2015 Elections: PDP to nail errant members

PDP National Chairman, Dr Bamanga Tukur
 

Apparently miffed by escalating level of indiscipline or anti-party activities of its members, the Peoples Democratic Party is amending its disciplinary measures against errant members, investigation revealed on Friday.

Consequently, the National Working Committee is to re-table a new disciplinary package to the party’s next National Executive Committee meeting.

The new measures, it was learnt, were in response to new challenges, especially developments in some of the state chapters of the party, which had made the PDP  lose control of some states in the 2011 polls and in recent elections.

It was gathered in Abuja that the party leadership led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the Presidency, believed that the PDP had to take firm steps to put its house in order before the 2015 general election gathered storm.

Confirming the party’s moves to strengthen its disciplinary code, its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said the party abhored indiscipline deeply.

He said, “The party takes the issue of anti-party very seriously and that was why the National Working Committee brought a proposal to the last National Executive Committee meeting of the party for the setting up of the disciplinary committee; we have to make some adjustments to it. We will take it back to the next NEC meeting.”

A former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mr. Femi Pedro, heads the disciplinary committee, with representatives drawn from the six geo political zones of the country.

After losing Osun and Ekiti states at the tribunal; Ogun, Oyo, Nassarawa, Imo and Zamfara states in the 2011 election; and also failing to reclaim Edo State, in the July14 governorship election, division and open anti-party tendencies are said to have swelled.

A top shot of the party claimed that rancour in its Edo chapter during the governorship poll is also manifesting in Ondo State, as the October 20 election approaches.

Metuh added that the party was aware that any political party that lacked discipline would not make progress; therefore, the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, had instructed that discipline be tackled frontally.

However, the situation in some state chapters of the PDP indicates that the party is steeped in the morass of disorder and indiscipline.

Edo State

In Edo State where PDP’s candidate, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (retd) lost by over 300, 000 votes to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria in the July election, it has remained a struggle to discipline PDP members who have been accused of working against the party during the election.  

In the election, some prominent members of the party in the state, including a former Chief of General Staff, Admiral Mike Akhigbe; a former governor of the state, Dr. Sam Ogbemudia, were said to have disagreed with the way Airhiavbere emerged as the party’s candidate.

In August, the state chapter of PDP invited some of its members to appear before a disciplinary committee for anti-party activities. However, those invited reportedly shunned the summons.

After receiving the letter of summons, a former governorship aspirant, Mathew Iduoriyenkemwen, said he was only concerned with the state Chairman Dan Orbih and the rest of the executive committee resigning, “since they have shown that they do not have what it takes to win elections.”

When contacted, the Edo PDP Publicity Secretary, Mathew Urhoghide, denied that the invited members failed to appear before its disciplinary panel.

He said, “The finding was to rebuild the party, and that was why we decided not to go to the tribunal, but that is not to say if anyone errs, appropriate sanctions will not be brought against the person.”

But Airhiavbere and others spurned the party’s decision not to challenge Oshiomhole’s victory at the election tribunal.

Ondo State

With barely six weeks to the October 20 governorship election, the PDP is worried that what recently happened in Edo may repeat itself in Ondo State, as many of its members are said to be overtly campaigning for the opposition.

At the meeting Tukur had with leaders of the party from the state on May 24, its members expressed divergent views on the possibility of the party fielding a candidate in the governorship election.

One of them, a former senator, specifically told Tukur that the party’s state chapter was broke to the point that there were no resources to contest the election.

He said, “Presently, the finances of the PDP in Ondo is very poor and we can’t garner enough resources to fight the election unless we get support from the Presidency.”

Our correspondent reports that some prominent leaders of the party had either defected to other parties or remained in the PDP without identifying with its candidate, Mr.  Olusola Oke, who was the legal adviser of the party in Abuja, before he vacated the office for the election.

At the moment, the camp of Ambassador Olu Agbi, Chief Segun Adegoke and Chief Akin Olowookere are in court challenging the process that produced the Mr. Ebenezer Alabi-led executive of the party in the state and by extension, Oke’s candidacy.

The trio belonged to a faction of the PDP that had vehemently dissociated itself from Oke’s emergence as the party’s candidate, while others had not condemned Oke or spoken against Mimiko’s second term bid.

Justifying the position of his group in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, Adegoke, who alongside Agbi had on different occasions eulogised Mimiko, said belonging to the PDP did not stop them from expressing their views.

Adegoke said, “The fact that I had commended Mimiko’s administration does not mean that I am no longer a member of the PDP. It does not also mean that I will not support the party during the election.

“My grouse with some leaders of the party is that some of them are claiming to be founders and owners of the party in the state. I hate this proprietorship tendency of the so-called leaders.

“My membership of the PDP does not mean that I should not commend a governor that is performing or that has done well for his people. We are supposed to see things objectively as politicians.

“If a governor is doing well, for God’s sake let us say so regardless of our party differences. Some PDP members believe that we should not say anything good at all about Mimiko and this is wrong.”

But the Director of Publicity of the party, Mr. Ayodele Fadaka, said efforts were on to reconcile the aggrieved leaders with the mainstream with the aim of ending their lukewarm attitude.

Fadaka said, “A meeting was held recently in Abuja when the aggrieved leaders were told by the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to go and work for Oke because the prospects of Oke winning the election are high.” 

Ogun State

The division in the Ogun State PDP has persisted after it led to the party’s loss in the governorship election in 2011 and the local government elections few months ago.

The then governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, had refused to support the party’s candidate, Gen. Adetunji Olurin, but instead, promoted Alhaji Gboyega Isiaka, who ran on the ticket of Peoples Party of Nigeria.

Metuh said the situation in Ogun PDP was unacceptable, and hoped that it would not become as problematic as the Anambra State chapter where efforts aimed at restoring order had yielded little or no results.

Our correspondent reports that as at the last count on Friday, over 35 court cases involving the four factions of the PDP in the state are pending.

Anambra State

From Anambra, our correspondent reports that the PDP has remained factionalised, with each of them possessing a court order either from Abuja or Awka, the state capital, to support its claim to legitimacy. 

However, two factions stand out – the Chris Uba-led faction with Mr. Ejike Oguebego as chairman and the Emeakayi faction, headed by Ken Emeakayi.

Before the 2003 crisis that rocked the party, the PDP was in control of the state, with Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju as governor from 1999 to 2003. It also had 27 of the 30 members in the state assembly.  

The party also controlled 18 of the 21 local government areas.

The party’s candidate, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, came third in the 2010 governorship election behind the incumbent Governor, Peter Obi of All Progressives Grand Alliance and Dr. Chris Ngige of the ACN.

APGA is the ruling party in the state.