Though the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be basking in the euphoria of triumph in the Bayelsa state governorship election, the party still has to contend with the leadership crisis rocking it.
Besides, the PDP has the challenge of the gale of defections from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to surmount before it can finally sing uhuru and celebrate.
Former Special Adviser on Political Matters to the then President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak recently, with the aid of the court, sacked the acting chairman of the party, Chief Uche Secondus. He went further to ask the Board Of Trustees (BOT) and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to immediately elect him or any candidate from the North-East geo-political zone as the substantive national chairman
While the party was yet to come to terms with what hit it and figure out how to get its chairman to pilot the affairs of the party, the problem has been compounded by the growing numbers of members jumping ship.
The list is unending: former governor of old Anambra state, Chief Jim Nwobodo and Mrs. Uche Ekwunife in Anambra; Chief Otu Ita Otoyo, former State chairman of PDP in Akwa Ibom State, former Senator Alloysius Etok and former House of Representatives member, Eseme Eyiboh; former chairman of security committee, New Rivers Vision Campaign Organisation, Brig.-Gen. David Amah and former member, House of Representatives, Chief Edwin Oludi crossed from PDP to APC in Rivers State; Senator Ayo Akinyelure and Dr. Pius Osunyikanmi in Ondo State to mention but a few.
Before now, notable politicians including PJ Ekunke, former governorship aspirant, Francis Bullem (both from Ogoja), former LP governorship candidate, Fidelis Ugbo from Obanlikwu, former governor Clement Ebri, former Senate leader, Victor Ndoma Egba, SAN, Chief Alex Egbuna had also left the PDP to the APC in the Central Senatorial District of the state of Cross River State.
The defections have gotten to an embarrassing level that even a member of APC and former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, frowned at the manner PDP members were flooding her party, APC.
Dabiri-Erewa who called the defectors ‘political prostitutes’ via her Twitter handle,@abikedabiri, said: “The rate of defection from PDP to APC is shameful. Political prostitutes, politics of convenience, not conviction.”
But the national vice chairman of the party, South South, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh insisted that there was no cause for alarm as it was expected of a big party that has been stunned by the loss of an election of such magnitude as the 2015 presidential election.
According to him, who believed that PDP would recover to reclaim power at the centre by 2019, the challenges were internal and that measures were already on to resolve them internally as one family.
“After the huge storm that befell us in the presidential election do you expect everything to be fine? These are the sorts of teething problems you expect and the party in the process of repositioning and reengineering itself will find solution. Everything is in-house problem that we are solving in-house,” he said in an interview with The Guardian.
He said that those who were decamping particularly form States that elections were pending or imminent were only deluding themselves believing they were heading to greener pastures
He claimed that such politicians were hoping that the ruling APC government at the centre would bring the federal might to bear in the elections and possibly impose them against the wish of the people, stressing that it does not work that way and it would never work in the present day Nigeria.
“Those who are decamping are soldiers of fortune, they are people who want to reap where they did not sow, and they are people who are hopeful that the APC-led federal government will come and impose APC government on the people,” he stated.
Ojougboh, a medical practitioner turned politician disclosed that the defections in Bayelsa were for similar reasons but noted that it did not work because PDP was on ground in Bayelsa state as well as in all the South South States, adding that “when you leave your party for no just cause to join the party at the centre and you now feel that the federal might will now come and then impose you on the people nothing good comes out of it … that is why they are defecting, there is no other reason. “
Continuing, he said: “All the defections in Bayelsa are for the same reason, because they felt that since we have lost power at the centre, the federal might will come and impose the APC in Bayelsa, but it failed. That did not happen in Bayelsa, that is not going to happen in Akwa Ibom and it will not happen in Rivers state.
In particular, he was confident that PDP would reclaim Edo State from the APC Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s tenure saying that it was PDP leaders that made it possible for Oshiomhole to win and that those circumstances that informed such decisions then have changed.
Said he: “Edo is a PDP state; you watch and see what will happen. Oshiomhole has had his terms. We will take back Edo; remember it was PDP that gave Edo State out. It was disgruntled leaders of PDP in Edo state that made PDP to loose Edo state. But now all those things will change. We are working strenuously behind the scene even across the country; we are not relenting on our oars at all until we claim back our dominance in the country.
“We are very much confident PDP will win and retain the South South states, we worked and we believe in the power of the people, we do not believe in a power from Abuja. You will see what is going to happen even in 2019 we will take over even at the centre.”
He claimed that PDP was still popular, loved and desired by Nigerians explaining that some unfortunate incidents and developments were responsible for the party’s loss of the seat of government at the centre.
“It is obvious Nigerians love PDP if not for unfortunate incidents and people that would not do their work and this issue of corruption … PDP still remains the largest party in Africa, the PDP is well represented in every ward in this country and has a formidable structure on ground. PDP is a product that is admirable. APC cannot run this country, in the next two years you will begin to see the feelers from the people. Nigerians want to see food on their table not these things that are happening now. All these things that are pervading if it were PDP in government we would have found solutions. APC can’t find solution, they cannot.
“Please help me tell them that they are wasting their time, it will not happen, PDP is working, and PDP is on ground. My appeal to PDP members is for them to remain steadfast and not to cross to any other party. In fact those who have crossed should please return because we are coming out stronger by the day.”
The PDP vice chairman also spoke on the fortunes of the party in Delta State where they recently lost the Central Senatorial district to the Labour Party (LP) via the Appeal Court, asserting that PDP remained formidable in the state under the leadership of the Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
“That judgment is a very curious judgment and people are dumbfounded, people are very surprise at that sort of judgment. The same judge that declared him winner a week earlier now went and upturned our election. It is very curious. But in any case it does not affect us in anyway. PDP remains very formidable in the Delta state, the governor is doing very well, the people are appreciating and the party is waxing stronger and becoming more united, “ he stated.
Source: Guardian Newspaper
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