Slightly one year after the last presidential election, the two major opposition platforms, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party, have separately been embroiled in a crisis of confidence which has diminished their capacity to provide viable opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The crises in both opposition parties got to a head yesterday. The Labour Party led by its national chairman Julius Abure held its much-opposed national convention which was boycotted by its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi; its only governor, Alex Otti of Abia State; federal and state lawmakers elected on its platform, and the organised Labour.
Yesterday’s convention in Nnewi, Anambra State, re-elected Abure for another term in office, barely days after the organised Labour staged a protest at the party’s national secretariat, calling for Abure’s removal as chairman.
Lawmakers elected on the platform of the party had also opposed the conduct of the convention, decrying lack of proper consultation.
The opposition to Abure’s continued leadership of the party comes amid alleged misappropriation of N3 billion purportedly raised for the 2023 campaign under his watch.
While Abure denied the allegation made by the party’s former national treasurer, Oluchi Oparah, who was subsequently suspended, the presidential candidate, Obi, called for a probe into the allegation.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not monitor the party’s convention in Anambra State, the chief press secretary to INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi told LEADERSHIP yesterday.
In PDP, the agitation for the overhaul of its national leadership took a fresh twist yesterday, amid an allegation that the Ambassador Illiya Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) is being controlled by subterranean forces which have caused the party to be ineffective and comatose as a viable alternative opposition.
Former governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, who made this allegation yesterday, also accused the PDP leadership of failing to conduct a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting for the last one year.
Earlier, a PDP chieftain, Segun Showunmi, had dragged the Damagum-led PDP to court for refusing to call for NEC, lamenting that the party had not held the meeting for over a year and three months.
Last month, the PDP governors had also asked the party leadership to summon the high-powered meeting to “revamp and reposition the party to serve as an effective opposition to the ruling Party in Nigeria,” the forum’s chairman and Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Bala said after the meeting of PDP governors in Abuja.
The NEC, the second most influential decision making body of PDP after the national convention, is supposed to meet quarterly, according to the party’s constitution.
However, while the distress in PDP and Labour Party continues, former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has been embarking on political consultations with the leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as well as some members of PDP and APC.
The wrangling in the opposition platforms come amid speculations of the emergence of a third force ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
LP Convention: Obi, Otti, NLC, TUC absent
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi, and the Abia state governor, Mr. Alex Otti, were conspicuously absent at the national convention held at Nnewi, State, the Anambra State commercial-cum-industrial hub on Wednesday.
LEADERSHIP learnt that the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and, Trade Union Congress, TUC, also did not send any representative to the convention.
While only four broadcast media organisations were allowed to cover the event, no print media journalist was allowed to enter the convention hall.
None of the National Assembly members elected under the LP platform in Anambra, except the member representing Anaocha/Njikoka/Dunukofia federal constituency, deputy minority whip of the House of Representatives, Hon. George Ozodinobi, attended the LP national convention.
The federal lawmakers from the state who were absent include the two senators: Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) and Senator Tony Nwoye (Anambra South), as well as the House of Representatives members: Hon. Victor Afam Ogene (Ogbaru federal constituency and Caucus Leader, LP members in the House of Representatives); Prof Lilian Orogbu (Awka-North/Awka-South); Peter Anekwe (Anambra East/Anambra-West), Hon. Uche Harris Okonkwo (Idemmili North and South), Emeka Idu (Onitsha-North/Onitsha-South federal constituency).
Meanwhile the LP national vice chairman (South East Zone), Chief Innocent Sunday Okeke, stated that about nine of the 22 members of the National Working Committee of the party, including the national chairman, Barr Julius Abure, were re-elected at the convention conducted through affirmation by the delegates.
Okeke stated that he was not re-elected because he had served out his tenure as vice chairman, South East zone, having been in the position since 2014.
Deputy governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Emetu, led the LP delegates from the state, including state Assembly members and commissioners, to the convention.
Sources inside the hall where the LP convention was held confirmed that no INEC official monitored the event.
