Goodluck ,nPDP \APC merger ; matter arisings The Tuesday November 26, 2013 defection announced by five of the seven aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not come to many as a surprise. In the estimation of many political watchers, the defection was long delayed. The governors were believed to have dragged the matter following repeated declaration of intent to defect. Governor MurtalaNyako of Adamawa State had been reported to have started working for the opposition Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which has merged with the All Progressives Congress (APC) since the 2011 polls and had asked his loyalists to defect to that party in the wake of the G7 uprising. It was thus surprising to many that he did not defect alongside his supporters. That notwithstanding, a number of political watchers never really believed that the threat of defection would eventually materialise. Many had thought that the PDP would find a way round the matter and make it one of the now famous “family affair.” But it thus appears that the set-up of the agitation this time and the intensity were meant to rock the boat and it was decided that one party had to eventually shift ground. It appeared that the G7 governors went for broke from the start of their agitation, leaving little or no room for reconciliation. Though the governors were holding meetings with President Goodluck Jonathan, party sources insisted that the governors looked bent on going their way by their actions and utterances after each peace meeting. Thus, the party hierarchy did not appear surprised when the defection materialised. Insiders in the PDP would further confess that the leadership of the ruling party foreclosed any possible reconciliation with many of the aggrieved governors following their decision to open their doors to the APC for negotiation. It was also believed that the decision of the Presidency not to handle the cases of the G7 governors as a bloc but rather handle each case separately further sent shock waves to the G7 governors, some of whom had intended to hide under the group umbrella to get reprieve. It emerged that, while the PDP and the Presidency would not want the APC to clean-sweep its governors, the case of some of the agitating governors were said to have gone beyond reconciliation. Many analysts in the administration have posited that whereas the states controlled by some of the agitating governors boast of huge voter population, the fact remains that some of the governors did not deliver the votes for the President either during the party’s presidential primaries or during the general election in 2011. The calculation had been that the President does not have much to lose even if a number of the aggrieved governors defect from the party. In the case of Adamawa, it was stated that Governor Nyako has not been of help to the party in recent months and that in 2012, when he fielded a candidate against the party in a rerun State House of Assembly election, the PDP candidate defeated the his candidate, even though the governor hails from the constituency in contest. It was stated that the case of Governor RotimiAmaechi of Rivers State was also instructive. The party structure in Rivers had been taken over by the governor’s political opponents and he was set aside from all the other political heavyweights in the state. With Amaechi as the leader of his own pack and all other heavyweights ranged against him, it was stated that the PDP has decided the path to take in Rivers. The case of the governor of Kano was also stated as one that has to be isolated. Investigations revealed that, while the governors grouped together under the G7, each of them have peculiar situation in their states.Whereas, one of the claims of the G7 was inability to control the party in their states, it was confirmed that the governors of Jigawa, SuleLamido, Sokoto, AliyuWamakko, Niger, Babangid aAliyu and Abdufattah Ahmed of Kwara were left to control the PDP structures in their states. The party had, however, put in place separate structures in Adamawa, Rivers and recently in Kano. The Adamawa governor was also quoted as stating his readiness to see to the end of the PDP. As some observers have noted, the cookie of the agitation really crumbled in view of the nature of the complaints on the table. It appeared that the aggrieved G7 members mounted a well-oiled plot against the Presidency and the party which was targeted at shaking the number one man out of the 2015 race. Though they had hidden their agitation under the claim of some inconsistent democratic practices in the party; the need to replace Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as national Chairman, a repeat mini national convention, the Presidency got wind of it immediately that the main issue on the agenda remains the 2015 race. Along the line, the group unveiled the 2015 issue through the media and that was a huge point of departure. How do you tell an incumbent to disqualify himself from a race he is qualified to vie for? That is the question being asked in some quarters. The G7, it was observed, toyed around with until the cookie cracked. The failure of the agitation also appeared largely in the modus operandi. While the governors met in a state of camaraderie with the President at the villa, they allowed the propaganda arm of the group to continue to reel out negative issues against the government. Besides, it was understood that the nature of the agitation itself left little room for the President to grant any of the requests. It was learnt that at the meeting of August 31, called by President Jonathan, Kano State governor, Kwakwanso had listed four key issues as the basis of the G7 agitation. He raised the issue of harassment of the governors by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); need to resolve the crisis rocking the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), the need to return the party structure to the governors and the resolution of Rivers and Adamawa PDP crisis to guarantee Governors’ control of the parties. Other governors who spoke at the meeting were said to have mentioned the need to get carried along by the president especially while making appointments from their states. Kano state governor was also said to have complained that most political appointees from his state were not his nominees and that many of them had been giving him problems, while the Niger State governor BabangidaAliyu was said to have complained that some elements in the presidency were shielding the President from his governors and that his application to lead a team of Emirs from Niger to a thank you visit to the President for the flag off of an Hydro-Electric power plant in his state was not acknowledged. Of all the agitations, the President was said to have flatly refused to stop the EFCC from doing its job. He was said to have admonished his governors to always do the right thing so as to escape the prying eyes of the EFCC and anti-graft agencies. He was also said to have refused to remove Tukur as Chairman of the PDP, adding that issues that has to do with the government would be handled by him while party issues would be referred to the party hierarchy. The President’s position was said to have remained unchanged all through the peace meetings. With such posture from the number one man, it appeared that the governors had no other option than to jump the ship. Amaechi, Kwakwanso, Nyako, Abdufattah Ahmed of Kwara, who is seen as fronting for the interests of his predecessor, Senator BukolaSaraki and Wamakko therefore announced their decision to quit. Lamido, a founding member of the PDP and BabangidaAliyu, insisted they would remain in the PDP to see through the peace process. For PDP chieftains, a simple reading of the defection means less rancour and scramble for the party’s presidential seat in 2015. It also means that if the incumbent President is interested in seeking re-election, he would face little or no opposition as those fiercely opposed to his candidature have moved to the opposition party. Will the defection amount to peace in the PDP? That is unlikely as the party is an aggregation of varied and conflicting interests.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 12:40:11 +0000
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