By Ben Ogbemudia Abuja
The year 2022, no doubt, is full of political activities. For the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a new vision now appears imperative. The hope of rescuing power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is peaking. The opposition party has no choice but to put its house to overcome the crisis it is engulfed in, especially in the fourth quarter of 2021.

However, one must not forget the power play within the party’s ranks, ahead of the 2023 general elections.

A recapitulation of the dimension of the crises is needed to refresh our minds, especially on the contentious issue of zoning for the national convention.

The emerging power brokers are the governors, especially Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), and Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta).

Some of the old forces still pulling weight are a former president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, and a former Minister of Police Affairs, Adamu Maina Waziri.

While the Wike-Ortom/governors’ alliance had produced National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, at the party’s October 31 National Convention, the deal with the governors also led to the ceding of the office of the National Secretary to Wike.

The crisis in the South-West, with Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State now firmly in control of the PDP in the region ahead of the 2023 general elections, aggrieved chieftains of the party are said to be grumbling against his leadership of the party in the zone.

It was gathered that despite the Oyo governor’s success at installing his allies in all the PDP leadership positions zoned to the South-West, Makinde had been unable to placate most of his ardent opponents within the party in the zone.

Almost two months after the completion of the National Convention of the PDP, some prominent members of the party in the South-West are said not to be pleased with Makinde over the outcome of the convention.

The governor is alleged to have cornered all the National Working Committee (NWC) positions zoned to the South-West, leaving other leaders and groups within the party in the zone without anyone.

This, they said, was contrary to the terms of the reconciliation preceding the convention.

About three weeks before the convention, Benue State Governor Ortom had brokered peace between Makinde and a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose.

2022: The tasks before Mr. President

Party sources claimed the meeting discussed the power struggle between the two PDP leaders in the South-West and proffered ways to end the rift and avoid new ones.

“One of the things agreed at the meeting was the need to share party positions among leaders of the party. We were looking forward to the convention at the time, and it was believed that positions given to the zone will be shared in that manner,” Ademola Lawani, from Oyo State, said.

The Benue State Governor was said to have impressed upon Makinde and Fayose to work together in the interest of the PDP in the South-West.

At the convention, the positions of Deputy National Chairman (South), National Publicity Secretary, and Deputy National Secretary were zoned to the South-West.

Amidst allegations that Makinde was working towards ‘pocketing’ all the positions, his known allies emerged the winners of the three slots at the expense of other contenders, their leaders, and their groups.

The emergence of Taofeek Arapaja, a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, and an associate of Makinde, as the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the PDP, completed an alleged take-over of the control of the party structure in the zone by Makinde.

On his part, the Chairman of the PDP in Osun State, Sunday Bisi, said the party will dislodge the ruling APC in the state next year and during the general elections of the country in 2023.

The party chairman recently said almost all issues in the party had been resolved and that it was poised towards victory in the forthcoming polls.

He said, “I can tell you that the crisis in Osun State PDP has been resolved amicably and to a large extent, other states, and that’s why we had in attendance the leadership of all state chapters of PDP at the last national convention.

“This is with a view to wrestling power from the APC here in Osun and Ekiti in 2022 and across the country in 2023. If there is an issue anywhere in PDP, be sure that it wouldn’t stand in our way of victory in Osun, Ekiti, and the 2023 general elections.”
The main opposition party was severely weakened, not just by the struggle to control its soul, but also by the high profile defections engineered by the ruling APC that saw the membership of the former ruling party thin out when some of its state governors, lawmakers, and important members, left to join the APC.

Following the 2021 example of governors Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, Ben Ayade of Cross River and his Zamfara counterpart, Bello Matawalle, dumped the party to align with the rival APC.

Wike agreed that rather than for a problem within the PDP, the defectors were driven by other considerations, especially fear.

He said, “Unfortunately, from all those who have defected, nobody has given you any cogent or tenable reason that you can believe why they are defecting. Governor Umahi left, what is his reason? What did he say? Ayade left. What did he say? Matawalle just left. What did he say? So, there are different reasons why people leave. With all due respect, they are all my colleagues as governors; nobody has given any tangible reasons why they left. Nobody!

“People are leaving to the ruling party to cover their inadequacies. People are afraid and (saying) let me go to the ruling party so I will be protected. And my question to them is protection from what? What protection are you looking for as a governor?

“The day President Buhari is leaving office is the day I am leaving office. And if people say that, which of the governors in these states can say they have been intimidated the way Rivers State governor has been intimidated? Which of the governors will say they have faced the kind of election as a governor of a state that I faced? Why will I, based on the kind of Intimidation and the things that happened, not say ‘look, let me go to APC and seek protection?”

Wike added: “You are aware that in 2015, there was nothing the ruling party did not do to remove me from office. Nothing! That alone, having survived that, would have made me say, ok, I don’t want further problems, let me go and see how I can seek protection. But as a man who has a conscience, as a man who believes that…even where you want to get protection, they have no protection. They are merely trying to woo you and expose you at the end of the day.”

Amid the defections, former PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, woes were magnified when some elected members of NEC openly castigated him and resigned from their positions. He had fallen out of favour with his benefactor, Wike, who famously accused his NWC of being tax collectors.

Things careened badly for their relationship from that point on, and observers believed that it was only a matter of time before their schism would rob off on the entire party leadership. The Rivers governor was, therefore, seen as the brain behind the push to oust Secondus for most of the year. He gave his reasons why Secondus was no longer suitable to lead the party, especially going into the all-important national convention.

As if taking a cue from Wike’s disagreement with Secondus, some members of the NWC moved for his removal. This was followed by an order from the Rivers State High Court in Degema to restrain him from parading himself as the party chairman.

Though he obtained a counter order from the Kebbi State High Court, it never held water as the party went ahead to name the Deputy National Chairman (South), Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, as the acting national chairman.

Secondus, subsequently, stayed away from all the official gatherings of the PDP in obedience to court order though he continuously insisted that he remained the party boss until the end of his tenure on December 9.

The PDP was saved by its firmly rooted processes that had proved over the years that no single individual can be powerful enough to appropriate the party for personal gains. Its organs are famed for their wily ways of dealing with contentious issues and coming to a resolution each time the party faces the abyss once again proved their mettle.

The Board of Trustees (BoT) led the push to return the party to normality followed by stakeholders’ interventions, expanded national caucus, PDP Governors Forum, and ultimately, the NEC, the highest decision-making body of the PDP.

Their efforts culminated in the October 31, 2021 crunch national convention where its new national leadership, led by Ayu, emerged through a large consensus arrangement that has given no room for further dissent.

The PDP under Ayu now feels it is back to rescue Nigeria from the mess it says the APC has plunged it. “Those who have lost hope should today know that Nigeria is not a divided country. A small group of people decided to divide Nigeria. PDP will come back, unite our people, put them together, north and south, east and west. We will move ahead to develop this country. We did it before. We are going to do it again,” Ayu confidently maintained while giving the ruling party a quit notice in October.