The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been torn into four camps over the $2.1 billion arms fund scandal for which many high-ranking members of the party have been dragged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Daily Trust on Sunday investigation has revealed.

In the last few weeks it has been observed that the former ruling party’s members are divided into four factions over the arms scandal.
One of the factions has sympathy for former President Goodluck Jonathan,
one has sympathy for Uche Secondus and his group in the NWC,
another is headed by some of the governors and the Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio,
while another faction was created a few days ago by the deputy national officers of the party.

Confirming our investigation, a chieftain of the party in Osun State, Mr Jackson Lekan Ojo, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the party may not be the same again, as some of the factions have taken an irreconcilable posture which could lead to the formation of another political party before 2019 general elections.

According to Mr Ojo, “To me, for the PDP to rule at the centre again, it must change name, and I want to talk like a political prophet. I foresee very clearly today that the PDP at the end of the day will scatter. Some progressives element will go out. The progressives will turn to another party.

“Some of the progressives in the PDP and the APC will come together under the umbrella of another party before 2019. But we are talking about the PDP today,” he said. Ojo said PDP members should be probed provided they have committed crime.

The PDP chieftain said those in the party found to have benefited from the $2.1 billion arms money should face the full wrath of the law. He also supported the party’s deputy spokesman, Abdullahi Jalo, saying former President Goodluck Jonathan is not above the law and should come out to explain in detail what transpired during his administration over the arms deal.

There is furore within the rank and file of the PDP following the arrest, detention and trial of its top leaders over the multi-billion dollar arms deal. While the party is claiming that nothing is wrong within its various structures, observers say the infighting within the party was becoming obvious.

They hint at those they described as opportunists waiting to manoeuvre their ways into the offices of party officials in the armsgate snare.

But while some top PDP leaders are on board the same ship with Dasuki, there is tension and what analysts describe as crisis of interest within the party. Some party chieftains see the arrest and trial of PDP leaders, like the acting chairman of Board of Trustees (BoT), Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, and PDP national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh as an opportunity to manoeuvre their ways into the top party offices.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the argument within the top echelon of the party is that the party officials standing trial have been charged for offences they personally committed not in the party’s interest. Similarly, they are said to have received various sums of money into their various personal accounts and should bear the responsibility for their actions including quitting their offices.

The first indication that the umbrella was torn over the arms fund scam was when the PDP deputy national publicity secretary, Barrister Abdullahi Jalo, took many by surprise, supporting the arrest of his immediate boss, Metuh as well as Dr. Mohammed. Jalo also asked former President Goodluck Jonathan to clear the air on his role in the arms deal; whether he approved the $2.1 billion for arms purchase for the military to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country or to fund PDP campaigns.

Jalo’s position was, however, rebuffed by the PDP acting national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, who said the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC) had never reached any resolution that Jonathan should clear the air over the issue. Secondus said the statement was therefore strictly Jalo’s personal opinion and not the party’s position. However, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, said in Lagos that no document had been traced to Jonathan giving approval for the disbursement of money for any purpose other than arms purchase.

Magu said that all those questioned so far in connection with the money were people who disbursed or collected the money for reasons other than the purchase of arms and ammunition. But deputy national officers of the PDP are currently insisting that those facing corruption charges within the party must lose their positions.

A reliable source within the party told Daily Trust on Sunday that some chieftains of the party have resolved to “mount pressure on leaders who do not have the interest of the PDP at heart” and are also insisting that all the committee’s raised by the present National Working Committee (NWC) led by acting national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, must be dissolved. “The PDP is in trouble; the factions within the party are too many.

You can also read and watch with amazement the deputy national officers of the party asking Metuh, Mohammed and Secondus to resign. Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the EFCC is making moves to make more arrests in connection with the arms deal.

With the PDP breaking into factions over the multi-billion dollar arms scandal, it is left to be seen whether it would bounce back and make any significant impact at the 2019 general elections or sink into extinction, as the Lekan Ojos are forecasting.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the argument within the top echelon of the party is that the party officials standing trial have been charged for offences they personally committed not in the party’s interest. Similarly, they are said to have received various sums of money into their various personal accounts and should bear the responsibility for their actions including quitting their offices.

Godfullsam:
They will soon tear into 10 factions and end up destroying each other. They are our main enemy and the greatest opposition to development of Nigeria .
They filled for 16 yrs with nothing to show for it.
PDP = People Destroying People.