election in Rivers state “to vote the candidates of the PDP but in the presidential”. He was going to give directive on whom to vote. That indeed speaks volume.
They are of the opinion that Ayu should step aside for a southerner to emerge as the party’s national chairman since Atiku is from the north. They (G5) have vowed not to shift ground until their demands are granted.
Ayu and his backers are obstinate. The heavens will rather fall than for Ayu to resign his national chairmanship.
Time is not on the side of the PDP, as it were. They are obviously going into the battle with a severally punctured and perforated umbrella, not minding the danger such situation in an election that promises to be the most competitive election in the history of Nigeria.
G5 losing grip?
However, in the G5 camp, all does not seem well. The earlier agglutination they formed seem to be losing cement. The governors tend to be going their separate ways and paying allegiance to whosoever they wish among the presidential candidates.
The other day, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state pledged to support the candidate of the Labour Party Mr Peter Obi. His Enugu counterpart Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi preferred to work with Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Engr. Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has been having talks with Tinubu.
Though Makinde has not been plain on where his interest and those of his supporters lie in the presidential poll, his response to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that he would do ‘what is just’, has been interpreted to favour the APC presidential candidate.
From the foregoing, only the Abia state Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and his Rivers state colleague, Nyesom Wike, have not made their presidential candidates known. What is, however, clear is that Wike has vowed not to look the direction of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. His body language does not only speak so, he acts so.
Can they put their house in order before the judgement day? The answer to the above poser may be given within the next four days, specifically, before Thursday midnight when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will draw down the curtain for presidential campaigns.
