2015: PDP endorsement hangover

How it started

The National Executive Committee, NEC, of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the end of its 66 th meeting held on September 18,at the NEC hall of the party’s national secretariat, endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as the sole candidate of the party for the February 2015 presidential election.

The endorsement came ahead of the  national convention fixed for December6 where it would be ratified at Eagle Square, Abuja.

NEC is  the party’s highest body, explained that the move became imperative because no serious party would change a winning team like President Jonathan, whose cabinet, it claimed has performed with its transformation agenda that helped to change the face of Nigeria.

At the meeting, the governor of Niger State and Chairman, Northern States Governors’ Forum, NSGF, Muazu Babangida Aliyu, spoke on behalf of all PDP governors of their decision to endorse the President as PDP’s sole candidate.

There was, however, a mild drama  when Aliyu, in  his attempt to convince NEC that the decision was unanimous, asked Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State to bear witness. Lamido, who sat directly opposite the President, stood up, looked directly at Jonathan, smiled and did a thumbs-up without uttering a word. The hall burst into a thunderous ovation in celebration of Lamido’s seeming acceptance of Jonathan’s candidature with shouts of ‘PDP, PDP’. The Niger governor boasted that Rivers, Nasarawa, Kwara, Sokoto and Adamawa States would be brought back to the party in next year’s election.

The governors’ position received the stamp of approval of party stakeholders because as leaders of the PDP in their respective states, with the power to influence delegates, the governors remain the most potent caucus in the PDP. Even judging from the past and their actions, governors decide who becomes the presidential candidate or the National Chairman of the PDP.  So, it was not surprising to everyone that organs of the ruling party like the BoT; National Caucus and NEC had to adopt the decision to give Jonathan automatic ticket.

Immediately after Aliyu, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ruling party and a member of its Board of Trustees, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun, who spoke for the BoT, said members unanimously voted for Jonathan’s continuity and as the party’s sole candidate because of the need for him to further consolidate on his achievements.

President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, who doubles as the Chairman of the National Assembly, then took the microphone and told the meeting members that, as an advocate of continuity especially for a performing sitting President, the National Assembly PDP Caucus, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, agreed that Jonathan should not only continue, but should be the only candidate to be presented at the convention by the party for the 2015 presidential election.

For the PDP women, Ambassador Justina Eze, who presented the resolution of PDP women that the President should continue and be the party’s candidate because of his concern for women, said there  was no vacancy in Aso Rock.

After these speakers, a, former Acting National Chairman of the PDP and past Minister of Defence, Dr.  Haliru Mohammed Bello, moved the motion to give the endorsement constitutional backing.

A former governor of old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo, seconded the  motion.

PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, than the motion into vote and the NEC unanimously adopted it.

When it was his turn to speak, the elated Jonathan, who accepted the endorsement, said that he was humbled, overwhelmed and promised not to disappoint the PDP governors, the leaders, stakeholders and members of the party.

Implication

The party took a decision it has never taken thus shutting out other prospective presidential aspirants, using the platform of the PDP for the 2015 polls. In this case, the party will raise only N22 million from the sale of forms from one person – Jonathan – unlike in the past where many aspirants came up inspite of the zoning arrangement of the party.

Buttressing the decision to endorse the President as the PDP’s sole presidential candidate, Governor of Akwa Ibom State and Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswill Akpabio, declared that the governors took the decision to enable him address the problem of insurgency in some parts of the country, food insufficiency and other issues.

Akpabio, who described the action as a well calculated exercise and democracy in action, stressed that the decision became imperative to save the President of distraction with the primary election, just as he said that the opposition was rattled by  the action of the PDP governors, the National Caucus, the Board of Trustees, BoT and the National Assembly “to sacrifice  their individual ambitions and rally behind the President who has “ performed exceedingly well.

Governors fight back

Meanwhile, indications have emerged that the governors may not be comfortable with the decision they jointly took on the President’s endorsement for re-election as those serving second term had hoped they will also have automatic approval to get in their godsons as successors and automatic ticket to go to the Senate.

Another issue is whether other PDP governors and members of the National Assembly seeking re-election are entitled to automatic tickets, in line with the continuity principle extended to Jonathan. Little surprise, a crisis has erupted between the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) and the PDP governors who want something from the pact that led to the Jonathan endorsement.

Reacting to the development, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, ruled out automatic re-election tickets for first term governors and National Assembly members, arguing that the NEC decision was limited to the president.

