- ’West disowns consensus deal as Lagos group backs ex-dep. chair
- Sheriff opens up on reasons for rift in party
With a few days to the national
convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, the leadership of the party still appears to be divided
over its choice candidate for the chairmanship post, in spite of the
agreement reached to zone the office to the South-west zone.
Locked in the supremacy battle, THISDAY
gathered, are two groups comprising the governors of the party, on one
side, and the elders of the party, in another camp.
While the governors, according to
sources, prefer a younger Jimi Agbaje, the party’s governorship
candidate in Lagos in the 2015 elections, because of his integrity and
cosmopolitan disposition, the elders, made up of mostly PDP founding
fathers are said to prefer an older person – Chief Olabode George, a
former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP – due to his experience,
which he can bring to bear in running the affairs of the party.
This is however coming at a time the
South-west leadership of the party, at a meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State,
yesterday disowned the consensus deal brokered by Governors Olusegun
Mimiko of Ondo State and his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayodele Fayose, in
Akure, the Ondo State capital on Monday, which settled for George as
the zonal consensus candidate.
The South-west executive committee declared that the office was still open to all from the zone without prejudice.
The South-west executive committee declared that the office was still open to all from the zone without prejudice.
However, the Lagos PDP Stakeholders
group threw its weight behind George, describing him as the most
experienced and dynamic of the candidates. This, they claimed, followed
the decision of the South-west PDP to present a consensus candidate for
the office of chairman.
THISDAY gathered from party sources that
the reason the governors prefer Agbaje is because he is seen as someone
they can relate with, the absence of any baggage, and someone who will
do a good job of cleaning up the party’s image deficit.
Although party sources who spoke to
THISDAY also claimed that the governors’ support for Agbaje may not be
unconnected to the search for a candidate that might be more malleable,
they added that the governors have resolved to back someone who they can
work with.
The governors’ preference for Agbaje
also stems from their concern over the public perception of George, who
was incarcerated by a Federal High Court on allegations of “contract
splitting” during his tenure as Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority
(NPA). A Supreme Court was later to upturn the decision of the lower
court after George had served his prison sentence.
But other stakeholders of the party,
comprising mostly its elders, are gunning for George, not only because
they see him as a steady hand and one of them, but also because he is
seen as one who has the resolve to confront the excesses of other
contending forces within the PDP.
For them, their opposition to Agbaje
also stems from the fact that he is considered too much of a gentleman,
alluding to how he freely dropped his battle for the Lagos governorship
without putting up much of a fight.
As a result, they are said to doubt his capacity to lead the party to victory, saying “if he could not win Lagos for himself, then, he cannot win the national election for them”, adding that his disposition over the years has shown that he is not a team player.
As a result, they are said to doubt his capacity to lead the party to victory, saying “if he could not win Lagos for himself, then, he cannot win the national election for them”, adding that his disposition over the years has shown that he is not a team player.
Aspirants for Other Offices Emerge
But as the battle among the contending
forces gathers momentum over the national chairmanship of the party,
THISDAY also learnt that other equally crucial positions might have been
resolved in other parts of the country where they have been zoned.
For instance, the office of the national
secretary, sources said, had already been settled and the man up for
the seat is Senator Ibrahim Ida, a seasoned technocrat from the
North-west.
Although, there are other candidates
angling for the office, sources said the leadership in that region has
settled for Ida and the situation may not change.
For the post of deputy national chairman of the party, which has been zoned to South-south, the party has also settled for Chief Uche Secondus, the immediate past acting national chairman of the PDP, who handed the leadership to the embattled chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.
For the post of deputy national chairman of the party, which has been zoned to South-south, the party has also settled for Chief Uche Secondus, the immediate past acting national chairman of the PDP, who handed the leadership to the embattled chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.
In the same vein, the office of the
national organising secretary, which was zoned to the South-east,
sources hinted, has been conceded to Col. Augustine Akobundu, nearly
unopposed. According to sources, Akobundu’s position is about the only
office that is not being contested by someone else.
S’West PDP Rejects Consensus Arrangement
Unfortunately for George, the outcome of
the Ibadan meeting held yesterday by the Makanjuola Ogundipe-led
executive of the party in South-west might have thrown a spanner in the
works for him.
Following an emergency zonal meeting at
the party’s office in Bodija, Ibadan, the South-west PDP said the
position adopted by those who gathered at the Akure meeting on Monday
was null and void because it ran foul of the PDP constitution on who has
the power to convene any zonal meeting.
Ogundipe, flanked by Chief Pegba Otemolu
and Prince Adekola Rasaq, the zonal secretary and auditor,
respectively, maintained that the office of the national chairman was
open to all contestants from the six states in the zone.
