The burgeoning cloud of controversy that hallmarked the gubernatorial primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) occasioned by the emergence of former anti-corruption czar, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and other nominees for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives and the Senate is to yet settle and has considerably weakened the political strength of the party in Adamawa State ahead of the 2015 general elections. With this unsettling development, political pundits in the state are on the same page in their conclusion that unless a miracle happens, its chances of retaining the state after the February 2015 elections have been completely eroded. It would be recalled that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, in a move seen as instigated by the presidency, conducted the House of Assembly, House of Representatives; Senate and governorship primaries in Abuja, a situation that has brought the party in the state to this sorry pass. The development has considerably irked relevant party stakeholders so much so that they are bent on trading away their party’s fortune in the 2015 general elections unless new primaries are conducted in the state. Right from the onset, there were very strong speculations that some powerful indigenes of the state based in Abuja were determined to impose Ribadu as the governorship candidate of the party, a development that did not go down well with majority of members of the state chapter led by the chairman, Chief Joel Madaki, who kicked against this based on the fact that Ribadu only recently defected to the party. They insisted that the candidate of PDP must emerge through free, fair and transparent primaries. This insistence, seen by the apologists of Ribadu’s candidature as intransigence, almost put spanner in the works of those that are said to be scheming to impose Ribadu on Adamawa PDP. To clear the way for Ribadu’s emergence, the sponsors of the former EFCC chairman recruited the support of some people in the national leadership of the party. With this combined force they were said to have gotten the NWC to sack the entire executive committee in Adamawa State and went a step further by suspending Chief Madaki and the state secretary, A.T Shehu from the party. This has polarized the party. According to the aggrieved party stakeholders, the venue of the primaries was shifted to Abuja without due consultation with them, ostensibly with a predetermined aim by the national chairman of the party, Adamu Muazu to impose Ribadu on them. From all intents and purposes, the purported primary that imposed Nuhu Ribadu on the party is in contravention of Article 26 (a) (i) (ii) and (iii) of the PDP guidelines on primaries that provide for all the primaries to be conducted at the senatorial district headquarters. The Article provides that “In the conduct of primaries for the party’s candidates for the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the primaries shall be held at the senatorial district headquarters. all the delegates to the special congress shall assemble in the constituency headquarters, the constituency headquarters shall be as prescribed by the Independent National Electoral Commission.” To further underscore the level of seriousness of the issue at hand, the aggrieved aspirants boycotted the national convention of PDP in Abuja where President Jonathan was ratified as the sole presidential candidate of the party in the 2015 election. Judging from the foregoing, analysts are of the opinion that unless the national headquarters of the party hearkens to the voice of reason and reverses the monumental injustice done to the state chapter of the party as epitomised by the imposition of Nuhu Ribadu in a clear breach of the party’s constitution, it will be a herculean task for the party to retain the state in 2015. – Oche, a media consultant, is based in Abuja
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 11:54:18 +0000
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