From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The crises in almost all the registered political parties in Nigeria, clearly indicate the fragile state of the nation’s fledgling democracy. Presently, virtually, in all the political parties, their members, leaders, and chieftains have sunk very deep into a quagmire of violence and endless leadership crises.
From the foremost opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to other viable parties, like the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the story is thesame.
It is even more curiously surprising that the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), which ought to be a model on how to lead by example and how to be an ideal party, is not also insulated from the situation.
What is seemingly visible in the political atmosphere of the country currently is that both the ruling party and the opposition parties are in disarray for understandable reasons. There are ominous signs that the politics, build-up, and networking for the 2027 presidential election have already begun in earnest.
In the PDP, NNPP, and most recently the LP, the leadership crises appear more cataclysmic and pronounced than the cold war in the ruling party, the APC. The apprehension over the simmering rift within the political parties is disturbingly looking insoluble.
One similarity in the crises rocking all the parties seems to revolve around the inability of their leaders, chieftains and members to manage the post-election fallouts and perhaps, execution of a game plan from the opposition to destabilise rival parties.
Among all the opposition parties currently entangled in crises, that of the NNPP seems to be milder in magnitude because the party structure is still firmly under the control of its leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and the governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, presently calling the shot.
After overcoming the shocking suspension clamped on Kwankwaso and some other persons over allegations of anti-party activities, the crisis escalated with a faction of the party accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of fuelling the internal situation through its undue interference and taking sides in its internal leadership crisis.
The party’s factional National Publicity Secretary, Abdulsalam AbdulRazaq, who levelled the accusation, had charged the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to fish out certain colluding staff and ensure punishment was served.
Speaking on the roles INEC was expected to play in the crisis, the factional leader noted in a statement that; “on the part of INEC as a regulator, it shall be an oversight function to deploy alternative dispute resolution, especially, when the matter is brought before it formally.
“Instead of that, INEC is found attending and observing an illegal convention of the expelled members. INEC again should have the courage to respond to the letter of the founder and members of the board to facilitate and order the board to take responsibility in resolving the internal crisis.
“And for the avoidance of doubts, it is on record that Kwankwaso and his splinter group and INEC were duly served with court notices against the illegal convention yet it held and INEC erroneously attended. However, we are meant to understand that most times, the chairman of INEC may be shielded from facts of issues and sectional heads tend to do things on their own, without the knowledge of the chairman.
“We shall, therefore, advise INEC chairman to step up his supervisory role in the management and administration of the commission’s statutory responsibilities and know when to evoke his residual powers to act.”
In PDP, there has been a straight war of attrition between its 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, contesting fiercely over who controls the structure of the party at the national level.
Solidly backed by his exalted position as the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wike has stopped at nothing in fighting to take charge of the structure of the entire national leadership of the party.
He has not only manipulated the structure to his advantage but has also consolidated in stamping out and even relegating his political rival, Atiku, to an inconsequential level and almost completely out of relevance, obviously as a payback to the venomous treatment meted to him during and after the party’s presidential primary election.
Expectedly, Atiku, as a strategic politician, in retaliation, did not fold his hands, watching Wike’s political force crush him, as he tried stringently to remain afloat and dictate, to an extent, the shots in the party.
In the push and pull, several resolution mechanisms were deployed, including attempts to change the national leadership, particularly the acting national chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum, perceived to be loyal to one of the gladiators, and reconstitute Board of Trustees (BoT), among many others without any solution still at sight yet.
The crisis has equally polarised sharply, the party’s major stakeholders like the governors, former and serving National Assembly caucus members, elected and appointed members, party leaders, and members, aligning and realigning along either Wike or Atiku factions to hold the party at a jugular.
At the peak of the factional battle to control the sole of the opposition party, there has been loss of its chieftains and a failed attempt to organise a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting a few months ago where the governors allegedly plotted a palace coup to wrest the structure from both of them.
Appraising the delicate situation in the party, former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, blamed the crisis on the activities of moles planted by the enemies of the party to destroy it, claiming that; “there are many moles and betrayers planted to kill the party. What PDP wants now is proper leadership and once we have the right leaders, the party will rise again.”
Reflecting further on the future of PDP, Suswam recalled that the party, which was in power for 16 years, derailed when some people began to assume the place of untouchable ‘lords.’
“Such arrogance affected the psyche of Nigerians that resisted the arrogance and looked for alternatives. They were not happy and internal crises set in within the party and that is how the PDP lost out. I know the party in and out; I know the characters. I also believe that PDP needs somebody who can interact with all the major stakeholders.
“Getting them to discuss requires someone they can trust. I am close to the key leaders like Atiku and Wike, so it won’t be difficult for me to bring them together to a roundtable. I have my plans on how to bring everyone on board. Once we can iron out the issues, PDP will be back on track,” Suswam, who aspired for PDP chairmanship, said.
But, if there was any light at the dark end of the tunnel for restoration of peace in PDP, the recent outburst by its former Deputy National Chairman, Bode George, that Atiku should not think of contesting the 2027 presidential election primary against southerners, has worsened and complicated the situation.
While emphasising that a Southerner must occupy the office from 2023 to 2031; “because that is the reality of our country, PDP constitution, and our polity”, he argued that; “even in 2027, Atiku will be 81 years and this is the time for him to embrace President Joe Biden’s concept of allowing the younger generation to run for the highest office in the land.
He added: “I have nothing personal against Abubakar. He is my friend but the truth must be told. By 2027, I will also be in my 80s. So, what am I looking for in public office as an octogenarian? The same principle should apply to Atiku. We all saw what Biden did stepping down for Kamala Harris to contest the November US presidential election.
