Anti-Jonathan Camp Says PDP Meeting Was Futile

By SaharaReporters, New York
Several top members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have
described last week's meeting of the party's National Executive
Committee as a futile exercise aimed at shoring up President Goodluck
Jonathan's political ambitions and papering over deep divisions within
Nigeria's ruling party. The party's NEC met on Thursday, June 20 amid
signs that various feuding camps within the PDPare digging in, each
group determined to seize control of the soul of the party.
"The meeting was supposed to be an opportunity for the party to redeem
its long lost glory," said a deputy governor from one of the north
eastern states.
"But it ended up as an exercise designed to give a desperate lifeline
to President Jonathan in his bid to runagain in 2015."
Another source, from the southwest, called the meeting "a disorganized
comedy which did not provoke laughter but showed the world that our
party has fallen into the hands of degenerate managers."
The sources who spoke to us, including some who attended the meeting,
were of the consensus that the meeting was convened for one purpose:
to give Mr. Jonathan the psychological relief of "endorsement"of his
desire to seek a second term. One Abuja-based party member categorized
those gathered together to boost the president's reelection hopes as
"a ragtag group of fortune hunters and a cross section of those
inurgent need of rehabilitation."
Two members said they expected theparty to discuss the debacle of the
recent Nigerian Governors Forum election which ended with the
reelection of Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, but with Governor
Jonah Jang of Plateau posing as a rival chairman. The Presidency had
backed Mr. Jang, but the Rivers governor ekedout a victory with votes
from a coalition of ACN, PDP, CPC and APGA governors.
"Since the frontline gladiators were in attendance, I expected the
party to have a robust debate on the issue andto discuss the
increasing state of disunity in the party," said one member. He added,
"It is unfortunate that we avoided the hot issues facing our great
party."
Critics said they were dismayed that those handpicked to speak at the
meeting spent time showering praises on Mr. Jonathan and applauding
achievements that are a mere mirage.
A party member, who is close to former President Olusegun Obasanjo,
accused Governor Godswill Akpabio ofAkwa Ibom of "blazing the trail in
crediting President Goodluck Jonathan with phantom achievements."
Despite the bad blood between some of the party's governors, with some
of them breaking ranks with the party to vote for Governor Amaechi of
Rivers in the Governors Forum election, Mr. Akpabio repeatedly claimed
that all the 23 PDP governors were "solidly behind the President." As
he made the assertion, the governors of Sokoto, Niger, Kebbi, Kwara,
Kano as well as the deputy governor of Jigawasat glumly. Those state
administratorsare seen as hostile to Mr. Jonathan's certain reelection
campaign.
A few critics told SaharaReporters thatthey found it bizarre that the
party's national chairman, Bamanga Tukur, asked Olisa Metuh, the
party's former National Publicity Secretary, to move a motion calling
for the resignation ofparty functionaries whose membership of the
party's National Working Committee was deemed irregular. "Normally, a
person resigning from a position merely submits a letter for other
members toeither ratify or reject. But our party has introduced a
different way of doing things whereby those resigning moved a motion
for their own resignation," one source said.
Another source accused Mr. Tukur of incompetence in conducting a
meeting. "Alhaji Tukur does not even know how to put the question to
the floor for approval. He said, 'Those whoapprove say aye. Those
against are absent'. How can you say you're the national chairman of a
democratic party and you're deciding on issues all by yourself?" the
party member said.
Our sources said it was clear that Mr. Tukur was not in control of
running the NEC meeting. According to one, "The meeting was hijacked
by a group from the Presidency led by [Secretary to the Government of
the Federation] Anyim Pius Anyim and supported by [political adviser
to the President], Ali Gulak, and [Chief of Staff] Mike Oghiadomhe."
He added that the activities of the group from the Presidency were
coordinated by Tony Anenih, the octogenarian politician known in
Nigeria as Mr. Fix it. "The message was clear – that none of the real
or perceived opponents of the president should beallowed to speak."
A northern governor told SaharaReporters that it was disgraceful that
the PDP avoided confronting the major issue facing theparty. "Our
party is on the path to self-destruction because of Dr. Bamanga
Tukur's erratic and imperial manner of administration." He disclosed
that the Anyim Committee had recommended that Mr. Tukur stepdown in
order to "create a conducive atmosphere for genuine reconciliation."
He accused"sympathizers of President Jonathan" of scuttling Mr.
Tukur's removal because they believed "it would be another
psychological victory for the group that disgraced the Party at the
Nigerian Governors Forum election. Hence, the same Tukur, whom most
stakeholders deem as the problem of the party, survived while the
resignation of other members of the NWC was only carried out in order
to get rid of those whose loyalty to President Jonathan's agenda
cannot be vouched for."
Two members of the party who attended the NEC meeting said the high
point of the political drama was when Mr. Tukur handed a script to
Bode George, a convicted felon who spent a prison term, to read what
was to be a vote of confidence in President Goodluck Jonathan. "While
the media were excluded from other discussions, a few cameramen were
invited to cover this particular item," said one of the two sources.
He addedthat the president's team made a last-minute substitution on
realizing "the implication of allowing a convicted criminal to move a
vote of confidence in the President." He stated, "They quickly Senator
Ibrahim Mantu to read [the vote of confidence]." Mr. Mantu, whose era
in the Senate was marked by colossal corruption, "reeled out a tissue
of lieswhich he termed as achievements of President Jonathan. [Mantu]
even included that he was on a train ride from Lagos to Kano only last
week! The claim was greeted with sarcastic applause."
Our numerous sources agreed that the NEC meeting ended as an
anti-climax. "Some of us who are becoming fed up with the antics of
our party expected that the party was going to reinvigorate itself,"
said one member. He added: "With Alhaji Tukurstill firmly in charge,
the party has merely wrapped a bandage on a big sore."