Leadership Crisis Threatens PDP’s Participation in Edo, Ondo Guber Elections

Fri, Jun 10, 2016
By publisher
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BREAKING NEWS, Featured, Politics

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The lingering leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party is likely to affect its  participation in the forthcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states if it is not resolved soonest to enable the party hold primaries to produce candidates before the deadline expires

By Anayo Ezugwu  |  Jun 6, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT  |

THE Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may have handed over the party’s structure to Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee, but the move seems not to have resolved the leadership crisis rocking the party. Ali Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno State, and former acting chairman of the party and his supporters, said the handing over to Makarfi is illegal and against the party’s constitution.

Uche Secondus, former acting national chairman of the party, had on Monday, June 6, formally handed the reins of authority to the Makarfi-led caretaker committee after which Senator Walid Jibrin, chairman of the party’s BoT, also handed over the party’s assets and liabilities to the committee.

At the event, Secondus declared that the party was strong and was working towards ensuring a successful national convention, which would produce leaders, who in turn, would lead the party to victory in 2019. He said: “The PDP must buckle up and be strong to take power and to provide leadership for this country.  Therefore, on behalf of the former National Working Committee, we are here to make a formal handover to the new caretaker committee, who will midwife the convention. And we want to assure you that all politics is local.

“We have to restate here, that all politics are local. Our leaders must go back to the grass roots. It is not enough to be in Abuja. It is not enough to say I am strong in Abuja. It is not enough to say I am a former this, I am a former that. You must be able to prove your worth in local politics and popularity.”

Jibrin said the BoT never took over the party, stating that what it did was to hold in trust the assets and liabilities of the party. Makarfi, however, apologised to members of the PDP, who he said might be offended by the decision taken by the party. “We appeal to them to embrace dialogue and come and join us to rebuild the party,” he said.

Although powerful party organs have rallied behind Makarfi but Sheriff, who had been in charge of the party for months, Sheriff still insists he remains the chairman. The two men had secured favourable court injunctions restraining either of them from parading themselves as national chairman and or caretaker chairman of the party, respectively.

Sheriff in a press statement issued Tuesday, June 7, through Inuwa Bwala, his spokesperson, said: “Our attention has been drawn to the activities at the National secretariat of the PDP to the effect that some individuals masquerading as leaders have handed over to Ahmed Mohammed Makarki under a contraption called “caretaker committee.” We state as a matter of fact that going by proceedings still pending in the courts to the effect that Senator Ali Sheriff remains the national chairman, whatever transpired was null, void and of no effect whatsoever.

“Sheriff has not mandated anybody, nor was his authority obtained by Uche Secondus, who has been parading himself as acting on behalf of the national chairman. While we await the verdicts of the courts, we wish to state that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is and remains the national chairman of the party, until otherwise declared by the courts.

“We allowed the charade to go on at the secretariat without any form of challenge in strict obedience to careful pronouncement on the matter, but we must also state that there is no gathering of groups or individuals, however powerful, such groups or individuals may be, that can be said to take precedence over the law. For the avoidance of doubts, we state categorically that what took place at the PDP secretariat on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, was a total disregard to court orders and an extension of the impunity for which the party has been accused of and which has taken the party to where it is today. The public should disregard all the actions and pronouncements,” Bwala said.

With the lingering crisis in the major opposition party in the country persisting, political watchers believe that it might affect the party’s performance in the forthcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States. Even the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said the party might not participate in the elections if it fails to resolve the crisis before the time fixed for party nominations expires.

Nick Dazang, deputy director, public affairs, INEC, said the commission is yet to take a position on the leadership crisis rocking the PDP. Dazang, who disclosed this on ‘Political Platform,’ a programme on Ray Power FM Radio Station, on Thursday, June 2, said the commission’s delegation that monitored the party’s recent national convention had submitted its report but it was yet to decide on it.

“The PDP, as we have said is in a state of flux. In spite of what happened in Port Harcourt, the Commission was there because it was invited and by law we are supposed to be invited 21 days to a convention or congress. We sent a high powered team led by a national commissioner to monitor the convention. They have submitted their report as at now but the Commission is yet to take a position in terms of who is supposed to be the chairman of the party.”

Dazang said the PDP risked not participating in the Edo State governorship election if the leadership crisis was not resolved soon.  “I expect that a very responsible party, a formidable party for that matter like the PDP will put its acts together in time for it particularly to collect the forms for those that will contest the elections in Edo and Ondo and also to conduct the primaries that will lead up to who will now be their standard bearer for Edo governorship election to be conducted on Saturday, September 10. The primaries are supposed to take place between June 2, and July 4. So, we expect that between now and then the PDP should be able to resolve some of these issues in the interest of that election,” Dazang said.

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