By Milford Bekom

First, it started as a folktale, then it began to look like fiction and finally, began to assume a life of its own.The Senate seat of Cross River Central Senatorial District is actually the matter for discourse here where the dramatis personae are current Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) and Hon. John Enoh, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations in the House of Representatives.

As has been affirmed in relevant quarters, Senator Ndoma-Egba has always been a loyal party man and has worked for and defended the PDP when it mattered most.

Before the emergence of nPDP (New PDP) in the polity, prior to the convention where some renegade PDP governors staged a walk-out from the convention venue at the Eagle Square in Abuja, later to converge at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre in the same locale.

They were supposedly dissatisfied with the outcome of the convention. In the build-up to the party’s convention, a convention screening committee was set up with Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba as the Chairman.

The mainstream PDP loyal to President Jonathan was in the know that the renegade governors had weaved a plot to take over PDP.

The PDP needed a trusted and loyal partyman, and Senator Ndoma-Egba stepped up to the task.  As Convention Chairman, he successfully weeded the party of the elements of nPDP. The rest is history and today PDP is firmly in the hands of President Jonathan.

Only recently, in the build-up to the PDP governorship primaries in Ekiti State, with a record 19 guber aspirants, it was Senator Ndoma-Egba who was chosen by the PDP to serve as Chairman of the screning committee. He didn’t disappoint the party as he rejected several gratification offers from some aspirants so that the outcome of the exercise will tilt in their favour.

Weak candidate

A major opposition party’s overtures to ensure that a weak candidate emerged from the exercise, so as to give them an edge during the guber elections, was turned down. Senator Ndoma-Egba ensured that the right thing was done and today, because of this singular act, PDP was able to again make an in-road into South West.

Senator Ndoma-Egba has always stood up for the party and how is the PDP paying him back? The party is allowing a Turk to overrun Senator Ndoma-Egba. Why can’t the party protect its own, you may ask?

What with the undertaker role played by this young Turk in 2011 when the PDP selected Hon Mulikat Akande to be the Speaker House of Representatives? He, with the help of nPDP elements and two South South governors; one now in APC and the other still in PDP, bankrolled the Tambuwal project.

He was later to be rewarded with a very juicy committee in the House of Representatives. Little wonder Tambuwal paid a thank-you visit to U. J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar same day in the guise of watching the Super Eagles match.

Since then, the PDP and the Presidency have known no peace what with the daily embarrassment the leadership of the House doles out to them.

Done with House of Representatives, the next theatre is the Senate. These same forces have yet again recruited him as their trusted ally in reneging on party decisions.

Delegates and party supporters that came for the process of electing their standard bearer were overwhelmed by those determined to skew the process of genuine representation.

Yet, the PDP and the Presidency folded their hands and watched while all these transpired.

Precedent, unfortunately, is being set here and, please note that:

*Anybody can upstage anybody and the party will watch from the sidelines.

*Anybody can rebel against the PDP and expect being rewarded with a higher position.

*Senator Ndoma-Egba could have received gratification for his personal gains when he served as Chairman Screening Committee for both Ekiti governorship primaries and PDP mini Convention. The PDP would have lost Ekiti and the party as a whole may today not be in the firm grip of President Jonathan.

*PDP does not reward loyal members but disloyal members.

Senator Robert Baird of USA spent about three tenures serving as a Senator on wheel chair. The party did not allow any young Turk loaded with millions of dollars to upstage and outrun him. Methinks there is still a window for the right thing to be done as history beckons on PDP.