In previous discussions, we laid out the intricate dynamics at play within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which continues to unfold in this third episode.
With the conclusion of the People’s Democratic Party December 9, 2017 elective National Convention and the election of members of the party’s National Working Committee, NWC headed by Prince Uche Secondus, a Southerner who was allied to and heavily supported by Wike, the PDP had navigated itself out of stormy waters.
The issue of zoning of offices was settled, the presidential ticket and the national chairman of the party were zoned to the North and South respectively.
Other offices of the NWC were also shared between the North and the South in a fair and equitable manner, following some long standing tradition of the party to share and rotate elective positions between the North and South.
So, in preparation for the 2019 presidential election, the PDP scheduled its presidential primary election in a Special National Convention for first week of October 2018 in PortHarcourt, Rivers State, Nyesom Wike’s home state, a reflection of Wike’s growing influence in the PDP.
Although, there was high level drama on the choice of PortHarcourt as the venue for the presidential primaries when some stakeholders sought to change the venue to another town, the Rivers State Governor then, Nyesom Wike reacted angrily and threatened the party. The impression was created that the venue would be a contributory factor in determining who would emerge as the presidential candidate of the party.
Although, he later apologized, the primaries proceeded in Port Harcourt as planned.
A total of twelve aspirants contested the primary election at the convention.
All the aspirants had rich resource backgrounds, all were from the North and the primary election featured aspirants from all the three geopolitical zones of the region. The aspirants were:
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar (Adamawa, N/E), former Kaduna State Governor, Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna, N/W); former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto, N/W); the Pro-Chancellor, Baze University and former Member of the House of Representatives Dr. Datti Baba – Ahmed (Kaduna, N/W); and former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto, N/W). Others were former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido (Jigawa, N/W); former Senate President and former governor of Kwara State Bukola Saraki (Kwara, N/C); former Senate President, David Mark (Benue, N/C); former Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang (Plateau, N/C); Former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki (Kebbi, N/W); former Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe, N/E) and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former Governor of Kano State (Kano, N/W).
There were a total of 3,619 delegates who voted at the primaries and these delegates were very well known to all the aspirants before the primaries.
The primary election which was covered by the major television networks was characterized by huge financial inducement of delegates and vote buying was widely reported in the media. Essentially, money and other resources played a key role in the emergence of the presidential candidate of the PDP.
While some aspirants paid in naira, others converted Naira to US Dollars and shared to delegates, some gave $5000, others $2000 and some others $1000.
Some delegates were reported to have collected money from every aspirant who cared to pay and were said to have collected up to $9000 but in the end voted for the highest bidder.
In the end, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar from Adamawa State who just before the primary election was a member of the APC, a party he had in 2014 joined to support his fellow northerner, Mohammadu Buhari after he accused the 2015 presidential candidate of the PDP and the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan of allegedly reneging on his promise to not seek reelection and allowing power to shift to the North, was declared the winner of that primary election, polling 1,532 votes to defeat his closest rival, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State who polled 693 votes.
During the Special National Convention (Primaries), the Rivers State Government as a host, provided accommodation for some delegates and dignitaries, however, the motive behind that was doubted considering that the former State Governor of Rivers State massively supported one of the aspirants – his friend then, Aminu Tambuwal, the former Governor of Sokoto State.
Nyesom Wike made it no secret that his preferred aspirant was Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, he campaigned for him, it was rumored that he also bankrolled his campaign to a large extent.
After the elections and despite all that played out in the run up to the primaries, all of the aspirants and their backers and supporters quickly rallied behind their candidate in a show of unity, putting aside their differences and putting the collective interest of the party above and beyond their personal interests.
Atiku Abubakar would choose as his running mate, Peter Obi, a former governor of southeastern state of Anambra, a region considered a very stronghold of the PDP, this move further solidified his support in the region. In the party, there was renewed hope, high energy, excitement and a determination to regain power from Mohammadu Buhari led APC which by all accounts performed very poorly as indicated in all indices.
Poverty was rife, Nigeria had overtaken India as the poverty capital of the world, insecurity had continued unabated, with kidnappings and mass abductions particularly of school children in Northern Nigeria had continued.
The economy and the country was in a terrible shape. Infact, if it were in other climes where votes were cast based on issues and were the will of the people determines the outcome of elections, the 2019 presidential election was that of the PDP to loose.
While in the party there was unity, renewed hope, high energy, excitement and a determination to regain power, underneath there were still some unresolved issues in the party going into the presidential election.
Notably, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, both influential PDP figures, distanced themselves from Atiku’s campaign.
Obasanjo’s ongoing resentment towards Atiku, stemming from perceived disloyalty during his administration, and Jonathan’s lingering sense of betrayal by Atiku and other party members in the 2015 election, contributed to this schism. Their absence from the campaign deprived the PDP of valuable counsel and experience.
Nevertheless, the PDP went into the election against an incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari who four years earlier as candidate of a newly formed opposition party, the APC had defeated their incumbent candidate and seating president.
The elections four years prior was difficult for the PDP but 2019 proved even more difficult, particularly for a country in which the will of the voters sometimes do not determine the outcome of elections.
By this time the heads of most state institutions who play critical roles in elections and afterwards including the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Security, the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the Chief Justice of Nigeria had either been replaced or sacked.
With all state controlled agencies then under his control, Muhammadu Buhari despite his very abysmal performance in his first four years in office was declared the winner of the 2019 presidential elections. As expected, Atiku Abubakar and the People’s Democratic Party challenged the election results, the case ran its course all the way to the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the final stage in Nigeria’s democratic process.
The Supreme Court in its final judgement affirmed the outcome of the election and concluded that the election was in substantial compliance of the process.
After the election, Atiku’s silence was notable, with rumors swirling that he had retreated to Dubai to pursue further studies. This marked a significant departure from the vigor and hope with which the PDP had approached the election.
It’s worthy of note to underscore that the problems in Rivers State and the current dysfunction in the PDP are both rooted in what transpired in the party in the run up to the 2015 presidential election as noted in episode 2
In November 2013, five serving Governors from the governing PDP defected to the APC: Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.
Amid the governors’ defections, nearly 50 federal legislators including Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal had also defected from the governing PDP to the opposition APC.
Led by Atiku Abubakar, the group, which included Bukola Saraki, Dino Melaye and other notable PDP members who defected from the party to merge with the APC constituted what was called the New PDP wing of the APC.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria political parties are not mass funded as in other climes, parties are funded in Nigeria by individuals particularly state governors and presidents, so as the governors of these states left the party so did their resources from which salaries and allowances of party staff and officials are paid.
And the salaries and allowances of these party staff and officials and other sundry expenses incurred at various states and national secretariats must be paid, meaning someone must step up and take up the resources slack in those states created by the defection of these governors.
Join us in Episode 4 as we delve even deeper into the historical roots of the political upheaval in Rivers State and how it is inextricably linked to the broader dysfunction in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the national level, and contemplate potential pathways to resolving the conundrum.
About the Author:
Bishop C. Johnson is a retired U.S. Army Captain, social commentator, political analyst, activist, public speaker, and national defense and military strategist. He resides in his rural agrarian community of Egbema, Imo State, where he has hunkered down for safety as he continues to scrutinize Nigeria’s political landscape. You can reach him at b.chuck.johnson@gmail.com.
