For a politician who believes in the sanctity of the state and its machinery, perhaps many have come to confuse the role and personality of Chief Anthony Akhakon Anenih. But to those in the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, he epitomises experience and loyalty. Since 1998 when the party was formed, Anenih remains perhaps one of the very few – very, very few – members who have never contemplated decampment as a directive policy of politicking.
Therefore, when last Mondaynight – indeed into the very early hours of Tuesday – it was time to vote for the newchairman of PDP’s Board of Trustees, BoT, the set criteria could only fit one bill: Tony Anenih. It wasn’t by design; it was just time for the qualities of hard work, loyaltyto party discipline, experience and leadership, to yield dividends.
Sunday Vanguard learnt that the Jerry Gana Committee that had been set up last month to harmonise the membership of the BoT as well as fashion out a selection/election process, came up with its report, presented and read it for all members present.
The meeting, which began at8.45 pm and ended at 1.10 am, commenced with the adoption of the report.
Chief Anenih & PresidentJonathan
Thereafter, aspirants who had been disqualified ab-initio by the guidelines for eligibility to be chairman, as contained in the report, began to step down, one after the other. But why did they step down?
The guidelines made it so.
Tagged CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SELECTING BoT CHAIRMAN, and divided into two parts, Criteria For Screening The Aspirants and The Selection Process, (see box), the Gana Committee enumerated a number of factors and conditions to be met (unlike the amendment by former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the PDP’s 2005 National Convention, an amendment which made him the only qualified person to become chairman of PDP’s BoT) which narrowed the numberof qualified persons for the seat by half, from the earlier multitude of almost a score.
Thereafter, aspirants who had been disqualified ab-initio by the guidelines for eligibility began to step down, one after the other.
Sunday vanguard gathered that the first to step down was Chief Don Etiebet from the South-South zone, the same zone with Anenih. He was followed by Chief Shuaibu Oyedokun and Yekini Adeojo in that order, from the Southwest zone. Both were caught by the oneof the criteria for selecting chairman of the Board whichdisqualifies any member of the Board who left the party for another party and returned thereafter to the Board.
Then a small drama ensued. Former Senate President, KenNnamani, asked that President Jonathan should request that he should step down; that way, it would be easy for him to explain to hissupporters outside that he stepped down at the instance of the President andCommander-in-Chief and leader of the party.
President Jonathan was said to have smiled and calmly replied: “Senator Nnamani, please step down.” And Nnamani did. It turned out tobe one of the comical moments of the meeting, with the admixture of intrigues and cold calculations to push through the agenda of Jonathan’s presidency.
Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, publisher of Champion Newspapers, who claimed to be the endorsed candidate of the Southeast zone for the position, took his turn to explain how the Igbo had been marginalized and how he had spent time and resources on the process. In fact, Sunday Vanguard learnt, he was saidto have wondered why the President did not let them know early that he was interested in one of the aspirants. He suggested that instead of prolonging the process, the National Chairman, President, Vice President, Senate President and Speaker should constitute themselves into a small committee which should meet separately to agree on a candidate who would be presented to the meeting for endorsement as consensus candidate. It was a good suggestion. The advice was taken.
In addition to the five persons, Chief Olabode George and Governor Ibrahim Shema were co-opted into the committee,which met for some time and its decision to present Anenih as consensus candidate to the meeting for endorsement was announced by Shema.
The meeting unanimously endorsed the consensus candidate.
And the Iyasele (prime Minister) of Esanland emerged as Chairman to begin his second missionary journey, having been suddenly shoved out in 2007by Obasanjo in a coup-like manner.
The Agenda
Sunday Vanguard has exclusively gathered from sources very close to Anenih that in the build-up to last week’s meeting of the BoT, the man popularly referred to as Leader by his loyalists and Mr. Fix It by his adversaries, had made his plans and agenda for the party known in no uncertain terms.
Cont...here: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/03/the-return-my-agenda-for-pdp-by-tony-anenih/