NEC: The clouds over PDP

The much anticipated meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) takes place Thursday amid anxiety over the tussle for its control. Abuja Bureau Chief, LEON USIGBE, looks at the clouds enveloping the main opposition party heading into this crucial session.

Two tendencies are fighting for the soul of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). One wants to pull the main opposition party to coziness towards President Bola Tinubu and his ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but the other wants to keep its distance from the government to maintain its main opposition role.

There is a looming crisis. But who will prevail? The answer may be provided at the end of Thursday’s meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC).

The NEC supervises the work of the party and all its organs and ensures that all function democratically and effectively. But the body is essentially now divided along these two tendencies that have become more desperate in recent times because of the impending pivotal meeting.

Former Rivers State governor and minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike leads the group that wants the PDP closely aligned with the government. As a member of the APC administration that also insists on his membership of the main opposition party, he has already instructed 25 members of the Rivers State house of assembly who were elected under the platform of the PDP to defect to the APC, handing the APC the overwhelming majority in the legislature.

The elected governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara however, remains in the PDP but now under the constant threat of impeachment by the new APC legislators. This sends chills unto the spine of core PDP stakeholders.

The National Working Committee (NWC) is said to be loyal to Wike who is believed to have propped up the party’s acting national chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagun, over the past 13 months since the last assembly under the previous national chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu. Allegations of being more interested in pecuniary interests rather than the party’s have dogged the NWC members.

The Damagun-led NWC was accused of failing to convey a NEC meeting despite the PDP constitutional mandate stipulating in section 31(4) that “The National Executive Committee shall meet at least once in every quarter at the instance of the National Chairman or at the request of two-third of its membership…,” ostensibly, to keep the PDP under the control of the group.

It took the pressure from a former Ogun State gubernatorial aspirant, Segun Sowunmi, who, spurred by the egregious hiatus, sought legal recourse to compel the national leadership to convene the meeting.

Having succumbed to the pressure to convene the NEC, the Wike group wants Damagun to continue in office, a move which its opponents say, flies in the face of the PDP constitution. This move has the backing of the PDP Governors Forum chairman and governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed and his Taraba State counterpart, Kefas Agbu, both of whom hail from Damagun’s north-east geo-political zone.

Damagun was the deputy national chairman (north) and in line with the prescription of the PDP constitution, he was elevated to the post of the acting national chairman upon the forced resignation of Dr. Ayu, who is from the north central.

Chapter 6 section 45(1) of the constitution, which addresses the issue of resignation or removal of national officers, states that if a national officer of the party is removed or resigns from office, he shall immediately hand over to the national secretary all records, files and other properties of the party in his possession. While section 45(2) states: “In the case of the national chairman, he shall hand over to the deputy national chairman from his own region/part of the country who shall, without prejudice to section 47 (6) of this constitution, act as the national chairman pending the election of a replacement.”

But further to this is section 47(6) which specifically states: “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the party, the executive committee of the appropriate level shall appoint another person from the area or zone where the officer originated from to serve out the tenure of the officer.”   Those who want Damagun to leave office draw their strength from this provision.

This is the tendency led by former vice president Atiku Abubakar who was the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election. The group has vowed to go head to head with Wike in the tussle for the control of the party as it insists that the right thing must be done. The group argues that allowing the main opposition party to fall into the hands of government agents will be the end of true democracy in the country.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State is among the governors working in tandem with this group in the attempt to stop the imposition of Damagun. Wike was said to have been talking with the Mutfwang on the need to support the continuation of the acting national chairman in office until late on Friday night when the FCT minister realized that the only governor from the north central would not allow the post to be ceded to the northeast. This was said to have caused anxiety in the minister’s camp. Mutfwang is insisting that the prescription of the constitution must be followed in order not to create chaos in the party.

There are also concerns in the Wike camp that a major gladiator in the Wike-led G5 may not be comfortable with the idea of retaining Damagun while many other PDP governors are said to be keeping their cards close to their chests and not wanting to expose their strategy until the NEC meeting.

Party sources confirmed that those opposing Wike’s plan are working on the theory that “We cannot give the party to people who are openly hobnobbing with the ruling party hierarchy.” A source told Tribune Politics: “I believe that the stakeholders in the party have also taken cognizance of the fact that the party has found itself at a crossroad, the culture of those who are worshipping both God and mammon at the same time. I believe that working in tandem with them, the objective is to return the party to the vision of the founding fathers of a big umbrella that is big enough to accommodate the complexities, the diversities, the interests of Nigerians and all of that.”

With former presidents of the Senate: David Mark and Bukola Saraki turning down the chance to become the next PDP national chairman, former Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam, who becomes the most prominent politician from the North-Central angling for the plum job, and now trying to rally the zone to assume a consensus position.

A source close to him, affirmed to Tribune Politics that since the constitution is on the side of the region, its political stakeholders must work together to counter whatever the Wike group may present at the NEC meeting that is contrary to the interest of the zone.

Analysts watching the unfolding event in the main opposition party say that to avoid the looming crisis, the PDP should focus on open communication and consensus-building, encourage dialogue between the factions to find common ground and address concerns.

The PDP must emphasise the importance of unity and maintaining the party’s core values while also adapting to changing political landscapes and its leadership should strive for transparency and inclusivity in decision-making processes to ensure all voices are heard and respected.

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