Few days to the conduct of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) August 31, 2013 Special National Convention to fill the 20 vacant positions in the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), there are strong indications that most of the former occupants may not return to their seats as the positions are now open to all willing aspirants who are members of the party.
Some of the former occupants are Deputy National Chairman Dr Sam Sam Jaja, National Secretary Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Deputy National Secretary Solomon Onwe, National Legal Adviser Barr.Victor Kwon, National Publicity Secretary Chief Olisa Metuh, National Organising Secretary Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, National Youth Leader Alh. Garba Umaru Chiza, National Woman Leader Mrs Kema Chikwe, National Auditor Bode Mustapha, and National Treasurer Bala Bawa Kao’je among others.
Not less than 84 aspirants have picked forms to contest the vacant 20 positions in PDP National Executive Committee (NEC).
As an indication that most of the former occupants, who were said to have been told by President Goodluck Jonathan that they would return, may not be considered as consensus candidates, Prince Uche Secondus; an ally of Jonathan, Senator Stella Omu are among the five aspirants that will challenge the immediate past Deputy National Chairman, Sam Sam Jaja for the office of Deputy National Chairman.
Contestants for the controversial office of National Secretary are the former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, former Ondo State governorship aspirant, Olusola Oke, the former Minister of Information, Chief Dapo Sarumi and former Minister of Education, Professor Tunde Adeniran.
The immediate past National Organising Secretary, Mustapha Abubakar will face Sidi Ibrahim Bamali for the same post.
The immediate past National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh will be challenged by Chyna Iwuanyanwu, Anyanwu Longers and two other aspirants for the position of National Publicity Secretary.
The erstwhile National Woman Leader, Kema Chikwe will face 10 other aspirants gunning for the post.
Alhaji Garba Umar Chiza from Niger State, who is more than 60 years, is now being challenged by four contestants for the office of National Youth Leader.
All the positions became vacant after compulsory registrations of the former occupants, following a report of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the conduct of the party’s convention of March 24, 2012 which said that the election of the party officers was fraught with irregularities.
The report only cleared four positions: National Chairman occupied by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, National Secretary, formerly under the control of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, National Financial Secretary, Bolaji Anani and National Auditor formerly occupied by Chief Bode Mustapha before he was replaced by Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju, after the court ruled on Ogun State PDP leadership tussle.
Three PDP members, Abba Yale, Alh. Yahaya Sule and Bashir Maigudu went to court to regularize this anomaly before they eventually withdrew their suit at an Abuja High Court presided over by Justice Suleiman Belgore which vacated its earlier order stopping the party’s Special National Convention to elect new members into its NWC.
In view of this development which was said to have been occasioned by the 2015 political intrigues, the penultimate NEC meeting of the PDP accepted the resignations of the affected NWC members and constituted interim party officers for the positions, pending the conduct of the convention on August 31, 2013 - a date which was fixed after the earlier date of July 20 was seen as inappropriate as a result of its negative political implication.
Among the interim leaders, whose appointment is controversial is Dr Remi Akintoye, who was appointed as Acting National Secretary, to replace Prince Oyinlola whose position was not affected by the INEC report.
Oyinlola is still before an Osun High Court being presided over by Justice Isiaka O. Adeleke, claiming in his application that his removal through the verdict of Justice Abdul Kafarati of an Abuja High Court on January 13, 2013 is now being challenged before Court of Appeal and hearing in the suit, according to his counsel, Realwan Okpanachi is due to commence by September this year.
Meanwhile, an aspirant for the position of PDP National Publicity Secretary Chyna Iwuanyanwu has underscored the need for the Convention Planning Committee for August 31, 2013 Special National Convention to conduct credible election to avoid another annulment.
Iwuanyanwu, in an interview yesterday in Abuja, voiced optimism that he would emerge victorious at the convention having consulted necessary stakeholders throughout the country and being the only professional vying for the position.
He said, “Any moment from now National Delegates of the PDP will be converging in Abuja, specifically on the 31st of August for the Special National Convention to fill the vacancies in the NEC that was voided by INEC.
“And as you know, I’m in the race for the position of National Publicity Secretary again as I was last year. This time around I have doubled my efforts; meeting the critical stakeholders in the party- Governors, Ministers, the Presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives, party Chairmen, members of the Board of Trustees (BoT). I have done my best in reaching out and I’m very confident that if there is a level playing ground, I will emerge the National Publicity Secretary of PDP.
“Politics is about interests. We have emphasized that democracy must be allowed to prevail in PDP. That is the only way to avoid contentions. And I pray that we do it right this time around. We are too close to the all-important 2015 election to make any mistakes. And only the best is good enough.
“As I clearly told the National Delegates, I’m the only professional in this contest for National Publicity Secretary. The legal adviser of PDP is a lawyer. I can’t see any justification where a carpenter or bricklayer should be the National Publicity Secretary. And I can tell you that with 30 years’ experience in the media’s advertising and public relations, I stand a good chance of rebranding and repositioning the party.
“So much of good politics is effective communication. My party has suffered in terms of bad image in recent times. And it is my intention to re-invent the PDP and overhaul the information machinery so that we will be more pro-active in educating and enlightening Nigerians on the activities of government. We have bad images. We need to respond. We need not do this by degenerating to blackmail and propaganda, but by placing issues in public domain promptly”.
On the issue of zoning, the former chairmanship aspirant in 2008 recalled that the NWC of the PDP zoned this position to the South-East, stressing that “There is no reason why the zonal caucus or local government caucus should hijack national offices. That led to the imposition that led to the annulment”.
He, however, said that “This time around and with the kind of people we have in the Convention Planning Committee, I believe that we are going to do it right in the interest of the party, democracy and the country”.
In a related development, the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has ruled out the possibility of PDP’s support for unpopular candidates in elections.
One of Tukur’s confidants, Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, who spoke with Sunday Trust yesterday in Abuja on some of the key issues that arose from the breakfast meeting PDP National Chairman had with them last Friday at his residence, said Tukur-led NWC was planning to begin to consolidate its agenda, especially the current reconciliation drive.
Gara-Gombe, who coordinated his 2012 election campaign, said Tukur was reaching out to all the aggrieved members, stressing that “I can tell you that he is reaching out because our basic duty is to build bridges for him and not to make enemies for him. As such, all of us around him must do that”.
While advising those calling for his removal to have a rethink, he said the PDP National Chairman would establish a dedicated communication line to receive complaints from party members who felt that they were unduly denied the party ticket at any election.
He said, “Following the NEC meeting of the PDP, it is obvious that Bamanga Tukur’s leadership of the party is going to begin to consolidate its position. And in doing that, the agenda of reconciliation is good and it will continue.
“More importantly, he (Tukur) made very clear to me and others around him on Friday morning that the era of substituting candidates who clearly win election in PDP is over.
“I will like to add that Bamanga Tukur also made it very clear to us on Friday morning that any party member who wants to be supported by the party, who thinks he is popular, should go and get support from his constituency. That is the only guarantee for support from the party for any aspirant.
“Bamanga Tukur told us that in a situation people will go to their constituencies, lose elections because they are unpopular and come to Abuja to substitute names will be done when he is not alive”.
He added, “Very soon, Bamanga Tukur will establish a dedicated communication line where any member of the party who has a genuine and verifiable case of being denied victory in any election at any level of the party that he clearly wins, can reach him directly. He said it is a personal challenge. He said if that is the only thing he can achieve in the party, he will be a fulfilled man.
“He is calling on all party members to remain loyal to the party and use the party machinery for settling all disputes, advising that the court of law should be used as last resort”.
Sunday trust
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