By Jide Ajani

…National chairmen as victims of servitude
It is simple: A PDP national chairman not imposed by the President would not last; a national chairman imposed by the President but who, for whatever reason(s), does not obey him would be removed.  There is a history. And that is the sorry, sad story of PDP national chairmen.

If President Goodluck Jonathan meant what he said, he meant it as a joke. And a big joke at that! While addressing the 58th National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, President Jonathan warned leaders of his party not to impose candidates for elective offices.

Instead, he wanted the spirit of democracy to guide the emergence of candidates that would be put forward for elections. The major activity before the PDP today is the election of its national chairman.  It holds on March 24.

Therefore, when the President made the statement, even right there at that meeting, not a few thought deep inside about the fallacious nature of that statement.

For a party that has a long history of uncanny imposition of candidates, that statement could only mean one thing:  A joke.

Consider:  The primaries that produced candidate Jonathan for the 2011 general election was structured in such a way as to produce only one candidate – Jonathan.

Nwodo...sacked by Jonathan

If that was far-fetched, the recent governorship primaries of the party in Bayelsa brought the state to its knees.  Why? President Jonathan made it obvious through friends, proxies and the leadership of the PDP that only one candidate was fit for that election and only that candidate must win the election.  That candidate is Seriake Dickson. He has been sworn-in after an election that manifestly suffered unbridled apathy (even by President Jonathan’s own admission) but still produced figures that showed almost 75% voting.

The party’s110-page document called its constitution is almost always observed in the breach.  Even its own zoning arrangement was ignored to pave the way for the emergence of President Jonathan. The majority of the party’s members in the House of Representatives embarrassed President Jonathan and the party leadership when they voted en masse for Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to become Speaker.

At every turn of the road, the party is not known to have any regard for decency because all its national chairmen who have suggested a paradigm shift from that of the President have been booted out.  Even the ones imposed by the President but who engaged in acts of indiscretion, have also been disgraced out of office.

The only exceptions were Solomon Lar (who was founding chairman and had to bow out because then President Olusegun Obasanjo didn’t want him to continue) and Ahmadu Ali (because the office was re-zoned to the South East geo-political zone). Whenever the PDP comes to town with its crises, Nigerians on the other side are quick to predict disintegration.  But the party continues to egregiously shame its opponents to the consternation of many who still do not understand why politicians behave the way they do.

Take, for instance, the case of Audu Ogbeh who wrote an open letter to Obasanjo.  He was forced to resigning – that, after a deal brokered by the likes of Chief Tony Anenih; in fact but for that deal there would have been an implosion in the party.

What about Okwesilieze Nwodo, whose indiscretion concerning a court order barring him from parading himself as chairmen almost caused the PDP Convention of January last year to become an illegality – he thought he had the case wrapped up but his state governor, Sullivan Chime, caused the order to stay (they belong to the same PDP).

How about Vincent Ogbulafor, a prince from Abia State.  Just because he said zoning remained in PDP (that would have meant Jonathan was not qualified to contest for the presidential ticket of the party), Jonathan’s government remembered that Ogbulafor was involved in petty corrupt practice almost a decade earlier, the case was brought forward again and that forced his exit.  Mind you, since 2010, nothing has been heard of the case again.

In PDP, their party, there are owners, joiners, financiers, beneficiaries and people who transmute.  President Jonathan, through patience and good luck, transmuted from just a backroom vice president to become President and Commander-in-Chief and leader of the largest party in Africa.  If you are in doubt as to how powerful he is, please ask Timpreye Silva, immediate past governor of Bayelsa State, who was stopped from contesting the primaries of his party.

NEXT SUNDAY, WE BRING YOU THE STORY OF PDP AND ITS MANY CRISES