Face-to face with Muhammadu Sanusi II
It is no more news that the Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been having crises since the 2019 general elections. The crises are being characterised by leadership tussle, factionalism, physical combats, claims and counterclaims and bickering.
After losing the tightly contested gubernatorial election in 2019 to the All Progressives Congress (APC), which it was very hopeful of winning, many had expected that the PDP would reorganise and re-strategise against the 2023 elections, especially after losing a legal tussle to reclaim the governorship seat. But the reverse is the case as the party has been engaged in one form of crisis or the other.
At some point, there were physical clashes between supporters of both sides and their leaders and constant clashes over who occupies and runs the party’s secretariat.
The latest crisis, however, was that of last week’s congress where about 40 candidates contesting different positions boycotted. Those who boycotted and those who participated mostly did so along factional lines that had been in the party since 2019, while others attributed their boycott to several existing court suits against the congress and other acclaimed irregularities in the whole process.
Nonetheless, Chris Hassan “emerged” the new chairman of the party at the controversial congress which held at Landfield Leisure Park, Rayfield in Jos the capital. Hassan was the Commissioner for Works during the tenure of Governor Jonah Jang. He was also the first factional chairman of the PDP when their crises began in 2019 until a fragile resolution/ reunification was reached and Yakubu Chocho became the interim chairman in February 2020.
Shortly after the congress that produced Hassan, a former Senator representing Plateau South and the PDP governorship candidate in the 2019 election, Jeremiah Useni, rejected the new executives who emerged at the congress.
Useni happens to be the most prominent figure of one of the party’s factions, from which most aspirants boycotted the congress.
Useni was said to have directed the aggrieved aspirants to open their own parallel state secretariat of the party since there was no justice and equity by the caretaker committee drafted to reconcile stakeholders of the party and which later conducted the congress.
Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders of the faction, Useni said, “We are not accepting what happened, but don’t fight and don’t make trouble. Nobody will come here and see these dignitaries and say we are nothing.
“I want you to field in all candidates in all the positions, and if there are two persons contesting one position; one should step down for another to make a new exco and see how the national secretariat will run two secretariats from Plateau.
“We are not leaving PDP and we are not PDP 2. We are the main PDP and we will work in the interest of Plateau State. All we want is fairness and Justice.”
In his remarks, Hon. Bitrus Kaze, a former Member of the House of Representatives, who was one of the leading aspirants for the PDP chairmanship position and Hassan’s strongest opponent, said they pulled out of the congress because of injustice and lack of fairness.
Hon. Kaze said they would remain in PDP and ensure that the right thing was done to salvage the people of Plateau State in 2023.
He later told Daily Trust on Sunday that he remained a candidate for the chairmanship because the purported congress was illegal and would not hold, and that they were pursuing their grievances accordingly through the appropriate quarters.
He cited few court suits against the judgement and said, “I referred to an uncontested judgement which restrained PDP from conducting any state congress pending the conduct of congress in Jos North LGA. That judgement was secured in July, but plaintiffs have not been served any notice of appeal till date.”
He further said he was formerly in Jang’s camp but was pushed out by some forces who did not want fairness, thereby making him to join Useni’s camp. The party’s supremacy/success, he stressed, was still his overriding outlook.
However, a former Governor of Plateau State and Senator who represented Plateau North, Jonah Jang, has congratulated the new exco “elected” at the congress.
In a statement by his media aide, Clinton Garba, Jang applauded the National Working Committee ( NWC) and the electoral committee for the successful conduct of the exercise.
Interestingly, Jang happens to be the most prominent figure in the other faction of the party. So, the fight is more like between the heavy weights rather than the other members of the party.
The intriguing twist inherent in all of these calculations and scheming is that it has some ethnic, zonal, tribal, etc. undertones. Some persons want the chairman of the party to come from a particular part of the state and all that. All these are also hinged on supremacy contest among the bigwigs in the party and the struggle for the control of the party structure.
There are many other prominent people in both factions. For the Jeremiah Useni side, there is his running mate in the 2019 election, James Dalyop, former Speaker, Emmanuel Go’ar, former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, former Sports Minister and Plateau PDP Chairman, Damishi Sango, among others.
For the Jang camp, there are the likes of Senator Istifanus Gyang representing Plateau North, former House of Representatives Member, Timothy Golu, Hon. Dachung Bagos representing Jos South/East Federal Constituency, Chris Hassan, among others.
Meanwhile, in his speech after the congress, Chris Hassan pledged to unite all the aggrieved members of the party in order to reclaim power in 2023 from the APC.
Hassan said, “We will reconcile all aggrieved aspirants and members of my party towards reclaiming Plateau State for the PDP and take over leadership at all levels. The APC government came into power in the state by mistake, because the state is a PDP state.”
He further pledged that the party would conduct a free and fair primary ahead of the Southern Senatorial bye-election slated for October 31, 2020, to replace the late Senator Ignatius Longjan.
Undoubtedly, intriguing days lie ahead of the party as the crises, calculations and infighting rage on. However, watching keenly from the sidelines and surely enjoying the whole saga is the APC which the PDP seeks to snatch power from in 2023. It will be APC’s wish that the PDP crises continue until 2023 because it (APC) will be the end beneficiary.
Should the PDP not put its house in order before that time, it would as well be saying goodbye to the governorship position and other vital elective positions in 2023.
At some point, there were physical clashes between supporters of both sides and their leaders and constant clashes over who occupies and runs the party’s secretariat.