OLUSOLA FABIYI examines the behind-the-scene hostilities among members of the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party
A few minutes after they were pronounced winners of the various national offices of the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, the elected officials hugged one another in ecstasy. They shook hands vigorously, laughing and congratulating one another for their victories at the convention. That was on March 17. After their swearing-in, the officials promised to work together to uplift the party whose members habitually and conceitedly pride as the largest party in West Africa.
But less than three months after the open display of camaraderie, things have changed. The headquarters of the party, popularly called Wadata Plaza, Abuja, has become a home of gossips, backbiting and intrigues among the elected officials and party officers. Peace seems to have taken an early flight out of the building. The NWC members have become the proverbial walnut that does not know what is in the heart of the other.
Consequently, the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, is seen as a man who has come to weaken the powers wielded by other members of the NWC. Other members in the NWC, apart from Tukur, are Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam-Sam Jaja; National Secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh; National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha and Deputy National Secretary, Mr. Solomon Onwe.
Others are National Woman Leader, Mrs. Kema Chikwe; National Legal Adviser, Mr. Victor Kwon; National Youth Leader, Alhaji Garba Anani; National Treasurer, Alhaji Bala Kaoje and National Auditor, Alhaji Olabode Mustapha.
Many individuals and political parties have faulted the convention that produced this present crop of NWC members by describing it as anything but democratic. The Action Congress of Nigeria and the Congress for Progressive Change specifically faulted the process that produced Tukur, saying the ruling party did not live up to its pre-convention promises that it would allow delegates to vote for the candidates of their choices.
They were referring to the muzzling of other aspirants to step down for Tukur and Oyinlola by President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP governors. While Jonathan insisted on Tukur, thereby forcing 16 other chairmanship aspirants to step down at the event venue, the governors, who came with the delegates, also said they would not tell their delegates to vote for Tukur unless Oyinlola was allowed to become the national secretary. Before the emergence of Oyinlola on the scene, Prof. Tunde Adeniran was the preferred candidate in the Tukur camp. The former minister was also being supported by the President.
Since politics has been described as the accommodation of others with own interest as paramount, Tukur and Oyinlola assumed office unchallenged. But since he stepped into the office, Tukur, who, like Oyinlola, was a former governor, has not left anyone in doubt about his desire to be seen as being in charge. Upon resumption, Tukur had named the former pioneer National Administrative Secretary of the party, Alhaji Habu Fari, as his Chief of Staff, while a former Inspector-General of Police, Chief Mike Okiro, was appointed the Special Adviser on Security Matters.
He also appointed Senator Saidu Umar as the Special Adviser on Independent National Electoral Commission and Electoral Matters; Mr. Abduallhi Gumel, Special Adviser on National Assembly; the former Principal Secretary to the former national chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Alhaji Aminu Yakodima became the Special Assistant on General Duties. He named Mr. Osaro Onaiwo as Special Adviser (Liaison), while a former deputy governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Gusau, was appointed the Special Adviser to the national chairman.
The appointments set the tone for discontent within the party’s top hierarchy. Some NWC members believed that the aim of Tukur was to render them redundant and make himself (Tukur) the sole administrator of the party. They wondered where Tukur derived his powers from to appoint such a large retinue of officers. A member of the NWC, on condition of anonymity said, “All these offices were never known in the party before. They have nothing to do in the party.” He wondered what Tukur’s adviser on INEC would be doing when the party has a National Organising Secretary.
Tukur, however, appeared not to have been deterred by such insinuations as he moved a step further by setting up a 50-member High-Powered Advisory Committee on May 30. In dissent, majority of the members of the NWC boycotted the inauguration of the committee, which was held at the party’s National Executive Committee Hall at its Abuja HQs. Even, the two members of the NWC, who were listed as members of the advisory committee, stayed away. They were Jaja and Oyinlola. Apart from Tukur, only two members of the NWC were in attendance when the event started. They were Kaoje and Chikwe. Chiza walked in when the event was almost ended.
A member of the NWC, told our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, that the other eight members of the NWC decided to boycott the occasion. The member said, “Go and read the party’s constitution and you will not find such a body and that is why we felt there was no need to be part of such illegality. When Tukur came, he brought the list of many aides that were alien to the party’s structure and some of these aides were even insisting that they would be attending our meetings, which we resisted. I think we have a problem in that party.”
But Tukur said he decided to set up the committee in order to assist him to reposition the party. In his response, the chairman of the committee, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, said, “The committee is not captured in the party’s constitution and it is not in any organ of the party, but we will work with the chairman to suggest the way forward for the party.” Article 12 of the party’s constitution lists the organs of the party as National Caucus, Board of Trustees, National Executive Committee, National Convention and the NWC.
The day-to-day running of the party is vested in the NWC, which has the power to act on behalf of the NEC subject to the ratification of the latter.
