Acting President Goodluck Jonathan and governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are poised for a showdown over who controls the party’s structure ahead of the 2011 general election.
The development comes amid fears that the first casualty of the power struggle would be chairman of the ruling party, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, who is likely to be replaced with a candidate loyal to one of the contending parties.

The battle line appears drawn, with the Acting President, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the PDP Reform Group led by the former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, said to be in one camp while the governors, Ogbulafor and members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP are in the other.

A reliable source close to the corridors of power told Sunday Sun that former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, who has declared his intention to run for the presidency in 2011, is still playing safe and has not identified with any of the camps even though he is said to be sympathetic to the Jonathan camp.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/apr/25/national-25-04-2010-002.htm
“You know that Babangida is a smart man. He is watching how the thing is playing out and is not in a haste to support any particular camp yet,” the source, a former presidential aide, informed.
He revealed that in the weeks to come, the ruling party would witness an implosion and unprecedented groundswell of intrigues by the opposing camps.

According to the PDP chieftain, signs of what to expect have already started emerging with the suspension of 19 top members of the party, including two former Senate Presidents and Speaker, Ken Nnamani, Adolphus Wabara and Aminu Bello-Maisari respectively.
The PDP, he contended, has become a battlefield with the calculation that any of the camps able to control the structure would be deemed to have partially won the next presidential election.
“But the crisis that would trail the battle for the soul of the PDP is likely to reach the overdrive and would make it inevitable for the contending parties to seek ways out of the logjam,” he said.

According to the calculation, those flexing muscles now know that eventually Jonathan would control the party structure but not without a commitment to guarantee a second term for most of the governors who would seek re-election in the next general election.
“Politics is give and take. The governors are protecting Ogbulafor because they have his confidence and are sure of his support in 2011. For those who are seeking re-election, they would be guaranteed an automatic ticket while those who have completed eight years would like their preferred candidate to succeed them.
“So, what is sure to happen is that they will sacrifice the PDP chairman but that would not be before they get a commitment from the Acting President that their interest would be protected.

“The governors are chief executives of their states and they know the powers Jonathan wields at the moment. They know that they cannot win the battle against the man who has what it takes to check their influence,” he added.
It was gathered that a trump card the Acting President would use is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Our source disclosed that being close to Obasanjo, Jonathan is likely to unleash the anti-graft body on the governors to curtail their overbearing influence on the polity.

He said that the travails of the former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori, and officials of the Bayelsa State government in the hands of EFCC were signs of what to expect from the camp of the Acting President.
On Thursday, the NWC led by Ogbulafor suspended those at the vanguard of the PDP Reform Forum for alleged anti-party activities.
Their suspension, according to the National Secretary, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, was in accordance with Article 21.4 of the party’s constitution.
Baraje also disclosed that their case has been referred to the National Disciplinary Committee for further necessary action.
Members of the forum had shunned the invitation of the NWC to clear themselves of allegations of anti-party activities.