Reading out from the position paper at
the extraordinary meeting of the constitutionally elected and legally
confirmed South-west zonal executive committee (2014-2018), the party
leaders said they acknowledged the hard work of the National Caretaker
Committee of the party under Senator Ahmed Makarfi for his unwavering
stand on party discipline, internal democracy, and more importantly
eradication of impunity in the polity.
They also congratulated the zone for the
opportunity to present a candidate for the office of the national
chairman already zoned to it, stressing: “You will all agree with our
zonal executive committee that this position (National Chairman) belongs
to our zone that is made up of six states.
“Therefore, each state should be given
the opportunity to either present a viable aspirant or have a say in the
form of an internal arrangement.”
The zone, in a statement jointly signed by Ogundipe and Otemolu, however, lauded Fayose and Mimiko, as well as Senator Buruji Kashamu, for their efforts at ensuring the unity, stability, peace and oneness of the PDP, even as it prayed for a successful national convention.
The zone, in a statement jointly signed by Ogundipe and Otemolu, however, lauded Fayose and Mimiko, as well as Senator Buruji Kashamu, for their efforts at ensuring the unity, stability, peace and oneness of the PDP, even as it prayed for a successful national convention.
However, rising from a meeting in Lagos
yesterday, the Stakeholders Forum, in a statement read by its chairman,
Chief Philips Aivoji, a former commissioner in the state, stated that
the emergence of the “undisputed consensus candidate (George) of our
party was based largely on his stability of purpose, his undying
presence, his courage, his expertise, his loyalty, his consistency, his
strong national network, his maturity and his rich experience in party
management and administration”.
It added: “At the end of the
deliberations, the resolve was apparent, clear and unambiguous. From
Chief Yekini Adeojo to Erelu Obada, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator
Teslim Folarin, Chief Oyedokun, Ebenezer Babatope and Senator Kofo
Bucknor, everyone agreed that our candidate is the best and the most
experienced candidate among the field of aspirants.”
While disclosing that a five-man
reconciliation committee had been set up to bring back aggrieved members
in the zone, the group pleaded for the understanding of the other
contestants who lost to the consensus candidate.
Aivoji announced the committee members
to include Alhaji Yekini Adeojo, Dr. Olu Alabi, Senator Bucknor Akerele,
Chief Eddy Olafeso and Chief Salimot Badru.
He said an olive branch had been extended to all by the candidate, whom he said would be unveiled today.
“We appeal to Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Prof. Toaheed Adedoja, Mr. Jimitota Agbaje and Mr. Gbenga Daniel to please respect the wishes of our leaders in the South-west and quickly rally round our candidate.”
He said an olive branch had been extended to all by the candidate, whom he said would be unveiled today.
“We appeal to Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Prof. Toaheed Adedoja, Mr. Jimitota Agbaje and Mr. Gbenga Daniel to please respect the wishes of our leaders in the South-west and quickly rally round our candidate.”
Agbaje Still in Contention
The consensus arrangement,
notwithstanding, Agbaje has not given up on his desire to lead the party
and pledged yesterday to lead it back to power in 2019 if he emerges
national chairman of the PDP.
Agbaje, who picked his form to contest
for the chairmanship position of the party at the temporary PDP
headquarters, also promised to unite the party if given the opportunity
and canvassed for a level playing field for all aspirants.
When asked how he would contest against
George, one of his political benefactors, he replied that that would be
addressed in house.
“We accept that mistakes were made in
the past in the PDP, especially with our internal democracy. So we have
to go back to the position of the founding fathers of our party on
internal democracy.
“And that means is that we have to go
back to our constitution. That is very important. We have to be
all-inclusive as we have been thus far. It is about bringing people
nearer rather than sending them far away from the party. Everybody must
feel like they are part of this party.
“So what I bring to the table is that I
am not a member of any faction or any tendencies. I am in a position to
talk to everybody, to ensure as you love the PDP, then it is time to
come back to the zone.
“And I appeal to those who feel very
strongly to join us, because Nigeria cannot make the progress it
deserves without a viable opposition and PDP is going to provide that
opposition as an alternative government and in a responsible manner,” he
said.
Speaking on the zoning within the party,
he said: “We must understand what is playing out. The party is very
clear, what the party zoned is the national chairmanship to the South.
It is the south on its own now that is running to see if it can get some
measure of consensus.
“It is already very difficult to get
consensus under circumstances where everybody feels that he is
qualified. The beauty of democracy is that you must be able, and
shouldn’t be afraid to contest,” he said.
Sheriff Speaks on Rift
Meanwhile, the peace committee set up by the Board of Trustees of the PDP, led by Prof. Jerry Gana, met with the embittered former national chairman of the party, Senator Sheriff, at his office in Maitama, Abuja yesterday.
