THE imminent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2011 election primaries are witnessing the usual horse-trading, manipulations, strategies and counter strategies by aspirants for the various positions. The presidential race featuring two main rivals, President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Atiku is a major scene of horse-trading, in which the incumbent President is featuring almost to the exclusion of his rival.
Last Wednesday, the 254 PDP members of the House of Representatives endorsed the candidature of President Jonathan. It is a measured twist to the presidential race and could amount to a strong response to Atiku’s return as “consensus candidate” for the North by the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF). The President had also met with PDP Senators who are appearing more circumspect with their interests.
Even so, all is not over as it was still being discussed around the National Assembly that the endorsement was conditional. The lawmakers are believed to have hinged their decision on the hope that the President would make a reciprocal gesture. Jonathan is being expected to play a pivotal role for many of the lawmakers to get re-election ticket. They want the President to assist and influence their automatic choice inside the PDP leadership and in the ranks of PDP governors.
A member of the House PDP caucus present at the last Wednesday meeting however observed that there was no firm decision on how lawmakers’ re-election bid would be helped apart from the general agreement that whatever the party could do to promote legislative continuity should be given serious consideration.
Meanwhile, the battle by the lawmakers to entrench themselves in the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) with the sole aim of influencing the “tickets-sharing” decision of the party is still ringing bell.
President Jonathan was said not to categorically make it an issue during his meeting with the lawmakers. He could not be pushed into making a commitment on the amendment.
“You know that that singular amendment is a double-edged sword, which could boost the President’s presidential bid and equally jeopardize it. The PDP governors who believe that they would play vital roles in the Presidential primaries are opposed to the bid by PDP legislators to be automatic members of NEC for fear of being out-numbered during NEC meetings. And as such, it would not be in the best interest of Jonathan, who currently enjoys tremendous support from the camp of PDP governors to be seen working in favour of what would threaten their political strength,” said a legislator.
He continued: “This does not affect the merit of that amendment in any way because apart from it being wrongfully perceived as a re-election bid tool, every right thinking politician who is committed to deepening democracy understands that the amendment is overdue. And we know that Mr. President appreciates this although it may not be politically wise for him to come out with it.
Making public the decision of the PDP Caucus regarding the Presidential bid of President Jonathan, particularly with respect to his campaign visit to the lawmakers, the House of Representatives’ spokesman, Eseme Eyibo, had said the lawmakers were very satisfied with the presentation by Jonathan during the meeting.
Eyibo said: “He came down from his huge office as President of Nigeria to meet with us. He made the point that there was need for a collective desire for a new Nigeria, a Nigeria that is founded not on the politics of primordial but politics of new leadership. And since he has been able to do that and also showed a conviction and displayed a potential right beyond that, we of cause lauded it, we appreciated it and we are on the same page with him.
“The response of those of in the electoral constituency of the PDP in the House of Representatives was clearly that he has demonstrated leadership as a responsibility. And that in the discharge of that responsibility as a leader, he has shown the other side of it that in every responsibility arising from leadership, there must be accountability. He gave a good account of himself.”
Eyibo continued: “And that visit laid a foundation for our collective desire to have a Presidency that is driven by nationalism; that visit brought to the fore the admission of all of us that contents and issues must be the cardinal principles to drive election at all levels. We were deeply touched and highly appreciative of Mr. President’s very erudite and humility in the admission of the fact that we need a new Nigeria. And his attitude and presentation also alluded to the fact that he has the right content of mind to be able to drive the strong process that will lead us to the envisaged new Nigeria.
“From his presentation, he left us in no doubt that he has strong potentials and selling points to be able to drive the Presidency of this country. And coming down from where he is to be able to come and discuss with us underpins his commitment to free and fair elections. Normally some people would have taken advantage that because he is the President, he has the power of incumbency, he would have neglected the need for him to go round.”
But does this rule out the possibility of other PDP Presidential aspirants securing votes from this electoral constituency?
A principal officer in the House of Representatives said that in view of the commitment of the party to the doctrine of fairness, the PDP caucus in the House was still open to discussing with any other politician nursing the ambition of contesting the PDP presidential primaries.
