PDP’s primaries of intrigues, controversies
Politics Jan 6, 2011 By Clifford Ndujihe & Gbenga Oke
IN 2007, former President said that, that year’s elections were a do-or-die affair for him and members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Indeed, the contests panned out as such to the extent that issues cropping up from those elections are still being resolved on the eve of another election, four years later, in 2011.

The do-or-die mien appears to be playing the upper hand at the on-going primaries of the party. The ‘it must be me and not you’ approach has been a recurring decimal with five persons killed and several others mortally wounded in the violence trailing the exercises so far across the country.

There have been complaints of imposition of candidates, manipulation of delegates’ list, exclusion of factions and refusal of losers to accept the outcome of the primaries even in cases where the contest was free and fair.

Mayhem claim three in Oyo
There had been complaints here and there but the mind-rattling episodes started with Ona-Ara Local Council, Oyo State PDP congress. Instead of going to the Olunloyo, Akanran congress venue with their PDP membership cards and other items needed for the exercises, some participants and their supporters elected to invade the arena with guns, cutlasses and cudgels. In no time, the political exercise metamorphosed into a full-scale war.

The guns boomed; cutlasses and cudgels were menacingly raised against fellow party men, leaving deaths and anguish on the trail.


Nwodo
During the mayhem, factional leader of the National Leader of the Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alh. Lateef Salako (Eleweomo), was killed. Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, narrowly escaped death when his convoy was attacked by suspected hoodlums. But two of his loyalists were not lucky. They reportedly died in the gun duel.

Two die in Niger
Condemnations of the Oyo bloodbath had hardly died down when two persons died and many others got varying degrees of injury with three persons lying unconscious at hospitals following the eruption of violence at a PDP primaries in Edati Local Council of Niger State, where Senator Zaynab Kure hails from.

Besides the loss of lives, about eight vehicles and two motor cycles were burnt during the exercise. Party men took laws into their hands because of alleged “manipulation of result and discarding of the zooming arrangement” agreed upon in the area.

It was earlier agreed that the incumbent member of House of Assembly Alh. Mohammed Abubakar Gamunu would contest for only one term while another zone would present a candidate for another term.

The same zoning agreement is said to be binding on the incumbent Council chairman, who is expected not to go for a second term when his tenure expires.

The PDP Executive members in the area allegedly discarded the zoning arrangement and aided the manipulation the primaries.

Dangerous weapons like cutlasses, daggers among others were freely used while the police on duty were said to be helpless as they could not overpower the warring party members.

No result in Rivers
In Rivers, the party was yet to release the results of the House of Assembly primaries held on Monday as of press time. The primary was also characterized by protests and complaints of irregularities in many constituencies.

Violence mar exercise in Benue
Benue State was also not left out. In Buruku constituency, where the Speaker, Mr. Tersee Tsumba hails, the exercise was enveloped in mayhem. One of the aspirants allegedly deployed political thugs and military men drafted to provide security in the area and they shot into the air sporadically to disperse party members, who ran for their lives.

Trouble started in Buruku when one Joseph Tyav, an aspirant for the House of Representative seat who had earlier lost the ward delegate election, suddenly had his name inserted in the delegate list by the State party executive, a development which the people vowed to resist.

The development sparked crisis in the area prompting pandemonium and the manhandling of youths who vowed to make the local government area ungovernable.

A commissioner, who was defeated by a roadside mechanic at the ward congress, allegedly had his name smuggled into the delegates’ list.

‘Unpopular’ candidates emerge in Ebonyi
In Ebonyi, there was drama as ‘popular’ candidates lost the party’s tickets to less-fancied aspirants because of alleged rigging,

The Ebonyi State House of Assembly primary took an extra ordinary dimension as candidates speculated to carry the day failed to the disbelief of those in the machinery of government.

This followed the bolt from the blue as the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Barr. Augustine Nwankwegu contesting to represent Izzi West constituency was defeated by his opponent and Chief Whip Barr. Uchenna Orji also lost to a woman, Barr. Lilian Igwe.

The primaries which shifted to Abakaliki Township Stadium when it could not be concluded the previous day as a result of late arrival of materials, however witnessed some scuffle as the Vice Chairman of Ebonyi local government was manhandled by security agents.

The Chairman, Ebonyi State Electoral Panel, Prof. Kabiru Mato described the primaries as transparent, fair and credible. He advised those who lost to see it as game where there should be a winner and a loser.
All the principal officers of the House did not get re-election tickets. Only six members succeeded. Some aspirants protested alleged manipulation and omission of aspirants’ names in the ballot papers,

The state PDP chairman, Mr. Dave Umahi noted that the surprises witnessed during the election indicated that the electorate were the ones who decide who would govern them. He called on those who did not win not to engage in violence or any act that was capable of hampering peace and stability in the state.

However, Uchenna Orji insisted that there was manipulation to return his opponent and vowed to take his protest further.

Parallel congress in Ogun
Confusion trailed the ward congresses of the ruling the party in Ogun State, as the two factions of the party conducted parallel exercises across the state with some skirmishes.

The factional leaders are Dayo Soremi and Joju Fadairo. They have been at loggerheads over who controls the party. The Soremi_led group is supported by the Minister ofIindustry, Jubril Martins_Kuye, while the Fadairo group is loyal to the state governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

In Abeokuta south local government, the Soremi_led executive conducted congress at Anglican High School, Quarry Road, while the Joju Fadairo_led executive held its exercise at the Gateway Secondary School, Ita_Eko area of the town.

The same experiences were recorded in some other parts of the state, while pockets of political tussle were similarly recorded in some areas where the congresses took place.

Protests in Enugu
In Enugu, the perennial crisis led to the non-inclusion of one of the factions in the congresses.
Indeed, the dissolved State Executive Committee of the, PDP loyal to Governor Sullivan Chime said the fresh congresses held by the group loyal to the party’s National Chairman, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo was illegal.

The Governor Chime’s political camp alleged that the congresses held at the Ward, Local Government and State levels were in disobedience to the directive of the Leader of the Party, President Goodluck Jonathan and other top party stakeholders that the congresses be suspended for both parties to harmonize the party structure in the state as reportedly demanded by the National Chairman.

In a press statement by Dr. Okey Eze, Publicity Secretary of the Chime faction, the party noted that the same Nwodo group had turned down the 50_50 sharing formula of the Party Structure proposed by the National Chairman himself and adopted by the National Working Committee of the Party for implementation in line with the agreement reached at a peace meeting by President Jonathan, his Vice, Namadi Sambo, former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Party, Chief Tony Anenih, the National Chairman of the Party and Governor Chime.

With the primaries continuing on Thursday enroute the presidential primaries, it is hoped that the exercises would be conducted in a transparent manner to save the polity the agony of avoidable mayhem.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/01/pdp%E2%80%99s-primaries-of-intrigues-controversies/

GJ does not know what he is doing

All Nigerian Presidents find it hard to want to leave

The ones that left wish they didnt and want to come back!

seanet02:

GJ does not know what he is doing

And you do? This is amazing, anyone who can type on a computer keyboard can now criticize their betters. Please just keep quit.

Rigging is in our culture so do not blame Jonathan.

Jonafool