Wars on all sides: Story of PDP multi-level crises
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party is showing no sign of abating. Ahead of the 2027 election, the PDP will have itself to blame if party leaders currently engulfed in a battle of supremacy, fail to give peace a chance. DIRISU YAKUBU reports
Ever since it lost power at the centre in 2015, the Peoples Democratic Party has been struggling to regain the fame that once made it arguably the biggest political party in Africa. Shackled by the chains of its forging, the once-dominant party’s fortunes are at an all-time low, even as some political pundits now see the Labour Party as a more potent opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress than the PDP.
Left with 13 states after the 2023 general election, the PDP in the 2024 off-season election, lost Edo to the APC and failed to wrest Ondo from the APC, despite the crisis occasioned in the party following the death of former Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.
Earlier in the week, a former PDP member and erstwhile Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, had this to say about the once-dominant political platform which held sway at the centre from 1999 to 2015: “There are internal mercenaries in the PDP, hired and motivated to destroy the party.”
He then called on the opposition, with PDP in the forefront, to bury its differences and forge a common front to ward off the possible return of the military in the political governance of the country.
“We have to put aside our differences and create a broad platform that will do the driving of the military again, because we are almost there again,” he added.
Considering the crisis in the PDP Rivers State chapter featuring Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on the one hand and the chaos in the NWC on the other, it is difficult, if not impossible, to fault the position of El-Rufai.
Only recently, PDP’s biggest financier in recent times, Wike, slammed the Bauchi State Governor, Mr Bala Mohammed, for his opposition to Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee of the party and the four tax bills transmitted to the National Assembly for consideration and passage by President Bola Tinubu.
Wike, who remains a critical stakeholder in the PDP despite accepting to serve in the APC-led government, is believed by many as the reason the moves to replace the party’s acting National Chairman, Damagum, have become a mere dream.
The minister’s decision to publicly reprimand Governor Mohammed over the tax bills and ignore the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, was both political and personal. Being members of the same PDP, analysts argue that Wike could have privately engaged with Bala, rather than taking him to the cleaners in a statement issued by his media adviser, Mr Lere Olayinka.
In return, the Bauchi State governor described Wike as “A transactional politician whose habitual betrayal of his past benefactors is well documented,” stressing that “While Wike accuses others of insincerity, he has seamlessly transitioned from being a self-proclaimed PDP stalwart to an ardent supporter of the APC government. He now advocates the re-election of the same APC administration in 2027, all while continuing to claim membership in the PDP. This chameleonic behaviour raises serious questions about Wike’s credibility and moral compass.
“Nigerians are not deceived by Wike’s antics. They see a man willing to undermine his party for personal gain, a man whose loyalty shifts as quickly as his alliances. By contrast, Senator Bala Mohammed’s opposition to the tax reform bills reflects a principled stand aimed at ensuring inclusive governance and accountability. His constructive interventions have already led to significant adjustments in the reform process, underscoring the importance of meaningful dialogue over hollow rhetoric.”
Wike’s attack on Bala Mohammed, if not resolved, will only make the PDP weaker as skeletal preparations for the 2027 election cycle begin next year.
The dust raised by the Wike-Bala rift was yet to settle when, on Wednesday, another ugly incident played out at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja, the nation’s seat of power.
At the gathering of the party’s Board of Trustees members, two party chieftains, both laying claims to the national secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye, took their seats, an indication that upheaval was in the offing.
Although, Ude-Okoye, a former National Youth Leader of the party, did not have the privilege of sitting closer to Damagum in the order of ranking of the National Working Committee members; his presence alone fuelled the wrath of Anyanwu’s loyalists who wasted no time to push him out of the NEC hall, venue of the BoT meeting.
Ude-Okoye, who ran out of the secretariat, could be heard instructing young men dressed in black apparel to make their way into the BoT meeting; a wish that failed to materialise, following the quick intervention of security agents who were on hand to maintain law and order.
The trouble with the exalted seat of the PDP National Secretary started when Anyanwu while serving in the office, declared his intention to vie for the Imo State governorship ticket on the platform of the party.
While the declaration was a constitutional entitlement, Anyanwu failed to resign his position, thus triggering litigations from opposing camps within the party.