He hinted that the campaign team of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, was already reaching out to some members of the National Assembly, adding “What I am not sure of is the level of sympathy Atiku can get from the National Assembly at the moment. Remember that politics is a game of interests. Can Atiku identify and guarantee the interests of these members now? That is rather very doubtful.”
Jonathan’s visit to the National Assembly had greatly massaged the lawmakers’ ego. It was a strategy of subtle boosting of their importance in the scheme of things and was generally rated as capable of achieving good results for the President. Similar visit to the PDP caucus last week by the national chairman of the PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, was re-assuring to the lawmakers as it helped to restore hopes that nothing has been done to remove them from being likely candidates in the April, 2011 elections.
The lawmakers’ desperation in seeking to amend the Electoral Act to get themselves entrenched in the NEC of political parties was solely necessitated by the threat to their re-election bid from their states where governors many governors are said to be under pressure to position rivals to replace many of them.
Nwodo’s visit was largely to undo this belief as he told them that the National leadership of the party would ensure total fairness and transparency in the selection of delegates that would decide the faith of all aspirants for all positions. The PDP boss also preached the gospel of workable partnership between the party and its members in parliament. Nwodo told them that the party would initiate regular interactive sessions between its members in the National Assembly and the party leadership so that the legislators would be better informed of its programs and policies.
According to him, ``We are in a democracy, there is suppose to be a symbiotic relationship between the party and the National Assembly in order for us to grow democracy in our country.” But it was learnt that the party could not get the legislators to accept its opposition to the controversial amendment of the Electoral Act to guarantee automatic National Assembly members entry into the National Executive Committees (NEC) of parties. A lawmaker said that the party leadership was clearly told that the issue regarding the Electoral Act amendment was purely a legislative one and had reached an advanced stage that could not be reversed.
However, during a public hearing on the Electoral Act amendment Bill, Nwodo condemned the attempt by legislators to legislate themselves into the NEC of parties. “The Peoples Democratic Party recognizes the convention as the highest body in our party because it captures the membership of our party in a wider horizon. So our first request is not to make NEC as the highest decision making body of our party.
“Since independence in Nigeria, we know that members of the National Assembly have been automatic members of NEC of all the parties that have existed in Nigeria. But we in the PDP as the largest political party in Africa, membership of the National Assembly in our party was big, as a result we could not capture all of them into our NEC. As a result we have steadily increased the membership of the National assembly in our NEC.
“The second aspect is the executive arm which captured the President, the Vice President and our governors, the third aspect is the National Assembly membership of NEC. At the moment, we have three members per zone for the six geo-political zones plus the principal officers. That is three members per zone for the six geo political zones equal eighteen plus six member s who are principal officers of each chambers that give us twenty four for each chamber and therefore forty eight members. It was not like this before our current constitution we only capture the principal officer and that is six from each chamber making twelve. Now they are 48 and they are still agitating for more.”
The grouse of governors against the Bill is so that lawmakers do not constitute the strongest bloc in the party’s NEC where they (governors) used to hold sway. Key decisions in the party, including the issues of who gets the tickets for what elective position at whatever level in any State will be subject to their whims and caprices where they to constitute the majority in the NEC.
The anger against the Bill can be further situated in the outright rejection of the proposed amendment to the electoral Act to make political appointees at Federal and State levels automatic delegates in the primary elections of parties.
But sponsors of the Bill insist that it could cure the disease of tyranny and dictatorship that had characterized the running of political parties in Nigeria. Cyril Maduabum, PDP member in the House from Anambra State abd chief sponsor of the Bill in that House said, “The dictatorial, tyrannical, capricious, whimsical and discretionary manner in which some political parties are running the country today is cause for worry. There is absolute lack of internal democracy in many political parties.
“A few people have hijacked the political parties, they dictate to the rest of the country who gets what and how. There is no form of democracy or representation of the interests of the people. Political parties are recruiting grounds for candidates for various offices. Their role is too important to the democratic process to be left unregulated. Some political parties have refused to broaden the political space on their own that necessitated this amendment.
SOURCE:ngrguardiannews.com
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