There is a war of supremacy between the old breed (former political office holders) in the PDP who have been described as spent forces by the young and energetic politicians now in charge of the party or as governors of their states (the new breed). It was at the 70th National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, that Senator Walid Jubrin, the Acting Chairman/Secretary of the Board of Trustees (BOT) warned individuals within the party having clandestine and nocturnal meetings to upset the extant system in the party. He also affirmed his resolve not to participate in any of such unofficial meetings.
In Senator Jubrin’s words: “I have decided that I will not attend any meeting except it is a properly organized meeting. We have to be very careful the way we hold meetings, we have to use meetings positively to enhance the development of the PDP.
“None of us that are members of the PDP will ever leave the PDP and we believe PDP will never die. We will continue to be in the PDP; whatever the mistakes are, we will stay here and correct them and make progress.
“Leaving PDP is not the answer and I like to appeal to everyone that intends to leave PDP to stop that. We must unite ourselves, we must come together both men and women of the party and do what we can to unite and salvage the party. Every party has its own problems but we should use our problems positively. Hopefully, very soon, the whole problem in the PDP will be resolved”, Jubrin said.
At the time the BOT chairman spoke, not many members were aware of the grand swell of opposition gathering against the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff leadership or if they knew, they believed it was coming from the former party bigwigs who have become too old or weak to engage in the troubled waters of partisan politics. It was not also very clear whether there was any effort on the part of the party leadership to assuage or placate the aggrieved party men and women.
But the reasons for their agitation were well known- The zoning formula-which they argued have been compromised, subverted and corrupted; the party constitution which they noted have been serially abused.
The party had in April at a previous NEC set up four committees-zoning, national convention, financial and reconciliation committees. The governor of AkwaIbom state Emmanuel Udom headed the zoning committee while Gov Fayose of Ekiti state was deputy chairman. Sooner had the committee settled for work, its decision filtered out to the public and controversy tailed it.
When it finally submitted its report, and zoned the national chairmanship of the party to the northeast, hell in the party was let lose. The attack dogs hollered and queried the rationale. What about the Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s report which has zoned the 2019 presidency to the north? Does it mean that both the party’s no one and the country’s no one man if the come from the party in 2019 will hail from the north. “This is unacceptable and it will not stand”, they said.
The anti-sheriff groups continued to rise. There was the Senator Ibrahim Mantu group which hibernated at the premises of Daar Communication. Their maiden meeting was well attended. The roll call to mention but a few included, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, former Executive Secretary, National Merit Award, Prof Tunde Adeniran, former Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abdulkadir Kure, some former Ministers and other chieftains of the party.
There was also the forum of former ministers whose secretariat appeared to be the NICON Luxury Hotel in Abuja. This group was made up of all PDP former ministers from 1999 to 2015. Their spokesman is Jonathan’s last Minister of Special Duties, Barrister Kabiru Tanimu Turaki. This group consistently called for the application of the party constitution and due process in all matters of the party.
There was also the Prof Jerry Gana led PDP Northern Elders Forum comprising some of the party’s bigwigs from the north. When it was clear that the party leadership was not going to heed their call for proper zoning and bring to a halt all appearances of impunity, they resorted to calling for the postponement of the national convention.
The Aliyu Babangida Muazu group known as PDP Concerned Group; members were former Minister of FCT, Dr. Bala Mohammed, Former Minister of Women Affairs, Hon. Mrs. Zainab Maina; former Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey and former Minister of National Planning, Hon Sulaiman Abubakar.
Other personalities in attendance were Capt. Hassan Mohammed (rtd); Saidu Ndako Idris; the former Secretary to Bayelsa State Government, Hon. Dr Bolere Ketebu; Hon. Kaulaha Aliyu.
Babangida Aliyu group besides calling for the postponement of the May 21 convention threatened that aggrieved members may be compelled to organize parallel congresses/convention.
It noted that procedures and conduct of the congresses nationwide were flawed engendering disaffection and disagreements within the party.
The group also noted that the “current zoning formula for the position of National Chairman as adopted by only 1/3 (One-Third) of National Executive Committee (NEC) is inconsistent with the original PDP.
But Thursday last week, the groups were merged in Abuja under one umbrella-The Concerned PDP Stakeholders. If the Sheriff leadership allowed them to fester without making peace, it was at his own peril. By the time they read their riot act, it was only comparable to a coup.
They cried blue blood over the abuse of the party’s zoning principle and hailed themselves- the founding fathers for their effort at building the party on a solid foundation of equity and fairness which they said accounted for the electoral fortunes of the party between 1999 and 2015.The impressive attendance showed that the old war force were well mobilised across the six geopolitical zones. The list was endless: Senator Ibrahim Mantu Co-chairman, Prof Tunde Adeniran, Prof Jerry Gana Keynote Speaker, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, Chief Bode George, Chief Mrs Remi Adikwu, Ambassador Wilberforce Juta, Senator Aniete Okon, Hajiya Inna Ciroma, Mrs Josephine Anenih, Senator Bala Mohammed, Sent Grace Bent, Sen Ibok Essien, Amb Esther Audu, amongst others.
