By Bishop C. Johnson
*In previous discussions, we laid out the intricate dynamics at play within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which continues to unfold in this fifth episode, so if you have not read episodes 1 thru 4, find them now and make sense of the politics at play in the PDP*
The 37-member Zoning Committee constituted by the then national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Iyorchia Ayu had two weeks to complete its work and make recommendations to party leadership on the zoning of the party’s presidential ticket. But before the committee could conclude its assignment, the PDP had begun the sell of its expression of interest and nomination forms to anyone and everyone who had N40 million to purchase the forms regardless of which region of the country they come from.
The move seemed to have been deliberately intended to undermine and preempt the decision of the Samuel Ortom led 37-Member Zoning Committee, leading to suspicions and speculations in some quarters, particularly in the South, of foul play by the national chairman, and the speculation that the decision of the zoning committee was predetermined, even as some party leaders in the South warned of double standard and the consequences of the party deviating from its long standing tradition of zoning and rotating positions.
Capitalizing on the situation, Atiku Abubakar, a northerner who fours earlier argued in favor of zoning and rotation of positions and four years earlier was the party’s flag bearer and a beneficiary of zoning and rotation of positions had a different argument. He argued that winning should be more important for the party than zoning.
So, in that prevailing confusion he purchased the expression of interest and nomination forms in an apparent attempt to force the committee’s hands and thwart any effort at zoning the presidential ticket of the party to the South.
He followed up his argument with sustained barrage of publicity, media bliss and television commercial and documentaries where he and his allies argued that it was the turn of his zone, the Northeast to produce the next president of Nigeria because just like the Southeast zone, the Northeast is also marginalized in presidential politics of Nigeria.
This wrongly held position by him and his allies failed to take into cognizance that he, Atiku Abubakar was the presidential candidate of the party in the previous election cycle but failed to convert that opportunity of the Northeast to a victory at the polls. Atiku Abubakar would go on with his declaration to once again run for president under the PDP.
Shortly afterwards, the Samuel Ortom of Benue State led Zoning Committee of the party constituted by Iyorchia Ayu of Benue State led National Working Committee of the PDP would submit its report to the party leadership in which it had recommended that the party’s ticket be thrown open to everyone from anywhere who had N40 million to purchase the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms for the president of Nigeria, hence confirming what the public already knew would happen.
The decision of the committee was not surprising but what was surprising was how the party abandoned its principles that made it stronger and endeared it to the people. The party dumped its honoured ethos, values, tenets and traditions which constituted the bedrock of its strength, positive public perception and distinctiveness.
It refused to play by its own rules in utter disregard for equity and fairness to accommodate the interest of one man whose activities in the party sometimes had been disruptive and which his membership of the party bad been inconsistent, to say the least. The decision of the party to throw open its presidential ticket became its greatest undoing, even as party leaders like the former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George warned that failure to embrace zoning would cause chaos in the PDP, proponents of open ticket warned otherwise.
They argued that since the party was not in power at the center there was nothing to zone or rotate, same position the party was in 2019 when it zoned and rotated the positions of chairman and presidential ticket between the North and the South.
Interestingly, open presidential ticket had been a long held position and agenda of the North even during the contest for the position of the national chairman of the party which Iyorchia Ayu from the North would later win without a single opposition from the south. A former National Chairman of the party from the North, Kawu Baraje, revealed how the northern leaders of the party arrived at Iyorchia Ayu as their consensus candidate ahead of the national convention.
Speaking as a guest on “Politics Today” a programme on Channels Television, Mr Baraje said the north-central, where Mr Ayu comes from, agreed to the decision after an agreement that the region could also contest for the party’s 2023 presidential ticket when the time comes. According to him, “presently, I can beat my chest, that the north-central people ranging from number one to the last, we are very comfortable with the decision.
They are very comfortable with the choice of Iyorchia Ayu. The party has given us the consideration of what we believe will work out very, very beautifully for not only north central but for everybody in the party. “And what does that mean? The proviso, which we crave for has been given to us, not only the north-central but the entire country, that no matter where the national chairman of PDP emerges, it does not preclude anybody from that particular zone and indeed the entire members from contesting the position for the presidential ticket when the time comes.”
“That is the part that is the decision of the party. And we are home and dry with that decision. We we are comfortable. The fears of everybody have been allayed,” he explained.
Mr Baraje admitted it was the tradition of the party to zone the chairmanship position and the presidential ticket to different regions but that it may no longer be so because, according to him, “this is an abnormal time.”
