A Tough Condition for Peace

Aggrieved People's Democratic Party(PDP) members in Imo State demand a new congress for reconciliation to be possible

By Eugenia Okpara, Owerri

The power tussle rocking the ruling People's Democratic Party PDP in Imo State which has polarised the party since the elected State executive members led by Chief Alex Obi, a medical doctor, were unceremoniously dissolved by the National Working Committee, deepened penultimate weekend as a third attempt at reconciliation was deadlocked.

Apart from the alleged illegal sack of the elected executive that delivered more than 90 per cent of the elected offices in Imo State to the PDP, the deregistration of the foundation members of the party including those that were elected on its platform by the imposed Caretaker Committee has further heightened the crisis.

The PDP national leadership had constituted a Caretaker Committee headed by Chief Marcellinus Nlemigbo and other members primarily nominated by the State's Abuja-based politicians after the sacking of the State Executive without any input from the leader of the party and Governor of the State, Chief Achike Udenwa.

This action did not go down well with party stalwarts and consequently set the stage for the polarisation of the party between the Abuja-based politicians led by the three Senators representing the State and the home- based stalwarts popularly known as ononogaono .

The gulf widened when the party conducted on affirmation to confirm the Caretaker Committee as State Executives instead of conducting a formal congress to elect them, sidelining in the process the leader of the party in the state, Udenwa. Ward, local government party executives were equally constituted by appointment rather than election.

The Executive led by Chief Nlemigbo carried on without a care about the feelings of the foundation members thus sidelined by alleged stooges of those who entered the party to reap, to the extent that even lawmakers at both the local government and State level do not know their ward chairmen.

All attempts at harmonisation of the executives to accommodate the Governor's list have so far failed.

The crisis climaxed when the ruling PDP lost to the Alliance for Democracy [AD] in the recent House of Assembly bye-election for Isu constituency.

Although Nlemigbo and his team would not agree, it is a well known fact that the PDP would have lost the Owerri senatorial bye-election if Governor Udenwa had not intervened. The party's loss of Isu state constituency to the AD apparently cleared the illusion which the national leadership of the party had that the state Executive had grassroot support needed to win any election.

The loss brought the message home that the party needed more than lip service reconciliation in Imo State if it (PDP) expects to win even a councillorship election in the State.

It was against this background that the Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri led Reconciliation Committee for the South east was reconstituted when two earlier attempts to resolve the problem failed.

Alhaji Waziri's task became onerous when aggrieved members of the party who are mostly foundation members insisted that nothing short of a fresh congress would assauge them. This, however, The Source reliably gathered will not be possible as it may amount to the Abuja group losing out entirely.

On Saturday, June 24, 2006, when the Committee met with the aggrieved party stalwarts at the Multi-Purpose Hall, Government House, Owerri, it was like hell was being let loose as the former chairman of the party, Obi, who delivered all the elected PDP members in the various legislative houses including the governor and president, articulated their grievances.

He stated that people present were made of aggrieved members of the party who were deregistered by the Caretaker committee, lamenting that "they were members of the party that worked tirelessly to deliver over 400 councillors, the 27 local government council chairmen, 26 out of 27 members of the House of Assembly, nine out of 10 House of Representatives members, the three Senators, the governor with 80 per cent of the votes cast and 75 per cent of the votes cast for the President".

Obi told the Reconciliation Committee that the constitution of the State Executive of the party was riddled with fraud as those in Abuja with gubernatorial ambitions appointed their campaign co-ordinators as members of the PDP State Executive.

The former chairman stated that if after these efforts, party stalwarts in the ward, local government and state were excluded from participating in taking decisions about the party, how can PDP win elections in these places without these people?

He noted that it would be suicidal for another gubernatorial aspirant to think that he would get justice from an executive that consists of co-ordinators of his rival during the party primaries and the major election, adding that there was no election from the ward to the State as all those parading as executives were selected by people with governorship ambition in 2007.

The former PDP state chairman reiterated that the deregistering of valid members of the party was a deliberate ploy to deny authentic party faithfuls a voice in the party.

"These people are aggrieved because they have been sidelined, kicked out and de-registered in a party that they are foundation members by a state executive that was founded on fraud. The Governor of the State is supposed to be the leader of the party but he does not know those at the helm of affairs of a party he is expected to fund. All the lawmakers in the State and House of Representatives do not know who their ward chairmen are let alone at the local government level. Is this fair and just?," Obi asked.

He recalled that they were able to deliver because all the party stalwarts were involved during all the activities that preceded the 2003 elections.

Obi: "The party has become a one man show and all the other people were deregistered and (is) no longer a serious business as it is supposed to be. And as if this is not enough, the Governor of the State, the Leader of the party and the man who has been financing the party was denied a voice from the ward to the State. PDP has been Balkanised like in the Berlin Conference. PDP cannot survive with the Executive as presently constituted, as the party cannot be funded, the chairman belongs to one camp and the other members of the executive belong to three other Abuja politicians".

The aggrieved former chairman disclosed that no meaningful Executive meeting has ever been held since they were constituted or useful decision taken to move the party forward. He thus stated that the aggrieved members have only three prayers.

