The crisis rocking the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has been rekindled by aspirants protesting their exclusion from the electoral process, OLUWOLE JOSIAH reports
A group of 47 Peoples Democratic Party aspirants seeking tickets to contest for seats in the Ondo State House of Assembly and House of Representatives made public their grievances last week in Abuja, alleging that they had been denied the right to contest in the coming primaries of the PDP. They said they feared a lack of internal democracy and high-handedness of party leaders who had conspired to bring an abrupt end to their political ambitions.
The aspirants alleged that instead of opening the floor for healthy democratic contest, the party leaders simply handpicked those they wanted and disqualified the others for inexplicable reasons. The aspirants, who have now constituted themselves into a group named the Ondo PDP Aspirants Forum have warned of an imminent defeat of the party in the state in the coming elections.
Although other political parties are also grappling with the backlashes of their local congresses, the development within the PDP in Ondo has assumed a notable dimension, following the recent defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko from Labour Party to the PDP. The duality in the leadership of the party has created a mist of confusion as to where the aspirants belong. Mimiko commands a large group of defectors from the LP and some of the old PDP loyalists. The Chairman of the PDP in the state, Ebenezer Alabi, whose executive was dissolved by the National Working Committee, is still holding the fort, insisting that he was democratically elected and cannot be removed by a fiat of the NWC. He is said to have a sizable following from the old PDP, particularly enjoying the support of bigwigs like Jimoh Ibrahim and Olusola Oke.
Rounds of truce meetings were held, but political watchers note that all is still not well. The contentions are largely on account of the formula for the sharing of positions between the two factions. The position of the governor is not in contest. There will be no governorship election next year. Mimiko’s administration will still run till 2017. The positions up for grabs are in the House of Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
There are three senate slots, nine seats of the House of Representatives and 26 seats in the House of Assembly. The initial sharing formula, which was in favour of the Mimiko group, saw the old PDP getting three out of the nine House of Representatives seats; eight out of the 26 seats in the House of Assembly and one senatorial seat out of three. The Alabi-led group did not waste time in rejecting this offer, saying it did not reflect their true strength.
The David Mark-chaired committee charged with the task of reconciling the two groups was alleged to have dallied over reconciliation. The delays and the suspicion by the old PDP that he was tilting towards the governor further created shadows in the earlier progress made.
Both groups have engaged themselves in a battle of wits and tacts, drawing inspiration from their different areas of support. While the Mimiko group is said to have the backing of the party, which was reflected in their posture during the respective congresses, the Alabi faction was considered successful in resting squarely on the position of the courts which had ruled on a stay of action by the NWC on its dissolution. The group had also raised constitutional issues with which it intends to deploy in nullifying the activities of the Mimiko group through legal means.
Both parties held separate congresses and presented different delegates’ lists. Both parties lay claim to authenticity and the backing of the Independent National Electoral Commission. Sometimes they denied that there were factions in the party. Ayo Fadaka, the Publicity Secretary of the party, stated that there was only one PDP in the state.
President Goodluck Jonathan is said to have shown interest in the crisis rocking the party. There are speculations that the President is seeking to use Ondo as a springboard in his efforts to reclaim the South-West for the PDP. This, analysts note, underscores the strategic importance of Mimiko’s return to the party.
According to Alabi, the President personally presided over a peace meeting last Wednesday in Abuja, with the Vice-President, Namadi Sambo; President of the Senate, David Mark; PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, Mimiko as well as other leaders of the party in the state in attendance. The meeting, it was gathered, was considered successful and it was thought the trouble had come to an end.
It was learnt on good authority that Mimiko made some concessions, conceding more House of Representatives and House of Assembly seats to the old PDP. In the new arrangement, the governor and his group would take 15 House of Assembly seats, while the remaining 11 will go to the other faction. There was also the agreement that the group that would produce more senators would have less number of members at the House of Representatives.
Although this new sharing formula is acceptable to the governor’s faction, Mimiko is asking that the state party executive be dissolved and reconstituted to reflect the present realities in the party. The new proposition is that the chairman and secretary of the party should be shared between the two groups, while other offices in the executive would be distributed along the divide.
Although this did not generate further controversies, Ibrahim had drawn the attention of the party to the subsisting court order restraining the NWC from tampering with the party structure in the state. By implication, the condition upon which Mimiko and his group made the “extensive concession” would have to be kept in abeyance until the court order is vacated. This is observed to be a major cog in the wheel of the reconciliation process.
Were it not for the litigation, the battle would have long been lost and won, observers said. Alabi admitted this when he stated that although negotiations were still ongoing, the pronouncement of the court, with regard to the continuation of the state’s PDP executive committee, was an issue that would have to be resolved for the party to make any meaningful advancement towards stability, and to achieve the goal of winning the 2015 elections.
The disqualification of the aspirants, which is constituting another critical angle in the crisis rocking the party, is certainly forming itself into a real drag the party will be contending with in the coming days. The OPAF has vowed to seek the protection of the courts in the enforcement of their rights. Femi Adekanbi, who leads the group, said they had notified INEC through the court not to recognise the LP candidates who defected to PDP.
According to Adekanbi, those who defected to the PDP fail to fulfill a fundamental requirement of the party’s constitution– chapter 2(8)(1-11)– which demands that those joining the party 30 days before the congress are not qualified to participate in it, holding that Mimiko and his supporters joined the party 29 days before the congress.
Rulings from two courts in Abuja have become the major impediments to final peace in the party. It has been Mimiko’s demand that the court cases be withdrawn as a panacea for the smooth resolution of the differences, but it is now the only negotiating power of his opponents. The first case was instituted to protect the extant party structure, while the other targets the caretaker committee, and to nullify the congress which it conducted recently.
Interestingly, both parties are hopeful that the matter will be resolved soon enough to place them ahead of other parties in the state. According to Alabi, the negotiations are continuing and the outcome at the end of the day, will be in the interest of all party members.
The State Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the crisis within the PDP was not unusual, as other political parties were also in the throes of internal wrangling. He opined that the party would grow out of the current problems stronger to conquer not only Ondo, but also the South-West states in the coming general elections. He also noted that the peace meeting held between the groups in Abuja showed the readiness of the party to set aside all differences and forge ahead.
The fears, some watchers noted, are that the PDP may not do well in the 2015 elections, following threats by aggrieved members to work against the party. According to them, with the primaries almost at hand, and the opposition waiting to harvest those who fall out with the party, there is no better counsel than that the factions reconcile their differences.
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