CHANGING POLITICAL CALCULATIONS WITH VOP The political scene in the country is full of life as the activities are daily proving to be quite intriguing. The rapidity with which events are unfolding is quite interesting and political pundits are, certainly, having difficulties predicting the immediate future. Of the many activities that have drawn attention and affected the clarity of the view of analyst is the rife news of some seven governors in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said to have concluded plans to float a new political party, the Voice of the People (VOP). According to a reliable source, the application for registration of VOP had already been filed with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the process for its registration is ongoing. The seven governors allegedly to be behind the VOP includes the G-5 Northern governors – Governors Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa). Other governors linked to the proposed party are the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State. It is believed that the party decided to float the VOP as a result of the grudges within the PDP. Though some of the aides of the governors linked to the formation of VOP have denied their involvement in the proposed party, an aide to one of the governors confirmed to National Mirror that the floating of the new party is true. “The floating of the new party is true. I can confirm the involvement of my principal in the arrangement. That is all I can say for now,” the source said. Another reliable source, who is familiar with the registration process also disclosed to National Mirror that: “We have filed our papers with INEC and we are only awaiting the registration as a political party. I can tell you that we will soon pull out of the PDP, which has made life unbearable for our leaders.” Considering the influence of the political gladiators behind the VOP, many people believe that there is no way the arrival of the party would not affect the polity, especially the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. Some people are of the view that the floating of the new party would compound the problems facing the PDP. In the last few months PDP has been experiencing crises at the state, zonal and national level of the party. The quest for 2015 presidency has also caused a major division within the party. While some are insisting on President Goodluck Jonathan running for second term in 2015, some are of the view that the presidency should shift to the North. In recent times the seven governors allegedly linked to the VOP have not hidden their dissatisfaction about what is happening in the PDP and the alleged attempt by some PDP gladiators to weaken the governors’ structures ahead of 2015 by taking some decisions that are injurious to them. PDP has 23 governors but at present the PDP governors are divided into two factions. While some governors are loyal to the presidency and the PDP, some are not in good term with the party and the presidency. The division within the governors became visible during the last NGF chairmanship election as PDP governors voted for different candidates. Out of the 23 PDP governors, eight joined 11 opposition governors in voting for the re-election of Amaechi as NGF chairman while the remaining voted for Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau, who was the presidency’s candidate, as NGF chairman. Since that election, the pro-Amaechi governors have not hidden their anger against the presidency and the PDP leadership. They have actually been fighting consistently for their survival within the party. The battle for supremacy reached its peak when Governors Amaechi and Wamakko were suspended by the PDP. While Wamakko’s suspension was later lifted, Amaechi’s remains. Worried by the situation of things in the PDP and the nation, the G-5 governors embarked on several visits to former Heads of State, presidents and some major elder statesmen, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida. Their visits was to avail them of what is happening in the PDP. The G-5 governors and other aggrieved governors also held several group and individual meetings with President Jonathan. Many Nigerians had thought that the peace move initiated by Obasanjo between the governors and PDP leaders, including President Jonathan, would work, but with the proposed VOP, which has been linked to the PDP aggrieved governors, the battle for 2015 has become hotter. If the registration of the VOP as a political party scales through it will be the fourth political party to be registered by INEC in the last few weeks. Other recently registered political parties are the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and Independent Democrats. Considering the popularity and spread of the PDP as a nationwide party, which presence can be felt in the nooks and crannies of the country, many have thought that the only way to send PDP packing from office is for all the opposition parties to come together under one umbrella and form a strong platform to challenge the PDP. So, at the birth of APC, which is the coalition of the three major opposition parties – Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) – some people had thought that the battle for 2015 would be a straight fight between PDP and APC. But with the registration of PDM and the proposed registration of VOP, Nigeria may not see only two major political parties in action during the 2015 general elections. Considering the role the opposition parties played in the emergence of Amaechi as NGF chairman and the events that followed many people had thought that the aggrieved governors would join the APC. Also putting into consideration the boast of the interim APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, before the registration of APC that 23 governors were already in APC, some had thought that the aggrieved PDP governors would team up with APC. But with the decision of the aggrieved PDP governors to float a party instead of teaming up with the APC, many are thinking otherwise. They wonder what went wrong between APC and the aggrieved PDP governors, who seemed to have been romancing APC leaders in the last few weeks. While some think that the proposed registration of VOP has ended the possibility of the aggrieved governors defecting to APC, some are of the view that the VOP plan is tailored towards a proper negotiation for which political party the governors will pay their loyalty to between the PDP and APC in 2015. Speaking to Saturday Mirror, APC chieftain and former governor of Edo State, Chief John Oyegun, said that the proposed registration of the Voice of the People is a welcome development. He also believed that the fact that the aggrieved PDP governors were linked to the formation of VOP had not foreclosed the possibility of the governors defecting to APC before 2015 elections. His words: “The move by PDP governor is a welcome development because all the split going on in the PDP will divide their votes while we remain absolutely strong. We wish the governors good luck in their move. “Between the mouth and spoon a lot can happen. From the point of an observer they seem not to have totally given up. There are only two possible scenarios. One, they want to destroy the PDP to see that more damage is done to it before they do whatever they want to do. Secondly, their activities are to have a strong bargaining position within the PDP. So whatever it is we in the APC are very glad and we wish them luck; we even wish them success. Even if they succeed it will be good for the Nigerian nation. “We still see them coming back to APC but we want them to run their cause first. Our calculation is not on section of the PDP. In fact we are planning our victory built on the fact of a strong and united PDP at the next election because we don’t want to take anything for granted. We are assuming they will be strong and we are assuming they will be divided. Any division within their ranks is to our benefit but we are preparing and fighting a scenario for a united PDP. We don’t want to underestimate our opponent, so, we are preparing that there would be one PDP during the election. But of course if they are not united, we are glad because it makes the job easy for us.” Former Minister of Transportation and member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Ebenezer Babatope, believes that it would be dangerous for any PDP governor to defect to opposition parties, especially the APC. His words: “I will be so sorry for any governor that joins APC because the governor will discover later on that he would only have signed his political death warrant by such a reckless action. Those who are members of the PDP will ensure that we give leadership to who leadership is due. We are not afraid of 2015. “We are not afraid of 2015 at all because we know when to call a halt to all these things happening. All of us who are leaders; all BoT members, all caucus members, NWC members know when to call a halt and when we call a halt, then we start the programme for the election. Let things go on this way. Let the political scene get interesting like it is happening within the PDP because we dictate the space and therefore we are not worried at all. When we need to call a halt, we would call a halt and move forward and win the election by the grace of God.” In his view, the National General Secretary of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Comrade Ayodele Akele, said people should be free to join any political party of their choice. “The seven governors have the right to form any political party of their choice. What is wrong in floating a new political party? Anybody is free to join any political parties of his choice and that is why we are canvassing for multiparty system. You can’t keep everybody in the same political party if they don’t share the same philosophy. For example, I can’t fit into APC because I can be with some members of APC. It is matter of choice and compatibility. They are free to join any political party of choice. “There is nothing different between PDP and some of the new party that are emerging. I don’t believe in some of the political parties coming up today. I cannot fit into any of the political parties. Some of the people in the new party are not compatible and very soon you will see what will happen to them,” he said.
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 10:18:21 +0000
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