This is a report of the behind the scene intrigues which led to the deal between President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, Chief Anthony Anenih and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, state governors. After heating up their National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting last Tuesday, the same people came back and within an hour resolved their differences and even adding an icing on the cake with the endorsement of Jonathan as the party’s candidate for next year’s presidential election.
His audience was surprised enough to begin to feel guilty.
For those present last Thursday, it presented what could best be described as culture shock.
In what sounded like a homily, President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan reportedly told a gathering of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Executive Committee, NEC, members last Thursday:
“I have been known by Nigerians to be very loyal and humble.
“When I was deputy governor in Bayelsa State, I was very humble and loyal to my boss till the end.
“When I was made running mate to late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, I accepted with utmost humility.
“When we were elected and I became Vice President, I remained very loyal till the end.
“I have not been known by people to be a desperate individual.
“Even after the President died, and the mantle fell on me, I attempted to carry everybody along.
“It is not a do or die affair to become the president of this country.
“What ever we do here, we should put Nigeria first and understand that whatever our party does will affect this country greatly.
“I am ready to make concessions for all of us to have peace and move ahead as a people and as a nation.
“If the party leaders and members say they do not want me as their presidential candidate I would gladly accept it because I believe in God and I believe God Almighty is the one that gives power.
“As a party, we should ensure that after the primaries, we do not leave ourselves too bruised to win the general election”.
After witnessing the show of shame between National Chairman, Okwesilieze Nwodo, and his Enugu State governor, Sullivan Chime, at the NEC meeting last Tuesday, President Jonathan decided to do what was right: personally talk to the state governors. There had been tension in the party.
The Contentious Issues
Whatever led to the crisis of last Tuesday, its root can be located in the uncoordinated and shambolic serial attempts to amend the Electoral Act.
After presenting the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, the legislators went back to work, attempting to impose the crisis in the PDP on the entire polity by legislating for their own benefit.
Apart from the attempt of the legislators to rail-road their way into the NEC of political parties, they also chose to set the order of elections as well as determine how political parties would regulate the workings of internal democracy in their parties.
The state governors, sensing that the legislators were merely trying to replace one form of dictatorship with another, kicked against the move of the legislators.
And because the numerical stand of the legislators had a preponderance of PDP members, the state governors suspected that the party may have been working hands in gloves with the legislators with a view to handing incumbent President Jonathan an upper hand.
But for the insistence of the legislators to become automatic members of NEC, the governors never knew the legislators were working on an agenda that was far from clear.
Even the issue of staggered primaries which was later dumped for another mode was seen as another attempt to give an undue advantage to Jonathan.
The Anenih Committee
But the prelude to Jonathan’s homily was a swift move by leaders of the PDP, setting up a committee.
That committee was hurriedly set up immediately after the about 15minute NEC meeting of Tuesday.
To chair the committee was Anthony Anenih, former chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, BoT.
To work with him were two state governors, two members of the National Assembly and two members of the party’s National Working Committee, NWC.
Their terms of reference was “to speedily find lasting resolution to the plethora of issues plaguing the NEC and the party”, a NEC member told Sunday Vanguard.
Sunday Vanguard was told that the Anenih Committee set to work immediately after the hurried postponement of the botched meeting of Tuesday.
The Committee worked for two days.
A source close to the meeting told Sunday vanguard that “the work of the committee was to set the tone for trust and accommodation of the varying views.
“In fact, when President Jonathan stepped into Wadata Plaza just before the commencement of last Thursday’s ground-breaking meeting, the Anenih Committee had almost finished its work.
“Once Jonathan came in, he made a passionate plea to leaders of the party, explaining to them that he was not desperate and that the stability and progress of the party and nation are non-negotiable”, the source said.
Sunday Vanguard was also told that Anenih made it clear to the committee members that “the most essential ingredient in politics was the building of trust among members of the party.
“Chief Anenih said the consequences of not resolving the issues at stake once and for all would be too grave both for the party and the nation.
