War drums and peace songs

BY CHIDI OBINECHE
The raging fire in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, which has
centred mostly on control of the National Working Committee (NWC) of
the party, and the lingering crises in Rivers State washed up more
during the week.
It began with five, troubadour Northern governors traversing the
landscape to consult elders statesmen and former heads of state over
the situation in PDP and Rivers State. The five governors include,
Jigawa's Sule Lamido, Sokoto's Magatagatha Wammakko, Niger's Aliyu
Babangida, Adamawa's Murtala Nyako, and Kano's Musa Kwankwaso.
The governors met with former president Olusegun Obasanjo in his Otta
farm house, where they implored him to intervene in restoring sanity
in the party, and stabilize the confusion in Rivers state.
The governors also met with former military heads of state, Generals
Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar retd at the presidential
lodge minna for over two hours on Monday. At the end of the parley,
Babangida described them as "patriots."
Nyako had said at the end of the meeting that "we will continue to
make our efforts to save the party, but if our efforts do not work, we
have no alternative than to fold our arms, and see PDP die and help in
burying it."
But as the concerned governors were busy, with their trouble shooting,
the PDP hierarchy was meeting to douse the fire arising from conflict
of roles between the NWC and the Mini convention Planning Committee.
National chairman of the Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has been having
an uneasy relationship with the mini-convention planning
committeeheaded by Prof. Jerry Gana. Indeed, hehad used the NWC organ
to diffuse the activities of the committee including the convention
planned for August 31. President Goodluck Jonathan had to intervene by
overruling Tukur, and urging the two organs to work harmoniously.
Jonathan's intervention bore fruits in the week, when after a meeting
of the NWC and the committee, a highly elated Gana declared a truce,
saying: "If anybody is thinking that the PDP was in trouble, I think
they must be thoroughly disappointed, because the PDP will always find
solution, and we are so delighted such solution is found today. So
APC, you are in trouble."
Back in troubled Rivers state, the soreof the festering crises
continued to deepen during the week.
The publicity secretary of the PDP in the state, Mr George Ukwuoma
heaped the blame of the fracas in the state on the minister of state
for education, Mr. Nyesom Wike and statechairman, Mr. Dan Obuah.
Ukwuoma in a no holds bared comment decried the activities of theduo.
He said ''That young man (Wike) is just a minister, a deputy minister
at that, and must be reminded at all times that there is only one
governor and leader of the party in the state, which is Governor
Amaechi, and he must subjugate himself to the leadership of the
governor, or get outof the party''
Still on the River state crises, the entire secretariat staff of the
NigerianGovernors Forum, NGF led by the Director General, Mr. Asishana
Okauru,moved down to Port-Harcourt, during the week where the state
governor Rotimi Amaechi hosted them and took them round the projects
executed by his government.
At the end of the project tour, Okauru declared that "there is only
one Secretariat, and I am in contact with all the 36 governors. There
is only one secretariat, but there is an issue the governors are
trying to resolve, and we have a chairman that was re-elected, Mr.
Rotimi Amaechi."
On the fringes, other major issues dominated the week in focus. Edo
State governor, Adams Oshiomhole lent his voice to the increasingly
disturbing political situation in the country. He hosted a delegation
of the "National Executive of the Christian Association of Nigeria,
CAN, led by the General Secretary, Rev Musa Asake. Oshiomhole's
comments underscored the debilitating condition of the nation, as it
prepares for a presidential poll in 2015. He said:"Right now, many of
us are worried about the goings on in the country. I cannot carry out
protest now becauseI will be misunderstood. But my heartis in the mood
for a protest, so that my children do not inherit the iniquities of
the evil we see everyday".
The uproar in Ondo state over the support for child marriage by
Senator Ayo Akinyelure also took centre stage during the week.
Akinyelure, who represents Ondo Central in the Senate was the only
Southwest senator that voted for the inclusion ofunder age marriage in
the constitution. He was summoned by the leaders and youths of his
district to explain his role in the saga. An emotional Akinyelure
broke down before his people and wept, saying he voted in error. "I
voted in error. I can never in my life support underage marriage.
Whatever this might have caused my people, pleaseforgive me".The
adopted mother of the wife of the president, Mrs. Patience Jonathan
also died during the week in a ghastly motor accident in Rivers State.
Customarily, scores of politicians and other Nigerians have been
falling over themselves in sending messages of succor and condolences
to the first family. Some have also started visiting Okirika, the
country home of the deceased to show sympathy and support.
On July 25, the case filed by three PDPchieftains, Abba Yale, Yahaya
Aruwa Sule, and Bashir Maidugu on the illegality of the composition of
the interim NWC members was heard.
The suit which is before an Abuja HighCourt presided over by Justice
Suleiman Belgore had suffered an initial setback on July 20. Their
lawyer, Jubril Okutepa (SAN) had premised his submission that the
emergence of the NWC members did not follow due process as no quorum
was formed at the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the
party that endorsed them.
Although the concerned NWC members have since resigned, the National
Chairman, Tukur, was the main target in the suit. Fearing political
interference, the judge had warned that "All judicial decisions on
this point support to the propositionsthat none of the parties in
litigation before a court of law is allowed to take the law into its
hands and foist a fait accompli on the court, thereby rendering it
impossible for the court to arrive at a decision one way or the other
on the merits of the issue before it, or render any decision it may
take nugatory or futile". Eventually, the court halted the convention.
Also during the week, the minister of state for health, Dr Ali Pate
resigned to take up appointment in the United States of America.
By the turn of the week, the National Assembly took over the
legislative functions of the Rivers Assembly, even as Governor Amaechi
retterated his resolve not to be stampeded out of PDP.