A lawsuit was subsequently filed, challenging Anyanwu’s continuous claim to the office of the National Secretary, having left to contest the governorship election which he lost to Governor Hope Uzodimma.
The Enugu High Court ruled in favour of this argument, declaring the office vacant and recognising Ude-Okoye as the substantive National Secretary.
Not one to quit without fighting, Anyanwu ran to the Court of Appeal, arguing that holding a PDP governorship ticket was not enough to make him lose his position as a member of the party’s NWC.
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In its ruling, Justice Ridwan Abdullahi of the Appellate Court upheld the High Court’s decision affirming Okoye’s position and describing Anyanwu’s appeal as lacking merit.
As argued by Damagum, the crisis threatening the PDP today is perhaps the creation of its members; men and to a lesser extent, women who rode on its wings to power in the good days of yore.
Addressing the BoT members at the meeting, Damagum warned party leaders of the dangers of prioritising individual ambitions against those of the collective interest of the PDP, reminding them not to forget that only the party has what it takes to bail Nigerians out of the economic hardship brought on them by the President Bola Tinubu-led government.
Damagum said, “There is a crisis within the NWC. It is normal. Unfortunately, I want to say this with a high sense of responsibility. Most of these crises that you see today within the NWC are propelled by our leaders who are supposed to unite us.
“It is very unfortunate. I will say it the way it is. We all know the workings of the NWC. Some of you here have been members of the NWC. I’m sitting down here as the chairman only to see my members called by certain leaders to visit certain places without even my knowledge.
“I want to use this opportunity to caution us and our leaders. You may have ambition but you don’t ride on a dead horse to reach your destination. If you create a crisis simply to further your ambition, you may get what you want but your dream will not be realised because you have injured the horse you are going to ride to your destination.”
To drive home his argument, Damagum urged the BoT members to carry out a self-introspection, noting that some of them also share in the blame.
“As the conscience of this party, some of us are also complicit. We should look inward, and search our conscience. This party is dear to all of us. It is the only thing we have.
“The hope of Nigerians today is in this party. So, we should sheathe our swords and work towards uniting ourselves so that they (Nigerians) would have a credible vehicle that can challenge what is bedevilling us,” he added.
Speaking on the National Executive Committee meeting which has not been held in the past few years, Damagum assured the party faithful of his commitment to ensuring that the highest decision-making body of the party is held in February 2025.
“The last meeting we had with the governors, we all agreed that we would have the NEC (meeting). I want to assure you that we will do everything possible to have the NEC this February.
“You are all aware that we have started the process of zonal congresses. Even at that, I enjoin our leaders to also be mindful of doing anything that can mar these congresses. It is very important to sound this note.
“We have had congresses in almost 28 or 29 states. We have problems in a few states. I think we are getting there,” he further said.
On his part, the BoT Chairman, Adolphus Wabara, expressed disappointment at the rift within the NWC, stressing that the meeting of the PDP advisory body came “at a time when the unity, focus, direction and ideals of our great party are being tested in ways that call for reflection and decisive action.”
Speaking shortly after Damugum, Wabara said, “Let me express my profound disappointment over the crises currently rocking the leadership of the NWC. As elder statesmen and women; leaders who hold the trust of the generality of our party members and the public, it is disheartening that these issues have not been resolved.
“The failure to resolve these internal conflicts undermines the strength and credibility of our party. It is, therefore, imperative that the NWC rises above personal interests and places the survival and progress of our great party above all other considerations.”
He advised the NWC to ensure that the NEC meeting is held in February, stressing that “party members across the country are in earnest expectation.”
The former Senate President urged party members not to forget that Nigerians want to see the PDP strengthened ahead of the next election cycle.
“Nigerians are looking to us as a beacon of hope, and we cannot afford to let them down. We must rebuild trust and offer a credible alternative that prioritises the welfare of the people,” he added.
As party faithful await the NEC meeting slated for February, the leadership of the party will do itself a world of good by declaring early enough its position on where its presidential ticket is headed in the 2027 election. Such a declaration would avert the crisis which played a key role in the electoral shellacking the PDP got in 2023 when chieftains like Wike, Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Seyi Makinde and Okezie Ikpeazu worked against the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Until the party takes a definite position on whether it is going South or North in its search for a presidential candidate in 2027; the PDP might be on its way to political Golgotha.