He said: “That was our tradition. So, that was our fear. And since this is not the usual time, many things happen when times are not usual, when situations are not normal. This is an abnormal time. Nigerians have suffered a lot. We are still suffering, and they need a party to deliver. We need a party to deliver Nigeria and the answer is PDP.”
“So, we need to do some alignment in order for us to be able to give the people what they want. The yearning of the people has to be satisfied. So, this is not in our time, that tradition has to be, you know, adjusted to suit.
And that is why you see us add the clause that no matter where the chairman comes from does not preclude anybody from that region from contesting the presidential seat.” Mr Baraje however failed to explain what made that time so unusual other than their desire to accommodate the perennial desire and interest of one man who was hell bent on becoming Nigeria’s president and remains so to date and who didn’t care if his ambition cost the party the much-desired victory at the polls.
On May 28, 2022, the People’s Democratic Party members went into their 2023 presidential primary election in a special national convention held at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja with the controversy over the party’s decision to throw open its presidential ticket to every part of the country hanging over the party, a decision considered a break from tradition where the ticket was usually zoned and rotated between North and South.
After the election, Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar again emerged as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mr Abubakar defeated 12 other aspirants in the presidential primary. Of the 767 accredited delegates for the election, Mr Abubakar polled 371 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who came second with 237 votes.
With that victory, the former Vice President was ready for another shot at Nigerian presidency for a record six times after he had previously contested unsuccessfully for same position in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. Atiku’s emergence as the standard-bearer of the PDP positioned the North to occupy the presidency of Nigeria for another four years or possibly additional eight years at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Abubakar’s fellow Northerner’s tenure. Had Atiku won the 2023 presidential election, it meant the North would have retained the Presidency for another four years and with the prospect of another four years for a total of sixteen years back to back.
Atiku Abubakar’s emergence as PDP presidential candidate did not come without yet another drama in what seems to be the PDP’s unending and frequent tendency to generate controversies. Just moments before voting began and after the aspirants had all addressed the delegates, Aminu Tambuwal, one of the frontline contenders to the race requested and was granted a rare second chance access of the podium to address the delegates again, in which he announced to them that he had stepped down for Atiku Abubakar and directed his supporters to vote for Mr Abubakar.
The decision which was believed to be the game changer that led to Atiku’s victory was a result of last minute horse trading between Mr Abubakar’s camp and Mr Tambuwal with the rumored tacit support and endorsement of Mr Ayu, the national chairman.
Mr Tambuwal’s last minute decision to step down, according to speculators in the PDP, was made based on an agreement between Tambuwal and Atiku’s camp shortly before the election. Tambuwal was believed to have obtained a form to enable him to run for Senate and may require the support of the Atiku’s camp to achieve the mission, and if he gets to the Senate and Atiku emerged as President in 2023, the former Speaker it was speculated was banking on Atiku’s camp to become the President of the Senate.
Some political analysts believe it was Mr Tambuwal’s withdrawal from the race that tilted the race in favour of the former vice president. They argued Tambuwal’s withdrawal from the contest and his backing of Atiku may have prevented Wike from clinching the party’s ticket. But for his withdrawal they argued, he would have divided the votes of the north and possibly opened the way for Mr Wike to clinch the ticket.
The former Sokoto governor, who also contested for the ticket ahead of the 2019 election, had campaigned aggressively and was widely rated among the top contenders for the ticket. Party insiders said he had especially locked down the votes from the North-west geopolitical zone which had the highest number of delegates nationwide.
The former Sokoto governor’s backing of of the former Vice President happened despite the former Rivers State governor’s support for Tambuwal when he sought the PDP presidential ticket in 2019, which Atiku eventually won, and despite Wike cozing up with the former Sokoto State governor, the government and people of Sokoto after the 2019 PDP presidential ticket contest by visiting the state to condole with the former governor and the people of Sokoto and donating N500 million after a fire outbreak that burnt down Sokoto Central Market.
Former Governor Wike went to Sokoto to sympathise and commiserate with the government and people of Sokoto state over the unfortunate incident. Former Governor Wike also visited the Sultan of Sokoto to condole with him over the death of his brother and former Sokoto state commissioner for home affairs, Abubakar Jeli Abubakar.
Please join us again in Episode 6 as we continue to 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 current conundrum in the party.
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 from there. You can reach him at b.chuck.johnson@gmail.com.