LEON USIGBE looks at the recent registration of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) as a political party and how it may affect the chances of its leader and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2015 presidential election. THE convergence of elements of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) in September last year at the sidelines of the Abuja yearly memorial lecture for late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, founder of the movement and one-time presidential candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), raised some eyebrows. At the time, the conveners claimed that their coming together was a reunion but went ahead to establish a steering committee charged with the responsibility of charting an exploratory way forward on the 2015 general elections. The September reunion was followed by another meeting about three months later designed to consolidate on its plans to re-position itself to play an influential role in the election. Organisers of the re-launch of the movement gave the impression that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, was not enthusiastic about its revival, even though he inherited the structures as leader at the demise of General Yar’Adua. Atiku was thought to have argued initially that the idea of reviving PDM would be incongruous with reality, given the fact that many of its prominent members including himself dissolved into the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where they play important roles. But it did not take long before the former Vice President reconsidered his stance as he became convinced of the potential of PDM in affecting the course of the 2015 presidential election. Atiku believes that PDM is comparable to the Tea Party which made waves before the last presidential election in the United States but he was also keen to stress the need for the PDM members to work within the PDP, for which he observed PDM members formed its bedrock. But at that time, he committed himself to assisting the movement morally and financially towards the actualisation of its mission and encouraged members of the movement to return to their bases to set up state, local government and ward chapters with a view to recruiting all those with similar philosophy. Given the above scenario, it came to many as a surprise that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced its registration as a political party recently, approving its constitution, manifesto, logo/ flag and list of national executive officers with the implication that in spite of all the arguments about working with the PDP, PDM is now standing alone and poised to field its own candidates for the 2015 elections. However, since the electoral body announced its registration, Atiku has moved to distance himself from the action only stopping short from denouncing the move because as he put it, he remains a loyal member of PDP even though his associates are free to register their own political party. Atiku has had a rocky relationship with PDP which he dumped in 2007 to unsuccessfully contest the presidential election under the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Since his return to the ruling party, he has continued to have issues, having been edged out in the 2011 presidential primaries nicked by President Goodluck Jonathan. And more recently, he complained of being omitted in the PDP delegate list of his native Adamawa State for this week’s mini-national convention of the party. Even though his denial of a hand in the registration of the movement as a party is consistent with his position at the reunion of PDM members in September last year, Atiku is too smart a politician not to think of a Plan B in view of his peculiar circumstance within the PDP. He is not one to conceal his burning ambition to become president. But he also realises that incumbent President Jonathan, thought to be eyeing a re-election will be favourite to clinch the ticket under PDP. Atiku’s scheme may therefore be viewed from two perspectives. One: his re-launch of PDM will provide the necessary platform to realise his ambition to emerge as a presidential candidate. Two: he can use the PDM to throw the spanner into the works of Jonathan should he (Atiku) be ignored in the presidential race for 2015. Jonathan is yet to publicly acknowledge that he will be seeking a second tenure in office but the recent spate of endorsements from all parts of the federation suggests that the decision is a fait accompli as the necessary structures are being tailored towards the realisation of that objective. If that were to be the case, Atiku will have the unenviable task to contend with the virtually insurmountable power of incumbency if he is to clinch the presidential ticket under PDP. Where he fails to achieve that, the PDM will come handy as a platform to peacefully further his aspiration. On the other hand tough, pundits fear that the Turaki Adamawa may choose to rock the boat for the ruling party by exploiting the vast potential of PDM which draws its membership from mainly the PDP. He can attempt this by securing the PDM presidential ticket and seeking to attract as much sympathy as possible from his PDP base which can potentially whittle Jonathan’s support in the North in particular and on a nationwide scale. This however, is a double-edged sword. While some support may drop from Jonathan, the former Vice President’s presence on the 2015 presidential ballot will also significantly negatively impact on the desire of the North to recapture the presidency possibly through the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the region’s core support may be split between two prominent citizens thereby handing advantage to Jonathan.
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 07:57:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015