Senate and attack on party supremacy

The PDP in recent times competed with the Presidency and the National Assembly in national headlines and how it related with the legislature also shaped the Goodluck Jonathan’s government. The party, especially under Jonathan was attacked from within and without. The party treated attacks on Jonathan as attacks on the party, but was always at […]

The PDP in recent times competed with the Presidency and the National Assembly in national headlines and how it related with the legislature also shaped the Goodluck Jonathan’s government. The party, especially under Jonathan was attacked from within and without. The party treated attacks on Jonathan as attacks on the party, but was always at a loss on how to respond when the criticism came from within the party. Dissenters are quickly labeled agents of the opposition and ostracized, which is one reason there was a wedge between the party, the Presidency and the House of Representatives under Aminu Tambuwal.
 Twice in the space of four years, lawmakers have defied orders from their political parties and chosen to elect leaders of their own choosing as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Earlier, it was the election of Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker that irked the then ruling People’s Democratic Party. Today it is the election of Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara to lead the Senate and the House that has the All Progressives Congress seething with rage. Saraki in response has vowed to remain in the APC and instead defend the independence of the National Assembly regardless of party affiliation. It must be asked, are Saraki and Dogara expressing their desperation by relying on PDP lawmakers to get elected or were simply responding to a deliberate effort by the party leadership to narrow the political space? Even though the rebellion in the National Assembly and the outcome of the leadership elections created a balance of power within the party ensuring power is not tilted in favour one group, it will not put to an end, the rights party leaders believe they have over the presidency. The statement released by Lai Mohammed in the aftermath of the National Assembly election is vintage Tinubu. The charge of treachery and indiscipline sounded more like something Tinubu would say than any member of the party’s executive committee. From the lockdown of the National Assembly by the police ahead of the leadership vote, the impression is created that Inspector General of Police might be taking orders from someone in the party rather than from the President and Commander-in-Chief.
It may come as a surprise to many, but the Democratic Party in the United States of America does not have a chairman. What it does have is a chairperson for the Democratic National Committee. The present chairperson happens to be a member of Congress who isn’t even the leader of the party in the lawmaking body. The committee, which runs the party, is only responsible for providing a platform for political contests and campaign activities. It also oversees the Democratic National Convention but does not dabble into public policy or dictate to members of the party about policy and governance once elected. The government of Barack Obama runs completely independent of the committee whether it has to do with filling cabinet positions or formulating policy. And when it comes to electing leaders in Congress, it is strictly the preserve of the House Democratic Caucus. It is this same body that determines which candidates to support in congressional elections. In fact, most of the party structure is in the hands of lawmakers.
Not only has politics in Nigeria served as a distraction to governance; political activities are not seasonal or coming every four years. Politics is now an all-year-round activity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Less than a year after he was elected, Jonathan went up against governors to elect a new PDP chairman and the party under Bamanga Tukur is symbolic of how the PDP became too powerful for its own good, picking fights with state governors, dissolving and reconstituting executive committees of state branches at will. And in the build up to the party crisis in Adamawa, which eventually led to the defection of five of its governors to the opposition; a governorship aspirant in the state and card carrying member of the PDP, Dr Umar Ardo openly and consistently campaigned for the candidacy of Muhammadu Buhari against Goodluck Jonathan. Frustrating and questioning the legitimacy of Jonathan to contest the 2015, Ardo went as far as challenging the right of Jonathan to contest in court taking his case all the way to the Supreme Court. Against all prodding however, he refused to denounce his membership of the party.  He was what PDP insiders like to describe as an opposition mole because Ardo also met regularly with Buhari to discuss political strategy. Now, was Ardo and all those that acted in like manner engaging in anti-party activity or responding to a lack internal democracy in the party with the right to hold dissenting views?
President Buhari is set to make the APC even more domineering than the PDP was, alluding that he intends to govern with the party and will defer a lot of decisions to the party. It is obvious that Saraki and Dogara like Tambuwal before them will do no such thing. That the lawmakers do not have much regard for the idea of party supremacy is evident. But then, where does the idea of party supremacy come from? If there is anywhere in the world where such an idea exist, it would be China where the party and the government are one and the same. 
Shuaib I. Shuaib, [email protected]