- The party chieftain said until the various court cases were concluded or withdrawn, a new leadership might not emerge.
- He warned that if the various crises were not resolved soon, the APC might take advantage of the situation to polarise the issues further.
A prominent figure in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has tasked the party’s leadership with mending rifts among enraged members.
Under the condition of anonymity, the party chieftain told Daily Sun that a number of court cases may have contributed to the collapse of the effort to make amends with members who felt wronged.
The PDP member claimed that Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, was inciting a crisis within the organisation in order to maintain control over it.
He issued a warning that the All Progressives Congress (APC) might use the circumstances to further polarise the issues if the numerous conflicts were not resolved quickly.
The party chieftain said, “Since the PDP lost the presidential elections, it has failed to address the various issues affecting it.
There are too many cases in court. The APC that should be in crisis has since put its house in order. But, the PDP has failed to act swiftly.
“Atiku is still there, creating a crisis because he wants to keep controlling the party. Other new generation members are not ready to allow him. Governors, unlike before, are so aloof, and no one is taking serious steps to address the problems.
“The feud between (Nyesom) Wike and (Governor Simi) Fubara may snowball into something bigger. The PDP will suffer serious consequences if not properly handled, and the APC is waiting to benefit from the crisis.
“We need to hold a NEC meeting, have a convention to fill up vacant positions if need be or resolve all issues. But the cases in court make that impossible. We need to act fast.”
Still, there are hints that the Supreme Court lawsuits in the PDP governors’ gubernatorial contests have delayed the process of finding a new national chairman.
Per a party insider, the PDP governors were concentrating on outstanding gubernatorial appeals before the supreme court, despite the fact that they were anticipated to have a crucial influence in Iyorchia Ayu’s replacement.
As a result, concerns over the process of finding a new national chairperson have taken a back seat.
The states of Edo, Osun, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Enugu, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba, Bauchi, Adamawa, and Zamfara are currently within the PDP’s jurisdiction. Nine PDP governors, including Bala Mohammed, the head of the PDP Governors Forum, are presently fighting for their seats in the Supreme Court.
The nullification of Caleb Muftwang’s and Dauda Lawal’s elections as governors of the Plateau and Zamfara states, respectively, has previously been upheld by the Court of Appeal.
A person close to Atiku stated that party officials decided to postpone deciding on the opposition party’s substantive national chairman until after the party’s cases in all governorships have been decided by the Supreme Court.
He said: “The position of the party is that as soon as those election petitions are dealt with, they will look at those challenges and find solutions to them.”
A mini-convention may be held by the PDP in February 2024 to fill open positions on its National Working Committee (NWC).
Some PDP members, according to a party national official, are pushing for a mini-convention so they can decide on matters vital to the party’s stability in the wake of the general elections in 2023 and fill open seats in the NWC.
The PDP National Woman Leader, Prof. Stella Effah-Attoe, also died away recently.
According to the party official, the mini-convention would basically fill the open positions and address other relevant problems if the party could come to an agreement on it.
His words: “We are looking at February next year. It is not a main convention; it is just a mini convention that will produce replacement for some of the offices. We have lost our national woman leader. We have replaced our deputy national woman leader.
“We are having issues with our national secretary. And there are people calling for the replacement of the national chairman. All of these issues are likely going to come up at the National Convention, subject to the approval of NEC.”