Corroborating Metuh, the NWC rose from its meeting, penultimate Thursday, warning the governors, zonal and state Chairmen to jettison such idea of having any anointed candidate ahead of the November 29 primary election where the PDP gubernatorial candidates would emerge.

This provoked outrage amongst the governors who endorsed Jonathan on the understanding that out-going governors would be allowed to nominate their successors, while those seeking re-election would get automatic tickets. As is always the case with all houses of cards, the PDP now has to face its own internal contradictions.

Of the 19 PDP governors, those who are not rounding off their various tenure in office and want to come back for second term are Murktar Ramalan  Yero of Kaduna State; the Acting Governor of Taraba State, Garba Umar; Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe; Henry Seriake-Dickson of Bayelsa; Capt. Idris Wada; Adamawa State governor, Bala James Ngilari,  among others.

Besides Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa,  other governors of the PDP who will be leaving office in 2015  have got the machinery of the party and some persons in their states to anoint them for the Senate. They are Akpabio; Gabriel Suswam of Benue; Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi;  Theodore Orji of Abia; Sullivan Chime of Enugu; Ibrahim Shema of Katsina; Isa Yuguda of Bauchi; Jonah Jang of Plateau and Aliyu.

The governors aiming for the Senate are at war with their serving senators. In Enugu, Governor Chime is at war with Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; Governor Theodore Orji of Abia wants to replace Senator Nkechi Nwaogu; Suswam wants to block Senator Barnabas Gemade from coming back; Akpabio at war with Senator Aloysius Etok; Aliyu wants to remove Senator Nuhu Zagbayi who was elected August 30 during a by- election to replace the late Senator Awaisu Kuta; Governor Jonah Jang is coming and, once he comes, Senator Gyang Pwajok would go.

As these governors plan to move from their various Government Houses to the Senate, they have their anointed sons to take over from them.  Like in Enugu State, member, representing Udenu/ Igboeze- North in the House of Representatives and Chairman, House Committee on Marine Transport, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has been endorsed by Chime as his possible successor.

In Akwa Ibom, Akpabio is said to have settled for the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, while Martins Elechi of Ebonyi State has endorsed the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, in Delta State, and in Bauchi, Governor Yuguda may not have made up his mind on who should succeed him between the former PDP Acting National Secretary and Chairman, Governing Board of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Dr. Musa Babayo, and former Minister of State, Health, Dr. Muhammed Ali Pate.

Deadlocked meeting

Not happy with the development, the governors called for a meeting with the PDP National Chairman, Muazu, to confront him with their displeasure over the stoppage of the endorsement of their candidates ahead of the general elections and their own candidature for the Senate by the NWC.

The meeting held at the Asokoro residence of Muazu. The governors told the party leader, a former governor who understands the politics about the forthcoming primary elections for aspirants of the party, that they were not happy with the decision of the NWC to announce the cancellation of all endorsements.

The Wednesday meeting between the governors and the PDP National Chairman  ended in deadlock. It was gathered that the governors and Muazu could not reach a consensus on the issue of endorsement, automatic tickets for the governors who were rounding off and warming up to go to the Senate, their  preferred successors as well as automatic tickets for first term governors.

Following the deadlock, the governors and Muazu are expected to meet again.

“While we believe that the governors are our field commanders, we cannot say in the same breath that our senators are no more useful and should be discarded; so we have outlined some acceptable conditions that will guide both the governors and the senators, because especially the governors, they cannot have everything to themselves without consideration for others”, a top PDP official told Sunday Vanguard.

“We are going to tell them politely that if a governor wishes to go to the senate, fine, but such cannot be the one to anoint a successor”.

Knowing the implication of a meeting of this nature ending in deadlock, it is hoped that the President and Muazu would find a way of arriving at a compromise. The party knows the power it has given to the governors by making them leaders of the PDP in their states ; it is also hoped  that the governors will realise that they cannot have it all. Yes, the governors should have a say on who succeeds them, but that should not be done in a dictatorial manner, also knowing fully well that politicians from their states have sacrificed for the party, and taking anyone outside them, the governors must carry them along.

There is nothing wrong about aspiring to move from the Government House to the Senate, but the national leadership of the party must be seen to be firm, serious with what it says at all times, not saying this today and doing another thing tomorrow. The NWC must listen to all, but this must not be under duress or be coerced by a powerful bloc within the party especially now that the PDP has not fully recovered from its past and now that it wants complete a genuine reconciliation with the inauguration of the National Zonal Integration Committee.