If President Goodluck Jonathan has his way come July at the special convention of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, the National Working Committee of the party which will be elected there will be filled with his loyalists.
Already, supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan and the party leadership have initiated moves to ensure that some immediate past members of the PDP National Working Committee do not return to the committee.
It was revealed that the President and Tukur’s loyalists have also identified some prominent PDP members who lost out during the party’s 2012 national convention as aspirants that must be stopped from being elected into the NWC at the forthcoming convention of the party, as such politicians are those said to be against Jonathan’s 2015 ambition and Tukur’s continued leadership of the PDP.
Our source in Abuja said that the loyalists decided to move against such politicians on learning that they had started reaching out to see if they could be favoured in the forthcoming special convention of the party slated for July 20.
The source boasted that the ambition of some of the eight NWC members who resigned during last Thursday’s 61st committee meeting of the party, to return to their former offices would not be feasible.
The eight – Dr. Sam Jaja (Deputy National Chairman), Abubakar Mustapha (National Organising Secretary), Alhaji Garba Chima (National Youth Leader), Chief Solomon Onwe (Acting National Secretary), Kema Chikwe (Woman Leader), Victor Kwom (National Legal Adviser), Chief Olisa Metuh (National Publicity Secretary), and Bala Kaoje (National Treasurer) – were among 17 officers of the PDP whose positions were voided by the Independent National Electoral Commission for not meeting the party’s guidelines.
Our source in the PDP said, “Jonathan is in charge. Tukur is also in charge of the PDP. I can tell you that any member of our party perceived to be against the President’s 2015 ambition and Tukur’s leadership of the PDP cannot be elected an NWC member. Quote me. The President’s loyalists and many of our governors in support of the chairman have started what I call ‘stop them moves’. So, I do not see how they can seek election on July 20 when our special convention would hold and win.”
Jaja is seen as an ally of the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who has been suspended from the party. Governors close to Amaechi, who heads the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, are believed to be the arrowheads of the opposition against Jonathan’s 2015 ambition and Tukur’s leadership.
Investigations showed that some hawks in the party have already started pushing for Jaja’s replacement with another candidate.
In this regard, the name of the former occupier of the office, Mr. Uche Secondus, who is also from the state, is being touted.
Secondus, though a native of the state, was loyal to Amaechi but shifted his loyalty during the crisis that led to the disqualification of former Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Timi Sylva, from running for a second term.
Also, intense lobbying is said to be ongoing to prevent Kaoje from returning to office as he is said not to meet the constitutional provision for the office.
Kaoje is an engineer, while the PDP constitution stipulates that the party’s treasurer must be an accountant.
Chapter V of the constitution, which states the duties and qualifications of national officers, says, concerning the treasurer, “a national treasurer shall be an accountant with track records of prudence.”
Apart from this, Kaoje is said to have argued against the suspension of the Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, by the PDP leadership as one of the few members of the NWC, who advised against the governor’s suspension, who has since been recalled.
His action was termed as “anti-Jonathan” by some close allies of the President.
Our correspondent gathered that it was because of the pressure to replace some of the officers with the President’s loyalists that made the convention committee to call for fresh nominations.
Already, Chief Chyna Iwuanyanwu, who is vying for the office of National Publicity Secretary, has hailed the call for fresh nomination.
While commending the call for fresh nomination, Iwuanyanwu told our correspondent that the action of the party showed it was patriotic.
He said, “The development has once again proved that the PDP is a party of patriots and democrats with unqualified credentials and statesmanship.
“The decision will heal the wounds of 2012 national convention by allowing delegates to choose their leaders through a transparent, open, democratic process.”
The Secretary of the committee, who is also the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, confirmed the re-opening of nomination for the offices.
He, however, said that the committee would keep to zoning.
Ekweremadu said, “We are going to keep all the positions within the zones, but within the zones, if there is any strong reason for us to change a particular candidate, that will happen, but for now, we are going to keep all the positions in the zones that are keeping them presently, we are not changing the zoning formula of the NWC members.
“We are reopening nominations, yes, we are reopening nominations. This is a new convention, they will pay, and it is not the old convention.”
Apart from this, almost all those appointed to the committee are known supporters of the President.
Among them are Prof. Jerry Gana (Chairman), Governor Godswill Akpabio (Deputy Chairman) and Governors Theodore Orji (Abia), Shehu Shema (Kastsina), Gabriel Suswam (Benue) Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Isa Yuguda (Bauchi).
Also on the lists are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Pius Anyim and the Political Adviser to the President, Mr. Ahmed Gulak.
“These people are not there for fun. They are there to screen the list of all aspirants and weed out those considered to be anti-Jonathan,” a Presidency source said.
Meanwhile, the hope of the South-West to replace the former National Secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, may be stalled as a result of the court action he instituted against the party.
The former governor of Osun State is still in court challenging an Abuja Federal High Court ruling, which said that the faction that produced him from the zone before the national convention elected him was not the correct one.
But Oyinlola, who was the candidate of the governors at the 2012 convention, is presently in court contesting the court ruling, as his election at the convention was not faulted by the INEC report.
Tukur has however said the recent reconciliatory efforts made at the end of Thursday’s NEC meeting has started yielding positive results.
He said that many state chapters of the party had started receiving members who defected from other political parties.
Tukur was reacting to what happened in Nasarawa State where he received defectors from the Action Congress of Nigeria, Labour Party, All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressive Change in Lafia.
Tukur said in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Oliver Okpara, that all the defectors would receive equal treatment.