PDP's infighting Crisis Deepens

Some weeks back we called for caution and understanding on the part of Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) across the country when agitation for change of guards at the PDP’s national and state executive councils  started in the South-south and South-east geopolitical zones. Members of the party in the zones led by some governors and leading sociopolitical leaders had called on the National Chairman of the party, Adamu Muazu  and other members of the national executive council to resign. 

Adamu Muazu

The members blamed the poor of the party outing during the 2015 general elections on the inexperience of the National Working Committee in electioneering campaign and elections winning strategy. Regrettably, rather than going down, the change mantra is gathering storm and gradually reaching a crescendo.  As last week at a meeting in Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, PDP members in the South-west led by a former Deputy National Chairman and an elder of the party as well as other members in the zone hosted by the combatant governor of Ekiti State,  Ayodele Fayose also not only echoed the South-south and South-east call for the resignation of the NWC, they went further by asking the National Secretary of  the party Prof. Adewale Oladipo and the National Auditor, Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju who represent the zone at the national level to resign from the PDP NWC.

 

Ayodele Fayose

Expectedly, Muazu and his entire committee members are digging in and are entrenching themselves. The National Chairman is not treating the matter with kid gloves either and has vowed never to step down or allow himself to be stampede out of office like his predecessor, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. Not only the chairman is fighting back, other members of the committee have also made their stance on the issue public. They have equally made serious allegations and indictments on the president’s associates, aides and PDP state governors. 

Prof. Wale oladioupo

Olisa Metuh, the National Publicity Secretary of the party said in a well published and televised press interview that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party should not be blamed for the party’s woes in the last general elections and particularly, the failed re-election bid of President Googluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ). According to Metuh, the president’s associates and PDP governors across the country were to blame for the electoral misfortunes of the president. He further disclosed that presidential aides and associates hijacked the president’s re-election campaigns and when the committee cautioned on campaign of calumny and hate speeches against the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidates and its leaders as well as the need for issues based campaigns, the president’s aides ignored wise counsel and sidelined committee members from all election campaigns. Continuing, Metuh also carpeted PDP governors by saying that all of them were given free hands in the states to choose their successors and preferred candidates, why then were they blaming their failures to deliver the states on the NWC. 

    

Olisa Metuh

However, lack of consensus on the resignation call came into open early this week, when contrary to the position of the South-south, South-east and South-west members, PDP members in the north are backing their sibling. PDP governors of northern Nigeria led by the vocal Niger State Governor, Babaniga Aliyu Muazu resisted the call or toe the line of the PDP southern geopolitical zones instead the governors are standing behind Muazu and had stated categorically that his removal will witness mass defection from the party in the north.

 

Babangida Aliyu Muazu

As the issue stands, only President Jonathan can rein on the feuding members, bring in the required sanity and peace to the party but his quietness is being misquoted as encouraging the dissident actions as it fester on. The President Goodluck Jonathan needs to speak up and safe Nigerian nation from the fledging menace of one party system.

President Goodluck Jonathan