The Battle for the Soul of PDP
Chuks Okocha, who has been monitoring the infighting within PDP since its loss to the opposition at the general election, reports on the plots to oust the Adamu Muazu-led national executive and how the NWC is fighting back
The power struggle between the National Working Committee of Peoples Democratic Party and the outgoing governors elected on the platform of the party was long expected. What is not certain is how the matter would be resolved. This is because only the National Executive Committee has the capacity to resolve it either way. The power to summon the NEC meeting lies with the NWC, while the governors have influence over the NEC delegates.
Anti-Mu’azu Feelings
The crisis started when some aides of President Goodluck Jonathan and some outgoing ministers started feeling that the NWC of the party headed by the former governor of Bauchi State, Adamu Muazu, should go. They reasoned that since the NWC, which is the main executive organ of the party, could not deliver Jonathan’s second term and the party lost the general election, the best option was to dissolve the NWC.
But pundits see this budding crisis as the battle for the soul of PDP and control of the party organs ahead of the 2019 general election. Curiously, the aides of the president and outgoing ministers appear more interested in control of the party machinery than salvaging the once biggest political party in sub-Saharan Africa from an imminent collapse.
The first sign of the raging interests was the two separate meetings hosted by the NWC. The first meeting was with the elected governors and senators-elect and the second meeting was the meeting of the national vice chairmen of the party in the six geopolitical zones, the states’ chairmen and members-elect of the House of Representatives. Inside sources said the basic aim of the meeting was to galvanise the stakeholders of the party for an eventual ouster of the Muazu-led NWC. But that was not to be as the meeting turned out to be a strategy meeting towards the reformation of the party.
According to an aide of the president, who does not want to be mentioned, “The NWC under Muazu has to go to enable a reform of the party and prepare it the party for the role as opposition party and subsequent elections. This house under Muazu is collapsing and there is no need to allow it collapse finally before we do something.”
But countering, an NWC member who also preferred anonymity, told THISDAY that the plot to remove Muazu was battle for the soul and body of the PDP ahead of the subsequent elections and 2019. “We saw this coming. It is all targeted towards who controls PDP in subsequent elections. The aides of the resident and some ministers who would be out of job by May 29 are looking for jobs and what to keep them politically relevant. So, they are urging President Jonathan to put his feet down, sack the NWC in the name of reforming PDP. Some of them are even accusing us of embezzling the campaign funds, all in a bid to give us a bad name for the eventual sack.”
Mu’azu’s Manoeuvres
The agenda of the above two meetings were clear; to summon a NEC meeting where a vote of no confidence would be passed on the Muazu-led NWC because of a disastrous outing at the last election, and subsequently dissolve the committee.
But in a dramatic turn of events, the NWC enjoyed the support of all the PDP governors and National Assembly members-elect as well as national vice chairmen and state chairmen of the PDP in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, who vowed to work with the current leadership to reposition the party.
This was a deft political move by Mu’azu, who was said to have used his contacts and influence in the party and the presidency to stop his opponents while setting in motion efforts aimed at galvanising PDP formations and structures to regain power in 2019.
While those who wanted the NWC sacked hinged their demand on the defeat of the party at the concluded national elections, investigations have revealed that the critical stakeholders in the party resolved to support the NWC after it became obvious that it was not to blame for the defeat. It was also apparent that those after their job were on self-serving mission for the control of the soul and body of the party for personal gain.
Another thing that stood against the planned sack of the NWC was the constitutional provision that empowers only the NWC to summon NEC meetings.
It was gathered that those behind the move to humiliate the Mu’azuled NWC were mostly aides of Jonathan and some federal ministers who will be out of job by May 29 and desperately sought to seize the leadership of the PDP as the only way to remain relevant in the polity. These officials were said to have mounted pressure on Jonathan to use his powers and influence to sack the NWC.
It was learnt that some of them who directly mismanaged the presidential campaigns and its funds were the same people behind the plot to nail the NWC members by labelling and accusing them of corruption and embezzlement of campaign funds. They were also said to be the masterminds of series of negative publications aimed at ridiculing the NWC.
However, the die was cast after the Mu’azu-led leadership decided to put out the facts regarding the handling of the national campaigns to party stakeholders who were shocked to know that the NWC was completely shut out and side-lined while the same persons who mismanaged the campaign were accusing the NWC.
The table turned when the PDP national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, while reacting to allegations against the NWC, revealed that the campaigns and the funds were directed and managed by the directorates of the Presidential Campaign Organisation, which the NWC had no control over. Metuh had also raised the issue of fifth columnists working as agents of the APC to destabilise the PDP.
“As the spokesperson of the PDP, I want to place it on record that the NWC was not part of the management of funds for the presidential campaigns. The NWC did not receive any money neither was it in any way involved in how the funds were spent. Even as the national publicity secretary of the party and chairman of the publicity sub-committee, I did not receive any money from anybody and no fund whatsoever was given to me for the campaign. The president in his wisdom set up directorates and gave them the responsibility to directly manage the elections, including the funding,” Metuh had said.
It was gathered that the revelation caused a stir in the Presidency where some aides and ministers had been creating the impression that NWC members were involved in the handling of the campaigns and the funds.
A presidency source said that President Jonathan was miffed when he discovered that his aides who encouraged him to side-line the NWC and party structure had been diverting attention from their failures. This weakened their ranks as many of them were said to have backed out of the plot.
