BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL  EDITOR
It is remarkable that Anambra State with its welcoming nickname “Home for All” has, unconsciously become the nemesis of the majority of the past national chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Indeed, of the past seven national chairmen of the PDP, only the Anambra born and pioneer chairman of the party, Dr. Alex Ekwueme left office voluntarily. All others were forced out under unceremonious circumstances.

Though the cantankerous battle for supremacy and ego between the last national chairman, Dr. Okwesileze Nwodo and Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State was the direct cause of Nwodo’s exit, the underlying shadow of Anambra politics was indeed not too far from Nwodo’s capitulation. Indeed, the Anambra born National Vice-Chairman of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh was pivotal to the decisive communiqué issued by the Southeast caucus that partly instigated the uproar against Nwodo last Tuesday.

Dr. Ekweueme’s tenure did not stir much controversies in but on his exit a dust of controversy was raised over his alleged role in the enthronement of his one time aide, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju as the PDP gubernatorial candidate for Anambra. Despite Mbadjinuju’s background of an academic, his performance as governor proved to be so embarrassing that the PDP refused to endorse him for a second term.

Chief Solomon Lar was the second national chairman of the PDP and stepped in following Dr. Ekwueme’s voluntary exit.

Lar’s stewardship of the PDP was itself not without controversy especially in the days preceding the 1999 elections when the PDP primaries and results arising from it became controversial. Following the impressive showing by the PDP in the first set of elections in 1998/9, prominent names in the then All Peoples Party, APP including Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu among others jumped ship when they saw the PDP machine winning most of the low level elections. Remarkably, the result of the PDP gubernatorial primaries in Anambra which reportedly returned Prof. ABC Nwosu was allegedly overturned at the PDP national headquarters at the instance of a party leader from the State.

That was the beginning of the PDP crisis in Anambra State which 12 years after is yet to be resolved.

Lar’s stewardship of the PDP was equally brief and by the end of 1999 after the inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo the search was on for a new leader.

Obasanjo was reportedly uncomfortable with the carriage of Chief Lar as national chairman and sought a replacement. Two prominent party men threw themselves up for the elective convention to replace Lar. The duo were Chief Sunday Awoniyi and Chief Barnabas Gemade. Obasanjo did not only prefer Gemade, but went out of his way to oppose the highly principled Awoniyi.

His reason for opposing Awoniyi as Chairman was by some account to allow diversity as he reportedly claimed he did not want a situation where a Yoruba man was President and another Yoruba man was the top official of the ruling party.

Obasanjo’s reason was reportedly self-serving as some claimed that Awoniyi’s principled devotions were against the manipulations that the former President was about to foist on the party.

Gemade won the chairmanship election during the special convention held late in 1999 along with other officers on a special list that was favoured by Obasanjo. Remarkably, that election was the last competitive election that was held for the selection of national officers of the ruling party, reflecting the increasing deterioration of internal democracy in the nation’s ruling party.

Gemade served Obasanjo’s interests up till about 2001 when he started showing traces of independence. The independent streak in the Benue born man led to his arranged exit during the party’s mini-convention in 2001.

Gemade was replaced by Chief Audu Ogbeh, the erstwhile Minister of Communications in the Second Republic. Ogbeh’s reputation as a puritan among the political class was largely known.

However, that reputation was immediately challenged once he got into office as he was appointed Special Adviser to the President on Agriculture against the provisions of the PDP Constitution, Article 15 (1) (d) which prohibits party officials from holding another position in government.

Ogbeh successfully managed difficult relations between President Obasanjo and the National Assembly prior to the 2003 election and even sometimes came down hard against the President’s foes. He, however, got fed up with the President’s acquiescence to the happenings in Anambra State where a sitting governor was arrested by civilians connected to the President and government properties burnt.

In a famous letter to the President dated December 6, 2004 entitled Anambra and Related Matters but subsequently leaked by the presidency, Ogbeh said:

“About a month ago, the nation woke up to the shocking news of a devastating attack on Anambra State resulting in the burning down of radio and television stations, hotels, vehicles, assembly quarters, the residence of the state Chief Judge and finally, Government House, Awka.

Dynamite was even applied in the exercise and all or nearly most of these in the full glare of our own police force as shown on NTA for the world to see. The operation lasted three days.

“That week, in all churches and mosques, we, our party, and you as Head of Government and Leader of this Nation came under the most scathing and blithering attacks. We were singly and severally accused of connivance in action and so forth. Public anger reached its peak.

“Mr. President, if I write in this vein, it is because I am deeply troubled and I can tell you that an overwhelming percentage of our party members feel the same way though many may never be able to say this to you for a variety of reasons.

“But the buck stops at your table and in my position, not only as Chairman but also as an old friend and loyal defender of your development programmes which I have never stopped defending, I dare to

think that we can, either by omission or commission allow ourselves to crash and bring to early grief, this beautiful edifice called democracy.

“On behalf of the peoples Democratic Party, I call on you to act now and bring any, and all criminal, even treasonable, activity to a halt. You and you alone, have the means. Do not hesitate. We do not have too much time to waste.”

Despite the seemingly conciliatory stance, Ogbeh’s letter was perceived as confrontational and within weeks, Ogbeh was forced to issue a resignation letter, essentially on account of the crisis in Anambra. Colonel Ahmadu Ali (rtd.) who was brought in to replace him was quickly dubbed the Garrison Commander who conducted the affairs of the party as if he was running a barrack.

Col. Ali’s stewardship was much in controversy as it was during his time that the party in a departure from the practice of political parties world over, proceeded with the streamlining of its membership through a re-registration exercise that was purely aimed at uprooting non-conformists from the party.

Among the targets of the deregistration exercise was Atiku Abubakar, the then sitting Vice-President whose leadership of the Adamawa State chapter of the party was taken over by Senator Jibril Aminu dubbed the Linkman.

Senator Aminu remarkably has also himself lately been delinked from the party after he suffered the kind of action he meted to Atiku in 2006.

Chief Ogbulafor who took over from Ali as National Chairman at a special national convention of the party in 2008 was the last minute choice of the powerful governors’ forum.