Party leader blames PDP crisis on impositions

By Chimezie Enyiocha

July 4, 2011 01:35AM
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President Goodluck Jonathan's success in upturning the zoning arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the last election was a sign that democracy is yet to take firm root in the country, former chairman of the party in Kaduna State, Yaro Makama Rigachikun has said.

Mr Rigachikun, who is also an ex-officio member of the national working committee of the PDP, said he was not surprised that there was crisis after the national election because people, especially in the north, were not happy that the president failed to respect the constitution of the party. He asserted that Mr Jonathan imposed himself against the wish of the party and the people of the north in particular, which the zoning arrangement had favoured.

"The crisis was a signal that Nigerians want change, because PDP as a party has not provided the much expected change since the inception of democracy in 1999," he said. "Since 1999 to date, I expected us to be growing and not retrogressing." The party leader said if Mr Jonathan had respected zoning of the presidency, it would have created an opportunity for himself and PDP to provide an example for other political parties to emulate.

He, however, expressed fear that there may be an imminent revolution that might lead to chaos and anarchy by 2015 if Mr Jonathan decides to run for second term as president.

The Kaduna politician said the president should take heed from what happened during the election of the speaker of the House of Representatives, when an insurgent candidate, Aminu Tambuwal defeated the candidate of the party. He said this was an indication that those elected, especially PDP members, were no longer willing to be guided by any external forces.

"If this could happen at the House of Representatives, then what are we expecting in the years ahead? Any attempt to impose Jonathan on PDP in 2015, the opposition will join forces with some prominent PDP members from the north to collapse PDP," he said. "By 2015 , the Southwest led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu in alliance with some northern politicians will collapse PDP if the zoning arrangement is not maintained."

He said the decision of the opposition, led by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), to scuttle PDP's move to impose the speaker on the House members was laudable.

"It is unfortunate that at the time Nigeria is supposed to have advanced democratically, PDP allowed religious sentiment to encroach into the polity," he said. "A situation whereby majority of Muslims voted for Buhari and Christians voted for Jonathan was a creation of PDP."

Rivalry in Kaduna

He was, however, proud of his contribution to the victory of Patrick Yakowa as the first democratically elected Christian governor of Kaduna State. Mr Rigachikun explained that the reason himself and some other PDP members supported the candidacy of Mr Yakowa in the last April elections is because they wanted to solve the problem of marginalisation in the state.

He said it was a shame that the southern Kaduna area, where Mr Yakowa comes from, has not produced a governor of the state since its creation.

"We had to support Yakowa for balance of power," he said. "Don't forget that the people of southern Kaduna have always supported PDP candidates from the northern zone in every election and it is therefore wrong not to support them." The outspoken PDP official also said the reason why the party lost two senatorial seats in Kaduna State to the opposition Congress for Progressive Change was because of internal squabbles, whereby some aggrieved members of the party who felt short changed by Jonathan's candidacy, voted against PDP.

On the controversy over who represents Kaduna at the federal executive council, Mr Rigachikun blamed the situation on the differences between Mr Yakowa and his predecessor and vice president, Namadi Sambo.

NEXT reliably gathered that whereas Mr Sambo is pushing for the former executive secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Trust Fund (PTDF) Hammisu Yusuf Abubakar,

Mr Yakowa prefers Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi, who worked for his victory at the last election.

The sources said the presidency seem not to be comfortable with Mr Sambo's nominee, particularly due to some alleged security report against Mr Abubakar when he was at the helm of affairs at PTDF.