Unless the grievances of those who stormed out of the Abuja convention are addressed, the centre may not hold again. To curtail the ugly trend, it appears the party’s leadership is making frantic steps to prevent further damage. But there is no positive result yet. There are some options that can be explored.
The first option is to dare the faction and expel the aggrived members for anti-party activities. Tukur’s faction is recognised by the electoral commission. It is not likely that INEC will recognise Baraje’s faction. But this option is dangerous. It means that the PDP will face the 2015 general elections as a party at half. Its influence in some sates controlled by the faction may drop.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had proposed a reconciliation meeting between the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) and the aggrieved faction. He said the elders will broker peace. Although the former President has not left the party, he is also an aggrieved party elder, whose supporters have been sidelined in the running of the party by Tukur.
The former Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman is not happy with the removal of his key supporters from the National Executive Committee (NEC). Although he was said to have held a closed door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday in Aso Rock, details were unknown. Observers contend that the PDP boxed itself into this logjam because it deviated from the vision of the founding fathers.
Many PDP elders have been sidelined, especially in the states, by the governors, who are the state leaders. In the past, party elders, including former Vice President Alex Ekweme and Gen. Ike Nwachukwu, headed the reconciliation panels set up by the party. The reports of the panels were never implemented. If another reconciliation committee headed by another party elder is set up, what is the assurance that the report will be implemented?
Party sources said that the road to peace may not be in sight for now. The utterances by the Presidency have been couched in belligerent tones, which suggest that those who have formed the faction would likely face sanction. Presidential Adviser on Political Matter, Ahmed Gulak, described the formation of new PDP as the height of irresponsibility.
He said, if the intension of the seven governors was to cause crisis in the party before dumping it, they would not succeed. He said: “As far as we are concerned, there is one PDP; we remain a united family. But, if your son or daughter decided to be a prodigal son or daughter, so be it. But we plead with them to be reasonable; to be law abiding and to know that nobody is above the law.”
The other option is to reinvigorate the crisis-resolution mechanism in the party. Already, the Reconciliation Committee headed by Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson now has a bigger assignment. The staring point is to collate the grievances of the faction and make recommendations that would foster a win-win situation. The PDP Governors’ Forum Chairman, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has reiterated the need for peace and dialogue. He said the only way the PDP can remain relevant is to unite.
But there must be conditions for unity. S He said: “Some of my colleagues and I have resolved to ensure reconciliation with all those that have grievances. I can tell you that there was a break in communication.” The option of a new convention cannot be ruled out. Since the modalities for selecting delegates and electing the national officers led to the bitter feud, the party can renegotiate with the faction on how to correct the mistakes that were committed at the recent convention.
The faction has demanded for Tukur’s resignation, saying that he is a divisive and destabilising factor. This is a delicate matter. The President is leaning on Tukur, who has backed his second term bid. It is certain that the factional members are opposed to the President’s second term. But, according to a source, if the President acceeds to the demand that Tukur should go, the faction will likely reel out more demanding conditions that may pull the rug off the feet of the President. There are individuals who have grudges against the party.
One of them is the former National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, whose election was not voided by the INEC. If the party reinstates him as the secretary, he may retrace its steps. How to also resolve the crisis stirred by the governorship primaries in Anambra State is another issue. The faction has insisted that the party decided the primaries in favour of Mr. Tony Nwoye, to the detriment of Senator Andy Uba. There are other challenges. The faction has revisited the controversial Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and demanded that Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State should be recognised as the authentic chairman, instead of Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang.
READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/46155.html
READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/46155.html
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