Mini-War Grips Nigeria's Ruling Party
Published: 4 September 2013 By Abiodun Giwa

President Goodluck Jonathan
The People Democratic Party, PDP, Nigeria's mega and ruling party, is gripped by a mini-war with internal wrangling and a faction to show for it. Observers see the development as a threat to the battle readiness of the party for the 2015 general elections. Observers say that the struggle within the party is for power and control of oil money, and not about how to deepen the country's democracy or improve the poor's lot.
Some members of the party, consisting of seven governors, reportedly walk out of the party's convention, claim the party and name a new chairman.
The chairman of the parallel faction, Abubakar Baraje, with the support of the seven governors on his side, has called on the country's electoral body to unregister the ruling party and recognize its faction as substitute to the ruling party, alleging unwholesome allegations against officers of the ruling party, as reasons for his action.
Meanwhile, Baraje has headed to court dragging the PDP chairman and other party officers with him. Information reveals that the seven governors on Baraje's side are asking for the sack of the party's chairman, Bamangar Tukur. There were speculations in the media that President Goodluck Jonathan had agreed at a meeting with some governors and some other loyal party members about three weeks ago for Tukur to go for the sake of the party. But at the time of the convention that witnessed the governors' walk out, Tukur remained in office.
With Tukur as chairman of the PDP, and Baraje as chairman of a faction, the court will have to decide which of the two bodies is the real party - the subsisting ruling party or its faction. Tukur has also headed to court threatening the disloyal members with disqualification.
President Jonathan belongs to the parent body that is under attack from governors who accused their party's chairman of dictatorial tendencies. From the way the governors have been agitating for inclusiveness, they all appear to be accusing the president of siding with the party's chairman. But another side to the argument say that the seven governors don't want Jonathan to contest for a second term and wants the presidency for a northerner. But the president from a South-South geo-political region wants a second term.
The issue of the president's second term bid is said to be behind the fist-cuff between the presidency and Rotimi Amaechi, the governor of Rivers State. Amaechi is against the president bid for a second term, wants to be vice-presidential candidate to one of the yet to be fully germinated parties if he cannot aspire on his party's ticket, because of the president's second term bid. Resultantly, the chairmanship of the country's governor's forum became a spot for contest between the presidency and Amaechi. Amaechi was hand-picked by his party as the chairman of the governor's forum when the going was good. But at the end of his first term he was no longer willing to vacate the seat at the expiration of his term for political reasons. He sought a second term not as a governor but as chairman of the governor's forum.
Amaechi organized an election he said he won and the president's candidate, Jonah Jang, lost. But the president recognizes his own candidate as the chairman of the governors forum. Eleven opposition party's governors who supported Amaechi at the governors' forum election that enabled him clinched the victory expected Amaechi would join their own new party (APC) after deflection from the PDP. But Amaechi has said continuously that he is not leaving the PDP. He has expressed support for the Baraje's faction, and says in a newspaper interview that he belongs to the Baraje's faction of the PDP. By the time the storm settles, Jonathan would to know those loyal to him that he will rely upon for reelection battle. Still APC says through its publicity secretary that it has the assurance of some governors that will put the number of governors in its camp to 23 out of 43 governors in the country.
As matter stands, their appear to be three major parties getting ready for the 2015 elections in Nigeria. Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president under Olusegun Obasanjo announced his supporters registered a party known as People's Democratic Movement, PDM. It is suspected that the Baraje's faction to which Amaechi says he belongs may likely end up in PDM, if they are unable to take over control of the PDP from the presidency and Tukur. Atiku was one of the principal members of the party who walked out of the convention along with the seven governors. He has also been saying he remains a PDP loyalist, despite his approval of his supporters registering a new party. Atiku's ambition to be president separated his and Obasanjo over Obasanjo's wish to seek additional term.
All these gladiators represent the upper class and former military leaders, who championed and ensured the election of Obasanjo in 1999. Obasanjo in turn ensured the election of Musa Yar' Dua with Jonathan as vice-president. Jonathan became president after Yar' Dua's death in office, before he vied for his first term as the first president from oil flowing region of the country. Jonathan inherited the dire political and economic situation, one of them Boko Haram's emergence in the north of the country. The north disapproves Jonathan's declaration of war against Boko Haram, and it is seeking the presidency to return to it.
Systematically, Jonathan seems to have rebuffed the goons who think they control the country, including Obasanjo; instead choosing the comfort of people mostly from South,South, his own part of the country. But ironically, he met a hardball in Amaechi court. Amaechi views his own ambition as more important than that of Jonathan and the South South geo political region put together. In this power game, the governors challenging PDP have toured the country meeting with all the big wigs, mostly former military leaders, whom they believe matters in the party.
