For the second time in four months, Nigeria's biggest opposition party, the PDP, was unable to hold a successful National Convention. On both occasions, the event couldn't hold due to conflicting court orders. The court orders were brought about by the impasse over the leadership of the party. Ali Modu Sheriff, one of the claimants to the party's chairmanship seat, had told party faithful, nay Nigerians, that his tenure would not elapse until 2018. This didn't go down well with the governors who installed him as the Acting National Chairman. They accused him of being a mole in the party: planted by the ruling APC to destroy the party. They also alleged that he planned to parlay his position into the Presidential candidate of the party. Sheriff has stoutly denied these allegations, and blamed the governors for being over-ambitious. As a show of their power to enthrone and dethrone, the governors made Senator Ahmed Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna state, the Acting National Chairman in place of Sheriff. This did not dissuade Sheriff from parading himself as the National Chairman of the party. He merely approached an Abuja High Court to seek an order recognising him as the chairman of the party. His prayers were granted by the court. The Markarfi's faction of the party also approached a federal high court in Porthacourt and got an order recognising Markarfi as the valid National chairman of the party. These conflicting court judgements have placed the party in a quagmire. The August 17 National Convention was billed to put an end to all of these. It was hoped that a new set of leaders would emerge who would unite the different factions in the party. By mid-day, that hope petered out as policemen sealed off the venue of the National Convention based on a court order obtained by Sheriff. The aftermath of the botched convention has continued to vibrate, threatening the fragile peace in the party. Some of the contestants for the post of National Chairman have alleged that the botched convention would have been the coronation of a particular candidate from Lagos state if it had held. They pointed accusing fingers at governors Nyesom Wike and Ayodele Fayose of Rivers and Ekiti states respectively. These men, it must be said, played leading roles in the emergence of Sheriff as the Acting National Chairman of the PDP. They later turned around to treacherously betray him when he refused to kowtow to their evil designs. The two men are said to be nursing vice presidential ambitions. Chief Olabode George, one of the chairmanship hopefuls, has been most vociferous in his condemnation of the governors' political subterfuge. He accused both men of acting like pallbearers ready to take the party to the grave. A convention that was aimed at uniting the party has not only further polarized it but also hasten its descent down the abyss. The schism within the party has robbed the PDP of its role as the leading opposition party in Nigeria. At a time when millions of Nigerians are disenchanted by the dismal performance of the APC led government, the PDP is no where to be found to offer them succour. The PDP has allowed the APC a cosy political environment which has led it to sit idly without concerted efforts to address the overwhelming challenges confronting the nation. This was not the case when the APC was in opposition. It harangued the PDP and made it lose credibility among Nigerians. The PDP has been painfully silent on national issues dominating public discourse. This has led to the absence of a credible voice to echo the feelings of the people. Other opposition parties have shown themselves incapable of such onerous task. Many of them are in abeyance at the moment and will only come alive when elections draw close. The wrangling over who becomes the National Chairman of the PDP has dealt a cruel fate on opposition politics in Nigeria. I shudder to think what will become of democracy in Nigeria if the PDP fails to resolve its internal crisis.

PDP! power to the people!

agwom:
PDP! power to the people!

That mantra has now become hollow. Nobody chants it anymore.

Wow. It was a nice read. Your article is constructive and succinctly put.

As for PDP, there's no better time to rise than now. Although they are in dire need of deep in-house cleansing to rid them of all those elements responsible for the party becoming so dysfunctional. From the crooks to the schemers. But again, that will mean no PDP at all. A revamp of the party could signal its collapse. The old and corrupt make it thick.

malton:
Wow. It was a nice read. Your article is constructive and succinctly put.

As for PDP, there's no better time to rise than now. Although they are in dire need of deep in-house cleansing to rid them of all those elements responsible for the party becoming so dysfunctional. From the crooks to the schemers. But again, that will mean no PDP at all. A revamp of the party could signal its collapse. The old and corrupt make it thick.

Thanks for the compliment...I really wish the PDP could overcome its intractable crisis, but it seems to be a forlorn hope.

No loot no pdp

mikolo80:
No loot no pdp

Nothing could be further from the truth; there are men and women in the PDP who are models of moral rectitude.

bejeiodus:
Nothing could be further from the truth; there are men and women in the PDP who are models of moral rectitude.

they in the wrong party bro

mikolo80:
they in the wrong party bro

Everybody can't be in the same party; that is injurious to democracy. Nigeria will cease to be a democratic nation the day it has only one virile political party. Opposition is the salt of democracy; it must be allowed to thrive. Therefore, the nation needs a united PDP to check on the ruling party.

bejeiodus:
Everybody can't be in the same party; that is injurious to democracy. Nigeria will cease to be a democratic nation the day it has only one virile political party. Opposition is the salt of democracy; it must be allowed to thrive. Therefore, the nation needs a united PDP to check on the ruling party.

I never said they must join apc man. t they could also form a party of moral ppl. Or take over pdp cos their morality no epp anynew least themselves