Now, the cold war between members of the NWC has snowballed into an open confrontation. Oyinlola has summoned enough courage to let Tukur know that some of his actions are not in consonance with the party’s constitution. In some of his memos, he accused some aides of Tukur of working against the smooth running of the party with the connivance of their principal and declared their actions as illegal.
He specifically accused Tukur’s Principal Secretary of having no regard for the laws and constitution of the party. In his memo dated June 8, 2012 with reference PDP NS 03/12 to Fari and Tukur, Oyinlola warned that the party was heading for the rocks if the activities of Tukur’s aides were not curtailed.
In the letter entitled, ‘Illegal Acts Prejudicial to the Interest of the Peoples Democratic Party,’ Oyinlola wrote, “It has become imperative for me to invite your attention to some very unethical acts, which are capable of causing disharmony within the leadership of the PDP, as well as cause incalculable damage to relationships and smooth conduct of business at the national headquarters of the party.
“You will certainly recall that I have also had occasion to discuss this trend of unbecoming conducts with you while I have also written to you in the past about acts prejudicial to the smooth conduct of activities of the NWC. I am constrained to once again react to your continued disregard to the laws and constitution guiding the activities of our great party, which you claim to be serving at the national headquarters.”
He accused Fari of engaging in external correspondence with some members of the party, which he claimed ought to be his duty.
Our correspondent learnt that Oyinlola was not happy that Fari, who, on the directive of Tukur but without his (Oyinlola’s) consent, wrote an introductory letter to the National Chairman’s Special Adviser on National Assembly, Mr. Abdullahi Gumel, on the need to mount pressure on the members of the party in the National Assembly to pay up their dues to the party. Tukur, however, disagreed, saying that his aides were appointed to act on his behalf with or without the knowledge of the NWC members, including Oyinlola.
Tukur, according to investigations, had argued that in line with the constitution of the party, his most senior personal aide was in the best position to issue appointment letters to other aides, an action which infuriated Oyinlola.
Fari, who was the national chairman of the National Democratic Party, was first named as Chief of Staff to the national chairman, but had his title changed when the NWC members protested that such office was not known to the party’s constitution. They said there was no record to show that Fari had left the NDP and had indeed registered with the PDP. “You can see that such a person ought not to be trusted with such sensitive position he is occupying now,” an aggrieved NWC member told our correspondent.
Oyinlola, in his memo, accused Fari of usurping his duties by writing letters introducing the special advisers to different people and offices. It was learnt that Oyinlola had also written a letter to all state chairmen of the party, urging them to disregard any memo from the party’s national headquarters that did not carry his signature.
Fari has, however, fired back at Oyinlola, saying the latter’s lack of knowledge on how the party was formed was responsible for his attitude. He accused him of being overambitious. He said he did not intend to reply the former governor’s letter because it was misleading. He, however, said he changed his mind because Oyinlola’s letter was “semantically misleading,” and the arguments he advanced in his “attempt to justify the illegal acts are extremely damaging.” Fari said it was unfortunate that Oyinlola believed in rumours than facts, adding that this would not help him to do his job well. Fari’s letter, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent, read, “I will like to remind you that my appointment as the Chief of Staff to the national chairman was strictly at his pleasure.
“I do not think there is any guiding regulations or law that prohibits the national chairman from doing so. I am certain that this is applicable to other appointments made by the national chairman. I also wondered why you erroneously declared my office as non-existent. For what reasons and on whose authority (did you derive such powers)?”
Fari, who kept saying he had the authority of his boss to reply Oyinlola, said he was disappointed by “your (Oyinlola’s) lack of consistence” and his inability to have a good working relationship with the party’s national chairman.
“Your aggressive nature to issues in this letter and other correspondence has portrayed you as an overambitious personality and one with a hidden agenda that can be detrimental to the party,” he added.
But what could have been wrong with these party officials? Why is everything in disarray so soon? Investigations showed that the NWC members had been polarised. While Tukur is believed to be working towards getting Jonathan a second term ticket, the other faction is believed to have the support of the governors elected under the umbrella of the party. It was learnt that other NWC members felt that Tukur was trying to run the party as his personal estate and have, therefore, vowed to cut him to size.
As a first step, the NWC members at their meeting of June 6 turned down his memorandum on how to reform the party. The action of the NWC members was said to have stunned Tukur “because that had not happened in the past,” the source added. Tukur had, in the rejected memo, among other things, proposed that some directors be moved to other departments of the party as part of his reform agenda. The NWC also rejected his request to establish more committees that would ensure a smooth running of the party.
Meanwhile, as the drama unfolds, a member of the PDP Stakeholders Forum, Mr. Ikenga Ugochinyere, said the party’s NEC, National Caucus and BoT must intervene in the crisis. He said the party’s top hierarchy must caution Fari, adding that it was wrong for an appointee of the party to be rude to its officials. He said Fari’s response to Oyinlola was “an insult” to the office the former governor occupies. Before such intervention comes, more jabs may be thrown by these party officials at one another. The PDP national secretariat remains the ring and Nigerians the vexed spectators.
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