Observers say that it is not the first time the party will be experiencing internal disagreement that threatened to tear it apart. They said the party overcame such experience during Obasanjo's administration. At that time, they said the fight turned to who controlled the party's national secretariat, and that Obasanjo outsmarted disloyal members with the use of the police to retain the national secretariat for PDP.
Some members of the party, consisting of seven governors, reportedly walk out of the party's convention, claim the party and name a new chairman.
The chairman of the parallel faction, Abubakar Baraje, with the support of the seven governors on his side, has called on the country's electoral body to unregister the ruling party and recognize its faction as substitute to the ruling party, alleging unwholesome allegations against officers of the ruling party, as reasons for his action.
Meanwhile, Baraje has headed to court dragging the PDP chairman and other party officers with him. Information reveals that the seven governors on Baraje's side are asking for the sack of the party's chairman, Bamangar Tukur. There were speculations in the media that President Goodluck Jonathan had agreed at a meeting with some governors and some other loyal party members about three weeks ago for Tukur to go for the sake of the party. But at the time of the convention that witnessed the governors' walk out, Tukur remained in office.
With Tukur as chairman of the PDP, and Baraje as chairman of a faction, the court will have to decide which of the two bodies is the real party - the subsisting ruling party or its faction. Tukur has also headed to court threatening the disloyal members with disqualification.
President Jonathan belongs to the parent body that is under attack from governors who accused their party's chairman of dictatorial tendencies. From the way the governors have been agitating for inclusiveness, they all appear to be accusing the president of siding with the party's chairman. But another side to the argument say that the seven governors don't want Jonathan to contest for a second term and wants the presidency for a northerner. But the president from a South-South geo-political region wants a second term.
The issue of the president's second term bid is said to be behind the fist-cuff between the presidency and Rotimi Amaechi, the governor of Rivers State. Amaechi is against the president bid for a second term, wants to be vice-presidential candidate to one of the yet to be fully germinated parties if he cannot aspire on his party's ticket, because of the president's second term bid. Resultantly, the chairmanship of the country's governor's forum became a spot for contest between the presidency and Amaechi. Amaechi was hand-picked by his party as the chairman of the governor's forum when the going was good. But at the end of his first term he was no longer willing to vacate the seat at the expiration of his term for political reasons. He sought a second term not as a governor but as chairman of the governor's forum.
Amaechi organized an election he said he won and the president's candidate, Jonah Jang, lost. But the president recognizes his own candidate as the chairman of the governors forum. Eleven opposition party's governors who supported Amaechi at the governors' forum election that enabled him clinched the victory expected Amaechi would join their own new party (APC) after deflection from the PDP. But Amaechi has said continuously that he is not leaving the PDP. He has expressed support for the Baraje's faction, and says in a newspaper interview that he belongs to the Baraje's faction of the PDP. By the time the storm settles, Jonathan would to know those loyal to him that he will rely upon for reelection battle. Still APC says through its publicity secretary that it has the assurance of some governors that will put the number of governors in its camp to 23 out of 43 governors in the country.
As matter stands, their appear to be three major parties getting ready for the 2015 elections in Nigeria. Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president under Olusegun Obasanjo announced his supporters registered a party known as People's Democratic Movement, PDM. It is suspected that the Baraje's faction to which Amaechi says he belongs may likely end up in PDM, if they are unable to take over control of the PDP from the presidency and Tukur. Atiku was one of the principal members of the party who walked out of the convention along with the seven governors. He has also been saying he remains a PDP loyalist, despite his approval of his supporters registering a new party. Atiku's ambition to be president separated his and Obasanjo over Obasanjo's wish to seek additional term.
All these gladiators represent the upper class and former military leaders, who championed and ensured the election of Obasanjo in 1999. Obasanjo in turn ensured the election of Musa Yar' Dua with Jonathan as vice-president. Jonathan became president after Yar' Dua's death in office, before he vied for his first term as the first president from oil flowing region of the country. Jonathan inherited the dire political and economic situation, one of them Boko Haram's emergence in the north of the country. The north disapproves Jonathan's declaration of war against Boko Haram, and it is seeking the presidency to return to it.
Systematically, Jonathan seems to have rebuffed the goons who think they control the country, including Obasanjo; instead choosing the comfort of people mostly from South,South, his own part of the country. But ironically, he met a hardball in Amaechi court. Amaechi views his own ambition as more important than that of Jonathan and the South South geo political region put together. In this power game, the governors challenging PDP have toured the country meeting with all the big wigs, mostly former military leaders, whom they believe matters in the party.
Observers say that it is not the first time the party will be experiencing internal disagreement that threatened to tear it apart. They said the party overcame such experience during Obasanjo's administration. At that time, they said the fight turned to who controlled the party's national secretariat, and that Obasanjo outsmarted disloyal members with the use of the police to retain the national secretariat for PDP.
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