In view of its criticisms against the All Progressives Congress-led government in Edo State, the Peoples Democratic Party had in the last seven and a half years demonstrated to many that it was the loudest voice in the opposition. In addition to its anti-government positions on policies affecting the average Edo citizen, the PDP had also ensured that it didn’t keep quiet even in matters involving the internal workings of the APC, as it did in the build-up to the ruling party’s June 18.
Press briefings after press briefings, the Dan Orbih-led state executive council of the major opposition party had professed its readiness to return the state to the PDP fold and provide party’s own alternative to the government of the incumbent Governor Adams Oshiomhole. Therefore, many an Edo citizen expected that the process leading to the emergence of its flag bearer for the September 10 governorship polls would be as clean as a whistle. However, the events that played out during and after its June 20 primary, perhaps, proved otherwise.
The lingering crisis between the Ahmed Makarfi and Ali-Modu Sheriff factions of the PDP at the national level seemed to have been apparently contained in Abuja until it spilled down to the state. But the state chapter, having aligned itself with the Makarfi-led leadership, had vowed to stage the primary without hitches and warned Sheriff to steer clear of Edo, as it would not tolerate any killjoy.
Three aspirants contested the party’s ticket in the primary, which was organised by the Makarfi-led national caretaker committee at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin. They include a former Secretary to the State Government, Osagie Ize-Iyamu; a former Majority Leader in the House of Assembly, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, and the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in the 2012 governorship polls, Solomon Edebiri.
Prior to the primary election, there were mutterings among supporters of Iduoriyekemwen and Edebiri over allegations that the state executive committee had ceded the ticket to Ize-Iyamu and after hours of voting, with 713 accredited delegates, the Ize-Iyamu was declared winner of the exercise. But this did not go down well with the two aggrieved aspirants, who staged a walkout before the chairman of the electoral committee, David Umahi, announced the results. They were later joined by their supporters, who cited irregularities in the recurrence of “Ize-Iyamu” during the counting of votes. The former SSG polled a total of 584 votes (over 80 per cent) to defeat Iduoriyekemwen and Edebiri’s 91 and 38 votes, respectively.
Apparently irked by what he described as a “comedy” which was “clinically manipulated” to favour a preferred candidate of the state leadership of the party, Iduoriyekemwen not only rejected the result but pitched his political tent with the Sheriff faction and vowed to participate in the group’s governorship primary.
He was also joined by the member representing Egor and Ikpoba-Okha constituency in the Federal House of Representatives, Johnson Agbonayima, who purchased the nomination and expression of interest forms of the Sheriff faction. However, many political watchers believed Agbonayima’s action was more of a political backing than a personal interest for governorship ticket, being one of the strongest allies of Iduoriyekemwen.
While announcing his rejection of the June 20 primary election at a press conference in Benin, the former Edo representative in the Niger Delta Development Commission, had said, “Having looked at all the processes, starting from the clinical manipulation and rigging of the primary, I hereby fully dissociate myself from every process that led to that so-called primary which ended on June 20.
“Myself and members of my team across the state reject the outcome and we pledge our loyalty to the authentic leadership of the party headed by His Excellency, Ali Modu Sheriff.”
The aggrieved aspirant had explained that the affirmation of the delegates negated the rules of the party’s constitution on the direct nomination of delegates at the ward level and showed “the manipulation of the state chairman, who was the main actor of the entire process and tried to get the candidates to adopt ad hoc delegates, who were elected in the last state congress, where the chairman and other members of the state executive were elected.”
The crisis took a twist when the pro-Sheriff missile hit the Orbih-led leadership 24 hours later, cancelling the June 20 gubernatorial primary, suspending the state executive committee and replacing same with a caretaker committee chaired by a former state Chairman of the party in Ondo State, Ebenezer Alabi. Sheriff also set up an electoral committee for a fresh primary election.
But the Orbih-led committee kicked and vowed to remain indivisible in spite of the action of the Sheriff group. The State Publicity Secretary of the party, Chris Nehikhare, had told Sunday PUNCH on the telephone that Sheriff had no constitutional right to suspend the leadership of the party in Edo. He also accused the former senator of doing the bidding of the All Progressives Congress to serve as a cog in the wheel of the PDP and ruin its chances in the at the governorship polls.