“The old man also explained that it would be in the interest of all to reason with one another”.
Sunday Vanguard was also made to understand that the statement made by Chief Anenih earlier, saying that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock, was consequent upon “the level of success recorded in the plethora of exploratory talks between President Jonathan and the state governors, most of which involved the former BoT Chairman”.
The order of the party primaries was re-programmed to favour all interests, especially the state governors who wanted the state congresses to come first.
Information available to Sunday vanguard also showed that Anenih, wanting to extract a commitment from the state governors at the gathering, suggested that the state governors, too, should display the spirit of give and take by reciprocating.
“The Chief told the state governor that once their demands and requests were agreed to, it would be a good gesture if they, on their part would also issue a communiqué after the ri meeting, endorsing President Jonathan.
‘That way”, the source continued, “all the parties with interests in the matter would have been seen to have been adequately taken care of”.
It was after this that President Jonathan walked in and made his plea.
That was how the deal was struck by the Anenih Committee.
The next step was the commencement of the NEC meeting which did not last for more than 75minutes.
According to Khitwe Dabin, the Plateau State Chairman of the party, he said “I think that it’s the political process and once leaders are willing to hold dialogue with all stake holders then all matters are definitely going to be resolved amicably.
For me I saw the best of President Jonathan; I saw in him a leader who has his people in mind, humble and humane”.
21 state governors were to later endorse President Jonathan
Meanwhile, the party has fixed the Presidential Primaries for January 13 while that of the governors was approved for January 9.
At the end of the meeting, members also approved primaries January 5 for National Assembly members, state Houses of Assembly January 3 while ward delegates will take place December 28 and national delegate January 11.
At that NEC meeting, President Jonathan also took time to hit back at critics of government.
According to him, the government will not accept from individuals or groups situations where they attempt to threaten the sovereignty and stability of the country, calling on the National Working Committee, NWC to come up with a code of conduct for those aspiring for office as guide to the utterances of aspirants, stressed that the move became imperative because they all belong to the same PDP family.
Jonathan said, “Let me use this opportunity to plead with the Chairman of our party. There is a need to make very strong statement to those of us who are aspiring for one office or the other. Any office you are aspiring to in this land, whether you want to be the President or the President of Africa or the President of the world, it is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.
“I am saying so because of the utterances of some of us recently are not very, very palatable to the ears. And government would no longer tolerate a situation where an individual or group of individuals will threaten the sovereignty and stability of this country.
“If people make statements that are treasonable they will face the law. And nobody should say somebody is being persecuted because of politics. That is why I am pleading with the Chairman, probably we should have a code of conduct for those of us who are aspiring for offices to guide our utterances, what we say and what we do because, especially those of us who are from the same PDP family.
“One day if 10 people want to be the governors of a state at the end of the primaries only one person will be our candidate and we expect the remaining nine to come and work with that one person.
“The same thing at the presidential level, 10 people may be interested but only but one day one person will emerge, others would come and work and make sure that that person wins. But if you are making statements that it is either you or nothing then you have a different agenda. If you belong to the PDP you will not destroy PDP.
“In as much as you want that position, you will not destroy the platform that will float you because if you destroy the platform, where will you climb to win? So I believe the party needs…the National Working Committee needs to meet over it and they will produce a pamphlet to guide us and anybody that contravenes that should be disqualified, fine.
“If I do that I should be disqualified. Nigeria has reached a stage where the whole world is looking unto us to set the stage. So our conducts and utterances and whatever we do must be civil. We cannot play politics as if we are fighting a civil war.”
In his remarks, an elated National Chairman of the party, Dr Okwesilizie Nwodo who noted that all contentious issues have been resolved said, ‘’We are back with good news. That the tribulations that faced us as a party and as a nation have been resolved in forty eight hours. No problem is beyond our party to resolve and we have proved that. We are back here today to move forward as a party and give decisive leadership to our country.’’
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