2011 and Anambra PDP’s options

In this regard, no political party is left behind – whether it is the turbulent All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the up-beat Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) or the deformed chapter of Action Congress (AC) in the state. But the centre of activity in the state is actually in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). As elsewhere […]

In this regard, no political party is left behind – whether it is the turbulent All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the up-beat Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) or the deformed chapter of Action Congress (AC) in the state. But the centre of activity in the state is actually in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). As elsewhere in Nigeria, the party commands the largest following in the state, even though the rival APGA goes about, by reason of its gubernatorial incumbency, as the ruling party in the state.

PDP may be Nigeria’s ruling party, but it is also Nigeria’s problem party; it may be the party in power, but is also the party in crises. And so like elsewhere in the country, the party, which prides itself as the largest party in Nigeria and Africa, is caught in a vortex of an acrimonious leadership struggle. And because the parties involved are titanic, so to say, the long-drawn tussle seems to be posing a mortal threat to its much advertised ambition of reclaiming the Governor’s Lodge in Awka, the Anambra state capital ie since Chris Ngige’s perfidious usurpation in 2003 and Andy Uba’s 17-day ludicrous joke in May/June 2007.  But as it is, the party’s plans may remain just dreams, analysts contend – what with the current factionalisation and mini-factionalisation of the party, with this god-father or that battling furiously for the soul of Anambra PDP.

For starters, there are at the moment, and still counting, four major factions, within which there are of course mini or sub-factions. There is the Chief Uchenna Emodi faction, the Sir Tony Nwoye  group, the Lady Ivy Obi-Okoye camp and the Mazi Bright Nnebedum caucus. A pointer to the destructive tendency the cut-throat struggles may ultimately engender is already manifesting in the series of litigations that are becoming the strategy of the combatants. Of course, the PDP national hierarchy may term this dismissively as one of its famously infamous “Family Affairs” moreso as these crises scenarios have not stopped them from emerging as INEC favourites in elections, the party may wake up to a rude shock , Come 2011, if it allows the sorry state of affairs in the state to degenerate to chaos. But then, if PDP’s untidy state of affairs leads to APGA renewing its mandate or who knows, may be even the daring PPA, claiming Anambra, may be the interest of democracy would be better served.

However, against the backdrop of the declaration of the PDP national chairman, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, that he must return the South East to PDP, the scenario of not capturing Anambra yet again in 2010 may be termed an abomination, especially by PDP stalwarts. But whether the Ogbulafor-led National Executive Council of the party would be able to summon the will to end the Anambra crises is a matter of conjecture. Part of the reasons adduced for his perceived indifference or even unwillingness to redress the knotty Anambra issue is the alleged role of one of the gladiators in his gubernatorial quest in Imo state in 1999 when he flew the flag of All Peoples Party (APP), the father of the current All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

This indifference explains why the National Assembly caucus of the party seized the initiative from the PDP NEC in general and Prince Ogbulafor in particular. Followers of Anambra politics and scheming in the state chapter of the party will recall that recently, both the Senate and Reps caucuses of the party, in concert with members of the Anambra State House of Assembly, met in Abuja to brainstorm over the crises.  At the end of the two-day meeting, the PDP stakeholders from the state told newsmen at a world press conference that their meeting had resolved to call for dissolution of the various groups laying claim to the state executives and the conduct of fresh congresses beginning from the ward levels all the way to the state level.

Among politicians of Anambra extraction, the consensus is that the National leadership of the party has a choice in this matter: First, it can either continue playing the ostrich by ignoring the complaints of all the stakeholders including the Ubah brothers themselves, the factional Executive committees as well as both the National and state assembly caucuses and be prepared to play the opposition after the forthcoming gubernatorial elections. Of course, it might not worry too much about this ostrich option as it may choose to improve its election winning formula and damn public wishes.  Or two, the PDP can live up to its democratic name by dissolving the parallel EXCOs, cutting the two-for-a-kobo godfathers to size and conducting credible congresses that would be supervised by INEC personnel and PDP national officers.

Chime, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Upper Iweka, Onitsha