“That is the hallmark of a statesman. Atiku should do the same so that in 2027, the PDP will field a Southerner as a presidential candidate. This is the right and logical thing to do in the present political circumstances. But, if he is desperate to contest again, I will advise him as a friend, a party man, and a brother to wait till 2031. By then, he will be 85 years old. As loyal party members, we must continue to respect the PDP Constitution. Fair is fair.
“We should not do anything that will destroy our party and the country. In 2027, the concept of turn-by-turn Nigeria Limited must be strictly followed by our party. PDP must look for a southerner to wrest power from the APC because that party of strange bedfellows wants to destroy this country, economically and politically.”
To confirm that there is still a long walk to peace and freedom in PDP despite the conduct of nationwide congresses last weekend, Wike’s acerbic threat at the elective Congress venue in Rivers to ignite a political crisis in the state if any governor interferes in the affairs of the party bore eloquent testimony.
Hear him; “Let me assure all of you, not while we live will anybody take away the structure of PDP from us. But let me tell people, I hear some governors who say they will take over the structure and give it back to somebody; I pity those governors because I will put fire in their states. When God has given you peace, you say you don’t want peace – anything you see you take.”
Although the successful ward to the State elective congresses across the country has been relatively peaceful and devoid of litigations yet, there are palpable anxieties already that the main battle would be fought, won, and lost during the yet-to-be-dated elective national convention if it finally holds.
Interestingly, the scale of the disturbing leadership crisis in the LP, which escalated most recently, especially with the involvement and ferocious attacks from the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), may dwarf the crisis rocking the PDP.
In the consideration of many political watchers, it has been an unending crisis in LP with either the members of the national leadership, particularly the national chairman, Julius Abure, and former national treasurer, Oluchi Opara, trading blames over allegations of fraudulent financial embezzlement or Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, engaging in a crossfire with the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) on the legitimacy of the national leadership.
According to many pundits, the crisis in LP may look multifaceted but, it is basically the hands of Esau and the voice of Jacob from elements determined to actualise one single mission of frustrating and thwarting every possibility of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, having any viable platform to contest the 2027 presidential election.
“There may have been some genuine issues of concern strong enough to fuel the leadership crisis in LP. However, there were also some areas in which Abure may have failed woefully. I want to admit that the areas of failure are not mundane issues that cannot be easily resolved using internal resolution mechanisms.
“Did it surprise you that the party members and chieftains fighting Abure now are the same people that stood behind him while the litigation with Lamidi Apapa lasted in the law court? If you ask me, I can see the hands of Easu and the voice of Jacob in the crisis rocking the LP and the target of those fuelling this persistent crisis in LP is the presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
“I feel that they want to frustrate him and ensure that he did not see any viable platform to challenge the incumbent President, Bola Tinubu, in the 2027 presidential election. Their main mission is to discredit Obi as an incompetent leader who is incapable of managing the crisis in his party angling to manage the more complex crisis in the country,” a political leader, who spoke to Daily Sun in confidence, opined.º
Expectedly, in his witty response to the LP crisis, Obi had dismissed and described it as a child’s play compared to the degree of leadership crisis in both the APC and the PDP, expressing confidence that it will be resolved amicably.
“What is happening in LP is child’s play compared to what is going on in APC and PDP,” Obi said while assessing the situation previously.
And speaking recently in support of the meeting convened by the governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, through his campaign publicist, Yunusa Tanko, he still expressed conviction of a possible solution. “For a long period, we have been seeking solutions to our internal problems. My principal has also waded into discussion with the LP, the TUC, and the NLC, all in an attempt to find a solution to the crisis.
“The issue is about finding a solution to the problem. We need everybody on ground. Nobody should feel superior to others. We need to look at ourselves and start telling the bitter truth with the ultimate aim of finding a solution to the matter. It is in the interest of everybody. As stakeholders, we are summoned to state our cases openly. That is a solution-driven idea. But once you say you are not attending, it means that you are not out for solutions. So, we advise everybody to attend and seek the way forward,” he advised.
However, the anxieties building up to the proposed National Executive Committee (NEC) and Caucus meeting of the APC this month, might be a confirmation that the leadership crisis in LP and PDP may, after all, be a child’s play to the uncertainties in APC ahead of the meeting.
The future of APC national chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has been a subject of intense speculation, with many claiming that he might be sacked this year after the meeting even though the convention will not be elective.
Confirming the apprehension of stakeholders over Ganduje’s future, national secretary, Ajibola Basiru, had dismissed the sack speculations, stressing that none of the meetings is scheduled for regime change in the party.
“None of these activities of the party is elective meeting. The National Caucus is established under Article 11 of the Constitution of our party as well as the NEC. They are part of routine meeting that our party should be having on a regular basis.
“But people like to twist events. Immediately we put up notice when the President confirmed his availability, we read in the papers that the meetings (Caucus & NEC) are about changing the leadership of our party,” he explained recently at the party’s headquarters.
He added: “None of these meetings are scheduled for a regime change at the party. The meeting is held to give stewardship of what has been done by the Ganduje-led leadership in terms of also presenting our audit report to show what we have been doing and the way forward. This is very important to put in the public domain. We also thank President Bola Tinubu for the confidence reposed in us to continue to be a party of choice.”
But, beyond the rhetoric, what is certain is that the parties will continue to be in an intricate web of crises the way they are structured. In the perception of an APC leader, “Wike’s refusal to leave the PDP will continue to give strategic advantage to the APC and President Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election.”
He said: “As long as Wike remains in the PDP and serves the APC government, there will not be peace there. He will do everything possible to ensure that PDP will not produce a strong candidate to challenge Tinubu’s re-election. It is a mission he has resolved to accomplish.”
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