PDP: Changing constitution for a fresh start

After surviving the leadership crisis considered by some as its most challenging battle yet, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has begun a process of re-engineering itself. Deputy Editor, LEON USIGBE, writes on its proposed constitutional amendments intended to give it a new lease of life.

IT is trite to say that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has gone through a torrid time since losing power in 2015.  Beyond the psychological torture of falling from grace to grass, its members have gone through perceived persecution while the party itself has suffered the indignity of being labeled a corrupt platform by its opponents.

But even more threatening was the war of attrition inflicted by the rivalry of the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led defunct National Working Committee (NWC) and the Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC) as they squared up for the soul of PDP with attendant exodus of prominent party members into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in particular. The ensuing titanic litigations between the two have only just been resolved by the Supreme Court to the relief of party faithful. Therefore, the PDP having survived arguably, its worst nightmares, now wants a new identity and focus to shore up its image and fortunes with the 2019 general election in mind.

To achieve this, the Makarfi leadership is embarking on the amendment of the party’s constitution with two broad objectives: to enhance internal democracy in the party and make it less cumbersome for former members to return to its fold. The amendment being proposed should also encourage prospective new entrants to join, assured of a level-playing field in terms of opportunities to run for elective offices and political appointments. The proposed amendments are a derivation of the report of the Professor Jerry Gana-led PDP Strategy Review and Inter-Party Affairs Committee which has been adopted by the party.

Conscious of the fact that the preamble of the current PDP Constitution is predicated on seizing power from the military, the proposed amendment will see it changed to reflect the contemporary realities where Nigeria has witnessed unbroken democracy for nearly 20 years.

One of the proposed amendments want to avoid a reoccurrence of the recent leadership crisis of the party which arose because the powers exercised by the national chairman to summon or call off the national convention conflicted with that of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to convene the convention. That was why it was possible for Sheriff to announce the postponement of the Port Harcourt convention duly convened by NEC by claiming that he derived his powers from the constitution. To deal with a reoccurrence of the situation, the party proposes to modify Section 35(1)(a) of the Constitution and insert a new section 35(1)(b) to take away the power of the National Chairman to summon the National Convention.

Besides, in an apparent move geared towards wooing back former members who defected to other political parties, the proposed amendments have fashioned out a way to make it easier for such people to rejoin the party. One of the amendments seeks to delete Section 8(8)(b), Section 8(9) and modify Section 8(8) dealing with procedure for rejoining in order to make rejoining/readmission into the party automatic for a member who had left. But such an individual will still have to write an application to his ward secretary before being readmitted. Despite the automatic readmission, waiver requirements for contesting elections and enjoying political appointments remain “and, if thought necessary, would be strengthened.”

Towards this end, the proposed amendment recommends that former Section 8(11) should be revised to reduce the minimum period of seeking party’s ticket and political appointment from two years to a uniform period of six months. The party believes that the measure will open up political space for its members.  It proposes to revise the provisions on Waiver Section 50(4)(7) to be amended by reducing the minimum period of membership for seeking the party’s ticket and political appointment from two years and one year, respectively, to a uniform period of six months unless the appropriate Executive Committee at its discretion gives a waiver to the contrary.

The proposals add: “This will open up the political space in the party to receive persons who can unquestionably add value to the electoral fortune of the party while at the same time not failing to reward the loyalty and steadfastness of members who never moved.

“It is also proposed that decisions on waiver applications be taken by the appropriate executive committee at a meeting acting on the recommendation in that behalf from the immediate lower organ of the party at its meeting such that applications commence from the ward executive at its meeting. This will strengthen the decision on waiver applications and a unilateral decisions by individuals or a few people.

“It is further proposed that the appropriate Executive Committee to consider waiver applications for political appointment be as (a) In the case of Federal political appointment, the National Executive Committee (b) In the case of state political appointment, the State Executive Committee.” It  also proposes that “the persons aggrieved from the grant or refusal or waiver by the Ward, LGA, State or zonal Working Committee shall have the recourse to appeal to the immediate higher party organ up to the National Executive Committee through the National Working Committee.”

The amendments being sought also recommend the incorporation of National Vice Chairmen of the party into National working Committee (NWC). In which case, the amendment is asking for the deletion of section 29(5) and introduction of the National Vice Chairmen as paragraph (m) of Section 29(1) to make the six National Vice Chairmen part of the NWC in order to enable them to attend all meetings in that context. The is against the existing position where they attend NWC meetings at least once in two months to brief NWC on operations of the zones. This is also consistent with the August 2016 Port Harcourt National Convention proposed amendment.

The amendment will also now provide for two Deputy National Chairmen from North and South by modifying Section 29(1)(b). Section30(1)(g). 31(1)(h), 35(2)(3), Section 45(2). One of the Deputy National Chairman from the National Chairman’s own region will take over as Acting National Chairman in the event the National Chairman ceases to hold office or when absent for any reason, pending the appointment to be made by National Economic Council (NEC) pursuant to Section 47(6). This is consistent with the August 2016 Port Harcourt proposed Amendment.

Another key proposed amendment is the expansion of Caucuses and Executive Committees by modifying Section 14(1), Section 16(1), Section 17(1), Section 19(1), Section 20(1), Section 2291), Section 27(1), Section 30(1) and Section 31(1) to accommodate more party leaders in the consultative and decision making processes of the party at all levels. Since the PDP did not envisage that it would lose power, it had limited membership of the Caucuses and Executive Committees basically to incumbent holders of Executive/Legislative offices apart from party offices.

Consequently, it had a curious situation where former Presidents and Vice Presidents, former Governors and Deputy Governors, former Principal Officers of the National Assembly are not members of any of the caucuses of the party at any level, and are only members of the Executive Committees at a few levels. The party has therefore proposed the following as members of the Caucuses and Executive Committees of the party: National Executive Committee, National Chairman, serving and former Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who are members of the party, Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees, all other members of the Board of Trustees who shall have no voting rights, among others.

Apart from the foregoing, there are many other proposed amendments to the constitution which in the estimation of its leadership, if they scale the hurdle in the forthcoming National Convention of the party, should reposition the party to effectively play its opposition role as it bids its time to return to power at the centre.