“He has no right to do what he is doing. But we know he is being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress. The most interesting part of it is that even those he picked as members of his caretaker committee are all flying documents of the illegal kangaroo committee,” Nehikhare had said.
But the ruling party denied any complicity in the crisis rocking the opposition party. The State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Godwin Erhahon, told Sunday PUNCH on Thursday that the statement by the PDP depicted an opposition party that has lost control.
”I am not aware of the APC being responsible for any problem in the PDP. But if the PDP leadership is blaming the APC for what is happening to it, that means it has admitted the fact that it has lost control. If they surrender their leadership to the ruling party, then all of them should better quit politics,” Erhahon said.
However, owing to what it described as anti-party activities, the state executive committee slammed a suspension on Iduoriyekemwen.
In a communiqué issued at the end of its State Working Committee meeting on June 26 it also recommended Agbonayima for disciplinary action by the National Working Committee of party. The SWC had explained that, since the June 20 primary of the PDP, where the former majority leader lost the fight for the party’s candidacy, he had allegedly displayed actions considered as “unacceptable,” “irresponsible” and “selfish.”
It also accused Iduoriyekemwen and Agbonnayima of forming a tag team with the Ali-Modu Sheriff faction, by purchasing “kangaroo” nomination forms for the same governorship ticket, which he (Iduoriyekemwen) two weeks ago.
The communiqué read, “The conduct of Matthew Iduoriyekemwen in associating with Modu Sheriff, with the intention to destabilise the party in the state, amounts to anti-party activity. Consequently, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen is, hereby, suspended from the party for one month, pending further disciplinary action in accordance with Chapter 10 of the Peoples Democratic Party Constitution of 2012 (as amended).
“For also associating with Modu Sheriff, with the intention to destabilise the party in the state, Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayima is, hereby, recommended to be disciplined by the National Caretaker Committee, in accordance with chapter 10 of the party’s constitution.”
In a bid to prevent the Sheriff faction from further wreaking the ship of the Edo State chapter of the party, its Legal Adviser, Professor Edoba Omoregie, filed a suit at a Federal High Court sitting in Benin seeking an order to restrain Sheriff and his committee from conducting a separate primary election in the state. The party, in suit number FHC/B/CS/109/2016 and fixed for July 1, also sought to restrain the Iduoriyekemwen, Agbonayima and the Independent National Electoral Commission from participating in the exercise.
But the apparent legal threat did not stop the Sheriff electoral committee from carrying out the bidding of its principal. Although the committee, led by a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, had arrived four days to the proposed primary, it did not show up at the state secretariat of the National Youth Council on Akpakpava road, where it had scheduled a pre-primary press briefing, due to what many believed to security reasons.
The pro-Sheriff primary election, however, held last Wednesday under tight security at the volleyball court of Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, with Iduoriyekemwen emerging as PDP governorship candidate.
But analysts have expressed concern that the division within the ranks of the PDP portends danger for not only the party in the September 10 poll but also for the survival of democracy.
A public affairs analyst, Mr. David Ugolor, said that the PDP may be losing its role as the major opposition voice in the state, a challenge he said should be surmounted before voters go to the polls.
Ugolor said, “It is unfortunate that the PDP has ceased to take advantage of the opportunity to play the leading opposition role. It is not what the APC should celebrate because it portends danger for this country.
“I think if they don’t want Nigeria to ignore them completely, the pocket of leadership that is remaining in the party will have to act quickly to redeem their image. Otherwise, I see the party imploding and that will be a disaster for democracy in Nigeria.”
For the President of the Conference of Non-governmental Organisations in Edo State, Jude Obasanmi, the electorate must see the goings-on in the PDP as an eye opener and an opportunity to make informed choices during the election.
Obasanmi said, “I strongly believe that the decision of somebody, who contested an election before and lost and went ahead to align with another faction to contest the same position for him to emerge as the candidate, shows to a large extent that he has a selfish agenda.
“It is also a lesson for some citizens who patronise politicians, seeing them as fathers and brothers and respecting them. But their (actions) do not show that they are credible and should be trusted.”
No comments:
Post a Comment