The prayers: "The grassroot is important to PDP as they are responsible for the success of the party in 2003, so we want a complete new congress to enable them elect new executives. Stakeholders should constitute the leadership of the party at the local government level if we cannot organise the congress now. The executive should be reconstituted to accommodate the interest of the stakeholders. At the State level and most importantly, the input of the Governor must be respected because he has supporters that even if it were a goat that he presented, the goat will win election".

In his speech, the Deputy Governor, Ebere Udeagu, told the delegation that if they had come and met only very few people, they may not have understood what the state is saying about the number of aggrieved party members.

He said that the governor has done so much for the State that there is only one thriving party, adding that Chief Udenwa has so endeared himself to the people of Imo that if he presented a stick, that stick will win election.

Udeagu opined that PDP in Imo State is burning like PDP in states such as Kano, Lagos and some others not controlled by the party, where the All Nigeria People's Party [ANPP] and the Alliance for Democracy [AD] are in charge.

"There is no gainsaying the fact that the Governor is the leader of the party. But I am telling you as of today, Achike Udenwa is Governor by name. He is leader by name because he does not know who and how the party is constituted. For your information, the Governor has no input in the constitution of the State Working Committee of the party. The Governor, just like you know in any other PDP-controlled state, is supposed to finance the party, but when he is alienated, sidelined, not consulted or taken into confidence and does not know how the party is run, what do you expect him to do?"

Continuing, Udenwa reiterated that for the party to make any headway and win elections in 2007, the leadership of the party must be reconstituted, contending that "all the over 400 councillors in the state are aggrieved because they are not registered, the local government chairmen, who should be the leaders of the party at that level were not registered, Commissioners, Special Assistants, Executive Assistants were not registered".

The Deputy Governor reassured the Reconciliation Committee made up Adamu Maina Waziri, Nze Ozichukwu Fidelis Chukwu, Senator Isa Kachako, Elder Toju Fadairo, Muhammad Manasara, the Secretary, Ahmed Shehu, Assistant Secretary, Keshua Adebole, Press Attache and Alhaji Mamman, Personal Assistant, that they would continue to co-operate with them, and appealed that the national leadership should assist them to restore PDP to its former position.

The chairman of the committee, Waziri pointed out that the major problem is too much loyalty to the individual rather than the party and assured that some PDP stalwarts and the executive would go to the grassroots and register all those deregistered.

He further reassured them that even if the party does not conduct any congress, the problem would be resolved in such a way as to accommodate every member of the party. But the crowd of bitter party stalwarts shouted no , insisting on fresh congress.

Accusing the National Vice Chairman, South east Nze Ozichukwu as number one culprit as he failed to realise that power goes with responsibility, Waziri appealed to the people to give him a chance to resolve the problem by addressing all the issues raised.

The National Vice Chairman, South east on his part explained that PDP had had such problems of power tussle, which were resolved amicably, adding that the problem would be settled in like manner

Ozichukwu recalled that he was called names and accused of collecting N10 million from the Governor when he went with other members to appeal to him on the Senatorial bye-election.

Speaking earlier during a courtesy call on the Deputy Governor, Waziri, explained that they were there to pay a courtesy call as required of him to all PDP-controlled State Governors in the South east.

He revealed that his coming to Imo State was to endorse the affinity of the PDP family despite its differences.

Responding, the Deputy Governor reiterated that Imo State is a peaceful State which is why it is rated as one of the most peaceful, if not the most peaceful in Nigeria.

His words: "We are much secured here and as long as you are in Imo State, you are secured as the people love you and your team, they do not have anything against you. We believe that this third reconciliatory exercise, let me believe will be the final. For you to have been chosen after two failed attempts means that the party regards you at a certain level and esteem. We will be part of your success story".

However, investigations by The Source revealed that the interactive session could not achieve the desired result of persuading the aggrieved Imo PDP party men and women to agree to work with the present executive.

The chairman of the Reconciliation Committee, Waziri, The Source gathered, had problems convincing the aggrieved party faithful to accept the status quo, as they insisted on a fresh congress, reiterating, "it is not proper that the State Working Committee of the party be constituted without any input from the leader of the party, Chief Achike Udenwa".

They further observed that the Reconciliation Committee was not properly constituted as it was put together in Abuja allegedly by the same group that enthroned the PDP State Executive and so harbours a likelihood of bias.

The problem was compounded when Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, one of the party's leaders in the state, introduced Waziri as his co-ordinator during his botched presidential ambition.

Ironically, the three Imo Senators tactfully boycotted the interactive session that lasted till the early hours of Sunday, June 25, 2006. Former Senate President, Chief Evan Enwerem excused himself while Iwuanyanwu who came, left early, saying that he was weak. Dr. Kema Chikwe, a former Aviation Minister, and one of the key proponents in the internal discord rippling the state PDP apart, did not utter a single word throughout the duration though she stayed till the end of the session.

Chief Josiah Odunna, a party stalwart, in his contribution said that there was no need to change the Executive for now.

The Source reliably gathered that the State Chairman, Nlemigbo was forced to beg the people insisting on fresh congress to allow him finish his tenure since the period was quite short. But whether this plea would be heeded would be known in the days and weeks ahead.