By Henry Umoru

THERE are strong indications that since the ousted national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, was forced to resign, the party has been polarized over  his successor.

Sunday Vanguard gathered yesterday that there is an  underground scheming going on as to who replaces Nwodo who left in controversial circumstances, as Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, his predecessor, left Wadata Plaza.

A source disclosed that the tension  in PDP has its roots in the  primary which saw  former Vice- President Atiku Abubakar losing the presidential ticket  to President Goodluck Jonathan and, with the latest political equation, the North wants to have total control of the party  till the April 2011 elections and beyond, preparatory to returning to power in 2015.

Findings
Amid the intriguing development in PDP, its immediate past chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, declared, yesterday, that there was nothing to suggest that he has taken over the administration of the party, contrary to a report.

According to findings, the northern caucus of  the PDP is of the view that with the “consensus candidate” from the region losing the presidential ticket, the only way the North  can be politically relevant and bounce back in 2015 was to secure the party’s leadership using the opportunity of Nwodo’s exit.

A  source said Jonathan had fallen for the bait sold by the North on the issue of Nwodo’s successor before his think-tank got to know of it, amid indications  that he conceded to the removal of the former party chairman  on the basis that it would not be fair for him to be president while another southerner controls the party.

The  plan  to remove Nwodo had been on, as gathered, but it was only actualised following the drama that took place at the venue of the national convention which the sacked chairman attended without vacating a court order restraining him from acting as PDP boss.

Top members of the party who spoke to  Sunday Vanguard affirmed that the mistake attributed to Nwodo was not sufficient for his removal against the backdrop that some former chairmen of the party in the past  committed very serious blunders and they all went away un-harassed.

The move by the North to retain the PDP top job, a source said, has divided the National Working Committee, NWC, as some party officials were of the view that since the slot of the national chairman is zoned  to the South-East, the zone should be made to produce Nwodo’s successor   immediately, but others  are saying  the present leadership of Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed in acting chairman capacity be allowed till the April elections  to avoid instigating  political quagmire in the South- East and the country.

The PDP governors had before the party’s national convention reportedly extracted a promise from Jonathan that he would  only spend a term in office, an indication that should he honour the gentleman’s agreement, power  would  either move to the South-East or the North when he leaves office, but the North is pushing for it to come back to them in 2015.

The party has not set a deadline as to when a substantive chairman will emerge, even as Mohammed, while receiving the report of the presidential primary from the Electoral Panel Chairman, Professor Tunde Adeniran, said no one can say categorically when a new  chairman will take over  as the party was waiting on the South-East, even as he has continued to consolidate, drawing support  from major stakeholders to stay on as PDP leader.

When contacted on the issue of successor to Nwodo, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Professor Rufai Ahmed Alkali, who was non-committal, however, described PDP as a focused party which, according to him, would not allow any issue to derail its activities.
Alkali added  that PDP has been facing challenges and overcoming  them,  indicating that it would always come out of any of its challenges.

Meanwhile, the South-East PDP  is not giving up  on producing  Nwodo’s successor  since the only major position zoned to it is the chairmanship of the party.

Aspirants for the PDP national chairmanship  from the zone have reportedly been mounting pressure on their respective governors to approach the President with their names as successor to Nwodo.

The touted names to succeed the sacked party chairman include former Senate president, Senator  Anyim Pius Anyim; former foreign affairs minister, Chief  Ojo Maduekwe and  former national vice- Chairman, South-East zone, Chief  Fidelis Ozichukwu.

Anenih: I am not in charge of PDP

In the meantime, Anenih, yesterday declared that there is nothing to suggest that he has taken over the administration of the party.
He also made it clear that he had neither taken over nor planned to take over the running of the affairs of the party, contrary to a newspaper report.

Anenih’s declaration came against the backdrop of a report that he has now “taken charge of affairs” in the party following last Tuesday’s resignation  of  Nwodo as the party’s national chairman.

He said, in a statement  in Abuja, that the report that he had taken charge of affairs in the party was totally false and mischievous.

In the one-page statement, entitled, “I AM NOT IN CHARGE OF PDP,” Anenih said, “My attention has been drawn to a mischievous and utterly false story in (a publication of 22 January, 2011), to the effect that I have “taken charge of affairs” in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Clarifies issues on PDP administration

“I wish to state categorically that at no time have I directly or indirectly been involved in the day-to-day administration of the PDP.”
According to him, “The PDP is a well-structured and organised political party with clear lines of authority.

“I do not hold any administrative positions in the party. I was a Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP and currently a member of its National Executive Committee (NEC).”

Anenih stated that the PDP has an Acting National Chairman, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, whom he said was capable of running the affairs of the party.

He said the party also had in place a National Working Committee (NWC) which, according to him, “has, over the years, demonstrated proven capacity to manage the party efficiently.”

The Iyasele of Esanland, however, assured that he would continue to play a positive role in the affairs of the ruling PDP.
“While I will continue to play a positive role in the affairs of the PDP, I have neither taken-over nor desired to take-over the administration of the party,” he posited.