The battle of supremacy between the supporters of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who are predominantly the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the new generation leaders of the party, has taken a new twist.
Though the animosity between the two camps had existed for some time now, the recent face-off between the former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike and his successor, Sim Fubara, has exacerbated the standoff .
Last week, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, and the former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, clashed over the handling of the crisis in Rivers State.
Lamido, who is one of the founding members of the party had cautioned the national leadership of the party and the party’s NWC against abdicating their responsibility, following the crisis between Fubara and Wike.
He said it was inconceivable that a political party would simply sit back and allow its fortunes to be taken over by a ‘rapacious scavenger,’ the APC.
“What President Tinubu did in the so-called peace meeting was simply to use his office to enhance the fortunes of his political party. He did not broker any peace in Rivers State,” Lamido said
But the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in a statement accused Lamido of working for the APC, describing his comments as unguarded.
The statement added: “Of a particular reference is the deleterious public statement credited to the former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, which was made apparently with the intent to inject bad blood and drag down our party for self-seeking motives.”
A day after the face-off, the Jigawa State chapter of the PDP joined the fray and tackled the party’s NWC. A statement by the secretary of the party in the state, Isah Bello, indicated that, “the Jigawa State PDP chapter and all stakeholders take exception to this not so deeply thought out action on our revered leader.
“We have noticed with dismay the imbroglio that is unfolding in the Rivers State PDP, and the polity in general, over the past few weeks.
“We have also followed with keen interest the developments that led to the opportunistic intervention of President Tinubu in the name of resolving the dispute.”
Daily Sun reliably gathered that the plan to reconcile the various feuding factions of the party may have crumbled, and various court cases instituted by aggrieved members were further compounding the issues.
A party source said since the Supreme Court validated the election of President Tinubu and discarded the appeal filed by Atiku, the leadership of the party has not been able to unite the various feuding factions.
He said the handling of the position of the national secretary of the party and the refusal by the NWC to call for a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to address grey issues were further escalating the crisis.
The party chieftain said until the various court cases were concluded or withdrawn, a new leadership might not emerge.
He, however, warned that if the various crises were not resolved soon, the All Progressives Congress (APC) might take advantage of the situation to further polarise the issues.
“Since the PDP lost the presidential elections, it has failed to address the various issues affecting it. There are too many cases in court. The APC that should be in crisis has since put its house in order. But, the PDP has failed to act swiftly.
“Atiku is still there, creating a crisis because he wants to keep controlling the party. Other new generation members are not ready to allow him. Governors, unlike before, are so aloof and no one is taking serious steps to address the problems.
“The feud between (Nyesom) Wike and (Governor Simi) Fubara may snowball into something bigger. The PDP will suffer serious consequences if not properly handled, and the APC is waiting to benefit from the crisis.
“We need to hold a NEC meeting, have a convention to fill up vacant positions if need be or resolve all issues. But, the cases in court make that impossible. We need to act fast,” the party member who did not want to be named told Daily Sun.
However, there are also indications that the Supreme Court cases in the gubernatorial elections, involving the PDP governors have stalled the search for a new national chairman.
A party source told Daily Sun that the PDP governors, who were expected to have a decisive say in who replaces Iyorchia Ayu were focused on pending gubernatorial appeals before the apex court. Consequently, issues relating to the search for a new national chairman have been relegated to the background.
The PDP presently controls Edo, Osun, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Enugu, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba, Bauchi, Adamawa, and Zamfara states. Nine of the PDP governors, including the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Bala Mohammed, are currently in the Supreme Court battling to secure their seats.
Already, the Court of Appeal has affirmed the nullification of the election of Dauda Lawal and Caleb Muftwang as governors of Zamfara and Plateau states, respectively.
A source close to Atiku confirmed to Daily Sun that party leaders agreed to keep issue of a substantive national chairman for the opposition party in abeyance until the determination of all governorship cases involving the party at the Supreme Court.
He said: “The position of the party is that as soon as those election petitions are dealt with, they will look at those challenges and find solutions to them.”
The former PDP national chairman, Ayu, was removed after he was suspended by his ward in Benue State, immediately after the last general election.
Since his ouster, the party’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Umar Damagum, has occupied the office in acting capacity, while party leaders have been shopping for a substantive national chairman.
Daily Sun gathered that those pencilled down as likely replacements include the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his predecessor, David Mark. Former PDP governorship aspirant in Ogun State, Segun Sowunmi, is also known to be eyeing the national chairmanship position.
However, while party sources say Sowunmi, former spokesman of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation is being pushed by the former vice president, an allegation the former governorship aspirant has denied.
“I want to put it on record that Atiku is not the one pushing me for anything. I am not a small boy and I have been at this party for 25 years. The former vice president would be aware (of his chairmanship bid) because my name is flying about. I have not even sat down with him to tell him about it.”
Daily Sun gathered that the PDP might hold a mini convention in February 2024 to replace vacant offices in its National Working Committee (NWC).
A national official of the party told Daily Sun that some PDP members were pushing for a mini convention to enable them fill vacant offices in the NWC, as well as take decisions on other issues critical to the stability of the party in the aftermath of the 2023 general elections.
Also, recently, the PDP National Woman Leader, Prof. Stella Effah-Attoe, passed on.
Besides, the office of the national secretary, in recent times, has been a subject of litigation. Prior to the just-concluded Imo State governorship election, the South East PDP nominated former national youth leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, to replace Samuel Anyanwu, as national secretary. Anyanwu was the party’s candidate in the Imo polls. Since then, there have been suits and counter-suits by interest groups over who occupies the national secretary’s position.
Consequently, the party official stated that if the party reaches an agreement on the mini convention, it would be essentially to fill the vacant offices and address other pertinent issues.
“We are looking at February next year. It is not a main convention; it is just a mini convention that will produce replacement for some of the offices. We have lost our national woman leader. We have replaced our deputy national woman leader.
“We are having issues with our national secretary. And there are people calling for the replacement of the national chairman. All of these issues are likely going to come up at the National Convention, subject to the approval of NEC.”
When contacted, Ologunagba told Daily Sun that he was not aware of any plan by the party to hold a mini convention.
He said: “We are a party of processes. We are not going to be guided by any comment on social media. We might listen to whatever it is worth, but we don’t get moved by social media. If the party takes a decision through the relevant organ, it will be communicated to the public.”
He also described as untrue the story that the PDP governors were being distracted by the Supreme Court cases. “What you are saying about the governors being distracted by the court cases is your opinion. We believe that our governors are doing well. The Supreme Court cases that you referenced are part of the electoral process,” he stated.