It was at this point that Mu’azu moved in and invited all national vice chairmen, state chairmen, governors, senators and House of Representatives members-elect to separate meetings in Abuja where the immediate and remote facts regarding the elections were said to have been laid out on the table.
The meeting yielded the required result as the national vice chairmen, state chairmen, governors, senators and House of Representatives members-elect came with a confidence vote and strong resolution to back the NWC and support its efforts to reposition the party for 2019.
A source at the meetings hinted that while expressing anger over the conduct of some of aides of the president during the campaigns and the current move to divide the party for selfish reasons, the elected officials vowed to resist every divisive anti-party tendency within its fold.
Speaking at the end of the meeting, Senator George Thompson Sekibo, who read the communiqué issued by governors and senatorselect, stressed the importance of unity, peace and harmony in the party and warned that they will not condone anybody working as fifth columnist to destabilise the leadership of the party.
In the same vein, the national vice chairmen and state chairmen in their communiqué signed by Amb. Ibrahim Kazaure and Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, expressed confidence in the Mu’azu-led NWC and charged all members of the party to continue to work harmoniously with their leaders at all levels.
Metuh’s Explanation
As all these plots went on, there came the alleged embezzlement of campaign funds by the NWC. It was first alleged that the NWC mismanaged over N2 trillion campaign funds. Though, the Presidency denied that N2 trillion was spent as campaign funds, the allegation refused to die down. Metuh intervened to try to debunk the allegation of mismanagement of campaign money.
According to a statement by Metuh, who distanced the NWC from the controversy surrounding the handling of the PDP presidential campaign funds, NWC never received any amount for the campaigns.
The PDP spokesman made the denial while fielding questions at a radio programme in Abuja on Monday. He also noted that Jonathan had denied ever spending N2 trillion on his campaigns, saying the NWC was not involved in the management of any fund released for the campaign. He further explained that all funds during the campaign were directed and managed by the directorates of the Presidential Campaign Organisation, which the NWC had no control over.
Leo Ogor Intervention
According to the Deputy Leader of the House of Representatives, Leo Ogor, who gave an insight into what transpired at the meeting, “One of the cardinal issues that were discussed in that meeting was the ability to look at what happened, why it went this way. We decided to set up various committees that will look into the subject matter and some of the challenges and I think that’s normal in every process. But unfortunately also, we are aware that there are some group, who I want to call fifth columnists that will want to see PDP dead at all cost and they are trying to probably pass through the back door, using some group of individuals to find the means and ways of disintegrating our great political party.”
Governors’ Aborted Coup
When it became clear that the two meetings were aimed at removing the NWC from office, the PDP governors struck. The meeting that took place at the Akwa Ibom Governor’ Lodge in Asokoro with almost all PDP governors in attendance asked Muazu to excuse them from the meeting as he was not invited.
According to a source that spoke to THISDAY, the meeting had barely started about 4.30pm when Muazu came in, but his presence caused a stir as some of the governors started to protest his presence. It was at this stage that some of the PDP governors started to ask, “who invited him “to his hearing and the national chairman was quietly asked to leave the meeting, which he did.
Muazu left the venue of the meeting with his aides brushing aside reporters’ who wanted to know why he left the meeting in haste. One of the PDP governors that spoke to THISDAY simply said “we asked him to excuse us from the meeting because he was not invited to the meeting. He is the national chairman and we are governors and he is not a governor.”
The governor said that it was the belief of all PDP governors that Muazu contributed to the party’s loss at the presidential, National Assembly and governorship elections.
Muazu was accused of playing a double role during the general elections, and refused to attack the All Progressives Congress and its presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari. The governors called for Muazu’s resignation.
Supremacy of PDP Constitution
But the NWC countered the governors, insisting that they were elected to serve a tenure and would not go till their tenure was over. In a tacit reference to directive of the PDP Governors’ Forum that Muazu and the NWC members should resign, Metuh noted, “For purposes of clarification, the National Working Committee as a duly elected organ of the party has a constitutionally guaranteed tenure which expires in March 2016. It is therefore focused on galvanisng every organ and interests within the PDP with a view to re-engineering it for the task ahead.
“To this end, the NWC is currently working hand in hand with strategic stakeholders including PDP governors towards repositioning our great party and regaining power at the center by 2019.”
Reform
To put it clear that the NWC is in charge, the party set up a committee headed by the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, to reform PDP. According to a statement by the national publicity secretary, , the Reformation Committee is expected to be inaugurated by Tuesday this week.
He said, “In this regard, the National Working Committee in its meeting on Wednesday April 29, 2015 constituted a special committee under the chairmanship of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu. The committee membership is drawn from all the key stakeholders of the party including members of the forum of governors.”
He denied the reported expulsion of Muazu from the PDP governors’ meeting, saying, “At no time was the National Chairman of our great party, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu walked out of the meeting of the governors, neither was he in any way ill-treated at that meeting, contrary to reports in some section of the media.
“To put the records straight, our National Chairman upon invitation by the governors attended the meeting alongside our Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, and National Legal Adviser, Barr. Victor Kwon and left after a brief and fruitful discussion with the governors. He was not at any time asked to resign and nothing close to such was ever insinuated at the meeting.”
But time will tell how the issues would play out.