Kogi PDP, a house divided against itself

The Kogi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is still smarting from its loss in the November 16, 2019 governorship election in the state, even as the party appears to be divided against itself, writes YEKINI JIMOH.

 

Months after the governorship election in Kogi State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state is still sulking. Today some aggrieved members of the party, who felt they lost the election to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a result of selfish interest, are pointing fingers at one another.

The problem of the party started after the governorship primary of the party, which took place at Confluence Stadium, Lokoja. Some gunmen invaded the venue and disrupted the primary election when the counting of ballot papers was going. As a result of the attack, the counting was suspended by the electoral committee. It was however continued the following day at a place where members of the electoral committee were lodged.

At the end of the exercise, Musa Wada was declared winner of the primary. However, the first runner up, Alhaji Abubakar Idris, the son of a former governor of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, claimed that he was the winner and he took the party to court to claim his alleged stolen mandate.

Former Governor Idris never participated in any of the PDP campaigns for the governorship election as he rather avoided the party by traveling out of the country. Also his son, Abubakar who came second during the party primary, also abandoned the Wada campaign train as he did not participate in all activities of the party before, during and after the election.

Given what transpired in the build-up to the election, some PDP members in the state have blamed former Governor Idris for the failure of the party during the election. In fact, the elders of the party called for the immediate expulsion of Idris and his son, Abubakar, accusing the duo of anti-party activities. The Kogi PDP elders, under the umbrella of Kogi PDP Elders Forum, in a statement released by its leader, Ibrahim Dansofo, said: “The former governor did not only work against the party’s victory in the November 2019 governorship election in the state but is still using his son to frustrate the party from pursuing its case in the ongoing Election Petition Tribunal.”

The party elders also requested that the former governor be barred from attending the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Council (NEC) meetings on behalf of the state chapter of the party.

However, a youth group within the party, “Abubakar Mohammed Ibrahim Idris for Kogi Governor” in Omala, warned what it described as a faceless organisation known as Elders of Kogi to desist from proposing the expulsion of former Governor Idris and his son, Abubakar,  from the PDP.

The group, in a statement by the spokesman, Okolo Johnson, said it was painful that Abubakar was coasting home to victory during the PDP governorship primary but was robbed by Musa Wada who he described as an ill-prepared politician.

Johnson said the desired of the Elders of Kogi in seeking for the expulsion of Idris and his son from Kogi PDP was uncalled for. He challenged the party elders to show evidence where the two were involved in anti-party activities during the election to justify their allegations.

The spokesman of the pro-Abubakar Idris group also wondered why the former governor and his son should be blamed for the defection of some notable chieftains from Kogi West senatorial district. “The former acting governor of the state, Clarence Olafemi, a federal lawmaker, Sunday Karimi and Eric Fiki, are political juggernauts that know what they want and are entitled to their political inclinations. How is that the decision of the former governor and his son?” he queried.

Johnson opined that rather than seek to persuade and pacify the man who had been the sole sponsor of PDP in Kogi in the last four years, some members of the party had resorted to needless mission that would not stand the test of time. He warned on the consequences of allowing those he described as dissidents to infiltrate the party for the sake of some self-seeking individuals whose intention, he said, was to use Kogi PDP as an avenue to get over their precarious condition.

Supporting the pro-Abubakar Idris group, the PDP chairman in the state, Sam Uhuotu, said he does not know the people seeking did the expulsion of Idris and his son from the party. According to him, the Kogi Elders did not speak for the party.

“They don’t have any right to issue such statement. How can they say the man and his son should be suspended from the party; a former governor of the state? They are speaking to the air,” Uhuotu said. He added that no idea was muted in the party to suspend Idris and his son from Kogi PDP.

In the same vein, the state publicity secretary of the party, Prince Nice Ogunmola, said there was no group as the Kogi Elders in the PDP in the state. “Honestly we don’t know them. Such group does not exist in our party. So, as of today, the party is one and still very strong and intact,” he said.

Another PDP member from Kogi West, Toba Abraham, said he was not aware of any offence committed by former Governor Ibrahim Idris and his son, Abubakar, that should warrant some people calling for their expulsion from the party.

“The Nigerian Constitution gives room for any aggrieved person to seek redress in the court. To me, I don’t think Alhaji Ibrahim Idris and his son have done what is not expected. Those who are calling for their expulsion from the party, who are they and what is their contribution to the party? These are the enemies within the party who are bent in killing the PDP in Kogi State,” he alleged.

The former governor and his son also countered the clamour for their expulsion from Kogi PDP. A statement by the Abubakar Ibrahim Media Team, said: “The Nigerian media has been awash with an advocacy for the suspension from the PDP of a former Kogi State governor Alhaji Ibrahim Idris and his son Abubakar. One Ibrahim Dansofo is reported to have signed a statement on behalf of Kogi PDP Elders Forum on the matter. Dansofo also called for the ban of the former governor from the BoT and NEC of the party. Dansofo’s charge of anti-party activities against the duo is an attempt to call dog a bad name in order to make it fit for the slaughter. Since joining the party about two decades ago, neither of them has engaged in activities inimical to its interests. The case of Dansofo, as evidenced in support of his allegation, is in fact a move to strengthen internal democracy in our great party. Abubakar remains a loyal member of the party and he owes nobody any explanation over his commitment.

“The events of September 3, 2019 are well known to the public. Suffice to mention here that Abubakar felt cheated by the outcome of the primary and he took the legal option to seek redress in the courts. This is the same way people who felt cheated in the outcome of the November 16 governorship election approached the tribunal for redress. What is sauce for the goose should be for the gander. If going to the tribunal by an aggrieved candidate is not wrong, then certainly going to the regular courts by an aggrieved aspirant cannot be wrong.

“Our party is guided by the rule of law. Neither the former governor nor his son has acted outside that principle. Those who seek to curtail the right of others and get electoral victory by subterfuge are the ones deserving of expulsion. Dansofo and his group are the enemies of democracy that should leave the PDP before they poison our great party with their corrosions.”