The fate of the PDP is uncertain as a party, the confrontation of G5 governments persists

DIRISU YAKUBU examines the endless disagreement between the People's Democratic Party leadership and aggrieved G-5 governors that could likely affect the party's fortunes in the next general election elections

Smarting from its second consecutive defeat in the 2019 general election, the People's Democratic Party quickly set up an ad hoc committee chaired by Bauchi State Governor Senator Bala Mohammed, with with a mandate to unravel the remote and immediate causes of this election bombardment (to use the term popularized by former President of the United States, Barack Obama).

In all fairness, the party had genuine reasons to hand over this responsibility to the committee headed by Bala Mohammed. The Port Harcourt convention which fielded its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, was deemed free, fair and credible, with the dozen other aspirants given high marks by the Uche Secondus-led National Working Committee for ticking all the boxes of the required exercise.

Atiku, who hugged the gang at the end of the collation, sorting and counting of the votes, dismissed the contestants for the single ticket; Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, then Senate Speaker Bukola Saraki, his predecessor David Mark, former Governors of Kaduna, Jigawa, Plateau, Sokoto and Kano States - Ahmed Makarfi, Sule Lamido, Jonah Jang, Attahiru Bafarawa and Rabiu Kwakwanso respectively, all from the North. At this convention, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike backed Tambuwal who was going to lose to Atiku.

In its report, the Bala Mohammed-led committee advocated for an open presidential ticket in 2023 although it admits that the vast majority of party stakeholders it consulted as part of its mission advocated for the Southeast and Northeast Geopolitical Zones. Given how easily the party agreed to zone the ticket to the North in 2019, southern extraction party leaders also expected favor in 2023; a dream that turned into a mirage following the decision of the zoning committee headed by Governor Samuel Ortom to open the race to all eligible party members, regardless of their geopolitical origins.

With an eye for the seat and eager to test his popularity among party delegates, Governor Wike wasted no time in pushing for the ousting of his political ally and friend, Uche Secondus, after months of contention and intrigue. Wike knew that a second term for Secondus would make his presidential bid untenable because they hail from the same area. As a result, he rallied support for Iyorchia Ayu, who in May this year made Atiku the party standard bearer.

Although the Governor of Rivers State protested the conduct of the primary election, the choice of his Delta State counterpart, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, as the running mate of Atiku was considered by many to be the reason Wike elected to literary breakups with the former Vice President. According to the Ikwerre-born politician and his supporters, Ayu must leave office to pave the way for a southerner to succeed him (PDP President).

Aware of the danger of waging political warfare as a lone ranger, Wike quickly found allies in Seyi Makinde, Okezie Ikpeazu, Samuel Ortom, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Governors of Oyo, Abia, Benue and Enugu States respectively as well as key party leaders including Bode George, Jonah Jang, Donald Duke, Jerry Gana, Olusegun Mimiko among others who had since made push for Ayu's dismissal without success.

Again, allegations of financial recklessness have been leveled against the former Senate speaker, even as six National Labor Committee members loyal to Wike have repaid their share of housing allowances controversial in party coffers. However, Ayu does not seem worried that he survived all attempts to remove him from his position.

Stakeholders have continued to speak out on the reasonableness or otherwise of the ongoing crisis which, week after week, has shown no signs of abating. For the group led by Wike, there would be no five-state show for Atiku except for Ayu's leaves. The former vice president, who has been very careful with his words, however, continues to insist that the choice to leave or not is up to Ayu. This deadlock is now set to drag on until next year's election; a duration that many believe could have a negative impact on the party.

Speaking on the matter, Mustapha Shehu, General Manager, Borno House to House for Atiku/Okowa, told PUNCH on Saturday that the only option left to the Wike-led group was to return to the campaign in their own interest.

“The G-5 governors have no choice but to stick to the choice of their political party, the PDP. What is beautiful is that the party and the presidential...