The meeting which started at about 9 p.m., saw both sides, Sheriff’s group and the BoT peace committee, opening up on the crisis that has bedeviled the party in the past few months.
Meanwhile, the peace committee set up by the Board of Trustees of the PDP, led by Prof. Jerry Gana, met with the embittered former national chairman of the party, Senator Sheriff, at his office in Maitama, Abuja yesterday.
The meeting which started at about 9 p.m., saw both sides, Sheriff’s group and the BoT peace committee, opening up on the crisis that has bedeviled the party in the past few months.
The meeting first had an open session before the leaders went into a closed-door session that stretched deep into the night.
The leader of the peace committee and one of the founding fathers of the party, Prof. Gana, said that they had come to explore avenues for lasting peace in the party.
The leader of the peace committee and one of the founding fathers of the party, Prof. Gana, said that they had come to explore avenues for lasting peace in the party.
He said the party has mandated them to
reach out to Sheriff and to discuss peaceful ways of resolving the
conflict that has threatened to dismember the once vibrant party.
“We are here because we mean well. We
want to seek ways of resolving the problems facing the party in an
atmosphere of brotherly love and understanding,” he said.
It was all smiles and exchange of banter among those present who acted like nothing was amiss.
It was all smiles and exchange of banter among those present who acted like nothing was amiss.
However, it was Sheriff who opened up on
his ill-feelings, which he said had to do with the attempt to re-enact
the inglorious days of impunity in the party’s affairs.
Sheriff told the peace delegation that he was never desperate to become the national chairman of the PDP, but that some of the leaders of the party were the ones who pleaded with him to come and help reposition the party.
Sheriff told the peace delegation that he was never desperate to become the national chairman of the PDP, but that some of the leaders of the party were the ones who pleaded with him to come and help reposition the party.
“I want to put it on the record that I
never asked or wanted to be the chairman of the PDP, some people simply
asked me to come and put the party back together,” he said.
Sheriff also said that there is a lot of misinformation being peddled around about him with regards to his role in the PDP crisis.
Sheriff also said that there is a lot of misinformation being peddled around about him with regards to his role in the PDP crisis.
He promised to talk to the peace team
during the closed-door session on some of the contending issues and what
he felt went wrong, and how it could be remedied.
“Most of the problems we are facing today, if our leaders had taken up their responsibilities, we will never have had this problem. Some us here are part of the problem.
“Most of the problems we are facing today, if our leaders had taken up their responsibilities, we will never have had this problem. Some us here are part of the problem.
“People want to use one impunity to correct another impunity and that is the problem we are having,” he said.
The meeting was still in progress at press time.
Among those at the meeting were Senator Stella Omu, Fiedelia Njezie, Senator Olujimi, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo, Senator Idah and Bode Olajumoke.
The meeting was still in progress at press time.
Among those at the meeting were Senator Stella Omu, Fiedelia Njezie, Senator Olujimi, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo, Senator Idah and Bode Olajumoke.
But even as there was some glimmer of
hope that Sheriff may shift grounds after meeting with the BoT peace
committee, the former Borno State governor still spoke defiantly against
the continued existence of the National Caretaker Committee led by
Makarfi.
Earlier in the day, he told the Edo
State women’s delegation that came on a courtesy call that as far as he
was concerned the PDP governorship candidate for Edo State remains
Matthew Idurioyekemwen.
He described the Edo governorship
candidate of the Makarfi-led caretaker committee, Mr. Osagie Ize-Iyamu,
as an illegality that will never stand.
Sheriff jokingly said that since Ize-Iyamu is a member of the PDP, he is free to campaign for Idurioyekemwen.
Sheriff jokingly said that since Ize-Iyamu is a member of the PDP, he is free to campaign for Idurioyekemwen.
“If Pastor Ize-Iyamu likes, let him
campaign from now to a thousand years to come, the governorship
candidate for Edo State is Matthew Iduoriyekemwen; nothing can stand on
nothing.
“There is no basis for his candidacy. He
cannot come from a non-existent caretaker committee and rush to say
I’ve come to become a governorship candidate of the PDP.
“I always laugh when I see Pastor Ize- Iyamu saying he is the candidate of PDP in Edo. I say if this man knows, he should keep his savings and stop wasting his time because he is working for Matthew Iduoriyekemwen,” he said.
“I always laugh when I see Pastor Ize- Iyamu saying he is the candidate of PDP in Edo. I say if this man knows, he should keep his savings and stop wasting his time because he is working for Matthew Iduoriyekemwen,” he said.
He said he would wait for the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release the list of
Edo governorship candidates to lead the campaign for his candidate.
0 comments:
Post a Comment