The not only declared the current PDP leadership under Sheriff as “gangsters, hoodlums and monsters, according to Prof Adeniran, they also pronounced the Sheriff regime illegal and a nullity.
In his stead, in a communique signed by the trio of Mantu, Adeniran and Dokpesi, a 21- man steering committee was put in place to work out the time for the conduct of a proper national convention and congresses.
But Ali Modu Sheriff is poised to defend his mandate which terminates on May 21 at the National Convention in Portharcourt. He said Jerry Gana and his cohorts will not succeed in dragging the hand of the clock back this time.
He said: “certain faceless groups have come up with different gimmicks trying to divert attention from the effects of what they did in the past leading to the squandering of the fortunes of the party, or to distract my attention from pursuing very lofty and laudable programmes for the repositioning of the PDP or even just to cause mischief.
“Unfortunately, among such groups are self styled elders and stakeholders led by Professor Jerry Gana. I have seen him sweating on television, playing with language but at the end of the day saying nothing. I want to specifically say we kept sealed lips about some of the activities of this man believing that we could still find a rendezvous at which we could work together for the progress of the PDP. I must say, and there are witnesses that this is one character that attempts to play role in every government since the time of the military.
“But given his recent action, I do not think that there is much in this man that would help or add value to the repositioning of the PDP. One wonders why he is leading such groups, all self styled not known to the constitution of the PDP. As baffling as his activities are, we know that he has his own personal grudges, likewise those who are queuing behind him.
“We know the very ignoble roles that he played that led to the PDP being defeated in the last election. These were the same characters that deceived President Jonathan into failure. Unfortunately most of them still go round to ask the chairman of one Favour or the other and when the chairman declines they take offence against him.
“I know as a fact that Prof Jerry Gana has written to the national chairman to allow him nominate some people into certain committees or allow them perform certain functions for the party. Whether these requests were granted or not is immaterial. But that is perhaps one of the reasons that he has taken the position against anything this man does.
“This is the same man that who recognized the national chairman, writing to him on the need to submit the report on the finance committee which he headed. The chairman has been running away from receiving that report because it is on record that the same Jerry Gana on behalf of the party without using the machinery of the party collected the sum of N500m from Skye bank on behalf of the PDP for which the PDP has been dragged to court and is being compelled to pay back
“Leaders of thought in this party including some elders have prevailed on the chairman not to make this matter known and to save this man from public embarrassment. But as it is the chairman may be left with no option than to drag Jerry Gana before the EFCC to explain his role in obtaining N500m facility on behalf of the party and let him also explain what he has done with the money” sheriff said.
Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose also carpeted the Gana camp comprising the old breed in the party, describing the struggle by the spent force of the party and the new breed.
According to governor Fayose, “politics and governance is crisis management. Have you seen a party that is not in crisis when it comes to interest and leveraging of interests? Politics is about interests.
Are you saying that you will call somebody in the village to come and take a position? That era is gone. You have to struggle, you have to make efforts and show that you actually need that position. Before now, a lot of the people that were in party positions were unwilling characters. Now willing characters are coming out; that is why you see the struggle that much. As a result, a lot of people will be displaced or feel displaced. A lot of people are feeling displayed but it is not displacement as it were.
“As I have always said, elders are wonderful people but they should take the back seat. We won’t say they should go. They should take a back seat. I have no apology over that statement. And I am saying it again that if I am struggling for a position with my father, it is ridiculous. New generation should take over this party and build it. Anything you are doing and your children do not have insight into it will perish.
Since this party started we have always deferred to them. But are we saying that we should continue to say the younger generation should go to blazes? The question to ask our elders with all due respect to them is that, at some times, if you are the one eating the food, you will pack the plates yourself. We will have differences. It is normal in politics but washing your dirty linen in public is bad. Let the young men take over in Nigeria” he said.
He said most of the people running to court to get injunction against the party do not have followers.
“If you are leading as elders and we lost election; most of the people who were Jonathan’s adviser were elders and we lost election. In most of the advanced democracy, if you lose election, it is just decent for you to allow other people to try, especially young people. I was governor at 42. You need a lot of energy to be a leader, not when they are giving you Panadol to be strong. Age is a disease on its own” he said.
He said despite the problems in the party, there is not threat that the party would disintegrate, noting that “the fact that there is so much in fighting show that the party is strong. The fact that everybody wants to be relevant in the party shows that the party is strong. If there is no future for PDP, there would be no such struggle”.
On the call for the postponement of the party’s convention, Fayose said that “you can wish anything but God’s plan for the PDP is that the 21st May convention cannot be stopped” he said.