By Emeka Alex Duru
When perceptive analysts stressed that the future of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) depended much on the outcome of its national convention, on Saturday, December 9, 2017, in Abuja, it was not for nothing.
Aside the convention serving the need to elect new set of leaders for the party, it was expected to consolidate the peace that seemed to have returned to its fold, following the July 12, Supreme Court verdict that resolved the crisis in its leadership.
Though the convention eventually took place without violence or pronounced crisis, there are outstanding issues that observers fear, may continue to obstruct genuine reconciliation in the party.
Before the exercise, 21 positions were advertised to be filled. Of the slots, offices of the national chairman and secretary, were not micro-zoned to any particular geo-political regions.
The national chairman was zoned to the larger south, comprising the south east, south west and south-south. The office of the secretary was zoned to the North, comprising the north east, north west and north central. Other positions were zoned to specific geo-political divides.
Though no specific zone in the South was allotted the office of the national chairman, the assumption by party chieftains and even most Nigerians, was that the slot would go to the south west.
Many reasons informed the calculation, the most being that the zone had not had a shot at the post since the formation of PDP in 1998.
It was therefore argued that in the spirit of equity and fair play, particularly for a party that claims to have learnt its lessons from its loss to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015, and desirous to claw back to power in 2019, all incidences of estrangement among its members, needed to be adequately addressed.
But at the convention, the leaders of the party and delegates, came up with a different agenda. With the south west not agreeing on a consensus candidate, former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Bode George, erstwhile Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, 2015 Lagos State governorship candidate, Jimi Agbaje, ex-university teacher, Professor Tunde Adeniran, former Oyo State governor, Rasheed Ladoja, marched out for the office.
Even the eventual adoption of Adeniran as the consensus candidate, did not come through till the eleventh hour. This, in addition to what later turned out a predetermined deal by governors on the platform of the party, led to the election of former Deputy National Chairman, Uche Secondus, as the new chairman. He won with 2000 votes to Adeniran’s 283 votes.
What next after convention?
While Secondus enthused on his victory at the convention, it was not lost on him that the task ahead, was tough. Appeasing the obviously rattled south west wing of the party, remains a key issue.
For one, the zone has not been a stronghold for the party, strictly speaking. Though it has severally recorded some impacts in Ekiti, and made occasional inroad in Oyo and Ondo axis of the region, south west has not really counted among the zones PDP can list in its column.
On the contrary, rather, majority of the voters in the region, seem to be at home with the APC, dating to its precursors – the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
Getting them to transfer their loyalty to PDP, would therefore, require presenting them with a tantalizing offer.
Argument from enlightened observers is that with a serving Vice President on APC platform from the south west, a national chairman position to the area from PDP, could, perhaps, have earned the party, votes from liberal electorate. The action, it had been assumed, could also disabuse the region of perception in some quarters that it has been marginalised in the politics of the party, since the end of Olusegun Obasanjo presidency.
Investigations by TheNiche, indicate that these and other feelings that were not conclusively addressed, top the concern many have on the aftermath of the PDP convention.
Calls to the National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Kola Ologbondiyan, were not immediately responded to. Though he later responded to a short message service (sms), pledging to call back later, that did not come by press time.
However, a release by the National Reconciliation Committee of PDP, led by Bayelsa State governor, Henry Seriake Dickson indicated that the party had initiated a holistic process of reconciliation that will take care of the fall out of its December 9, 2017 Convention.
According to the Secretary to the Committee, Onyema Ugochukwu, the body had established contact with all chairmanship candidates, to actualize effective reconciliation of all aggrieved parties.
Dickson said that the committee’s efforts so far were positive and were well received by all the contestants.
Efforts by our reporter to obtain the total reconciliation package, did not yield results. Rather, there were conflicting reports on the demands by the south west chieftains of the party, to guarantee the loyalty of their members. While a particular unconfirmed account claimed that they were asking to be allotted positions of senate president and secretary to the government of the federation as compensation, another source alleged that they were insisting on producing the vice president.
What goes to the South East?
But the insinuation of possible consideration of the south west producing the vice presidential candidate of the party, is not going down well with chieftains of the party in the south east.
Before the convention, it was almost taken as a done deal that the vice presidency of the party would be conceded to the south east, that has in many ways, been relegated to the status of whipping boy of the nation’s politics.
Perhaps, on the basis of this assumption, at the convention, not much really came to the zone in terms of essence and substance.
Aside the offices of the national organising secretary won by Austine Akobundu from Abia State; national youth leader, Udeh Okoye (Ebonyi), no other substantive position went to the zone. Irona Alphonsus, from Imo State, was elected Deputy Financial Secretary.
For a region that has supported PDP from the days of its formation, many consider the weight of the three offices, not commensurate to the sacrifice it had made for the party.
What is thus, seen as possible compensation to the zone for supporting the party and for addressing the incidences of marginalisation it has encountered from successive administrations in the country, is to allow her produce the vice president. This, it is argued, would enable the south east be in a position to produce the president that has eluded it all the while, with time.
A former south east governor, who argued in this respect, warned that any attempt to shortchange the zone in a bid to placate the south west, would attract serious backlash that the PDP may not come out from, lightly.
According to him, with APC currently making overtures to the zone and Governor Willie Obiano’s victory in Anambra giving the All Progressives Grand Alliance great boost, any attempt by PDP to play on the zone, would result to protest votes for any of the other two parties.
“I can bet on this. The south east is the proverbial beautiful bride of the 2019 politics. My party, the PDP, should not take the loyalty of the people for granted, as in the past.
“There are currently two contending forces angling for south east support. APC has realised its folly in neglecting the zone. It is now making strong overtures to the people.
“APGA is also regaining its voice following the November 18 victory of Governor Obiano. The party, as it is, is even threatening Abia and Imo States. Denying the south east the vice presidential ticket, will therefore amount to telling the voters in the region to pitch tenths with either the APC or APGA. This is a gamble we cannot afford to go into. But if the leadership thinks otherwise, good luck to them”, he warned.
Not much is known on the thinking of the PDP leadership on this emerging fear. The call from the national publicity secretary to address the issue, did not also come at press time. And the insinuations continue to mount.