When contacted, the public relations officer of the INEC in Anambra State, Dr Kingsley Agu said he did not know if INEC officials were at the venue of the convention, explaining that since it is a national convention, the INEC national headquarters was in charge.
Party Reserves 2027 Presidential, Guber Tickets For Obi, Otti
Meanwhile, the national leadership of the Labour Party said it had adopted Obi and Otti as the party’s sole presidential candidate and sole governorship candidate in Abia for the 2027 general election, respectively.
This was in spite of Obi and Otti’s conspicuous absence at the national convention.
Obi and Otti’s designation as sole candidates was contained in the Labour Party’s communique issued by delegates who attended the convention.
They said the decision to adopt Obi and Otti as sole candidates was because they carried themselves in a rare dignified manner and as such earned the confidence of the party leadership and its teeming members and supporters.
However, the deputy governor of Abia state, Ikechukwu Emetu, led all members of the Abia State Executive Council and members of the national and state assemblies from the state elected under the LP platform to the national convention.
No member of the national and state assemblies from Anambra state elected on the Labour Party platform, except the member representing Obi’s Anaocha/Njikoka/Dunukofia federal constituency, and deputy minority whip of the House of Representatives, Hon. George Ozodinobi attended the LP national convention.
However, a top official in Otti’s administration, who didn’t want his name to be mentioned in print told LEADERSHIP that it was too early for the governor to react to the offer.
“As you are aware, the convention ended just a few hours ago and the party has not officially communicated the offer to His Excellency,” he said.
“You know that he is a very meticulous person and will not react to the offer until he has seen the communique and received official notification to that effect.”
PDP Leadership Controlled By Subterranean Forces To Undermine Party – Suswam
Former Benue State Governor, Senator Gabriel Suswam disclosed yesterday that the PDP national leadership is being controlled by outside forces which had caused it to be ineffective and comatose as a viable alternative opposition.
The former governor who appeared on Channels Television morning programme, Sunrise Daily, lamented that the party has since after the general election failed to live to the expectations of Nigeria as a viable opposition.
Suswam, who blamed the current leadership for the ineffective state of the largest opposition party, said unless there is an overhaul of its leadership the party will “go nowhere” because the current leadership had lost focus.
“I think there are subterranean forces interfering in the party and they are determining what is going on in the party, and the leadership is acquiescing to it,” he said.
“Subterranean suggests that people are trying to control the party from the outside. They are controlling the party from the outside and they are keeping the party in a comatose state.”
The former lawmaker added that the party had refused to call a National Executive Committee (NEC) which would have helped resolve some of the issues in the party.
Although he lamented the inability of the party to resolve the fallout of the 2022 presidential primaries which saw some the Group of Five governors work against the party’s presidential candidate, he added that the inability of the Damagum-led leadership to discipline erring party members worsened the situation.
Suswam said it was wrong for the party not to have sanctioned the G-5 governors and their allies who openly declared that they would remain in the party and work against its interest.
“They were not sanctioned which made others become emboldened to act anyway they wanted. PDP has been weakened since then.”
“A serious organisation would apply sanctions” based on the laid down rules as contained in its constitution.
He said no organisation would have allowed those who worked against its interest remain within its fold.
He further accused the acting chairman, Ambassador Illiya Damagum of occupying the position of the North Central zone, following the removal of the substantive chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, who hails from the zone.
Damagum, who was the deputy national chairman, hails from the North East zone but was, as permitted by the party’s constitution, made acting chairman after Ayu’s removal by a court order.
The party’s law provides that the deputy chairman from the same geo-political region as the chairman takes over in the event of the latter’s removal from office.
“PDP is comatose now, and nothing can happen now,” Suswam further lamented, adding that it was regrettable that politicians are now preferring to hold talks with smaller parties and not PDP.
“PDP is at the precipice. Until we provide that leadership PDP will not be a viable platform. We need to overhaul the leadership of the party. There is no pretence about it, everybody in PDP knows it. Without discipline and reconciliation the party goes nowhere,” he said.