PDP, APC in poach and merger intrigues ahead of 2019

When the leadership crisis erupted in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the 2015 presidential polls, it was obvious that things would never be the same again as the party will be lacking a rallying point in the presidency. Events since then have not proved otherwise.

Not even the hurried installation of ex-governor of Borno State and former chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff as the acting chairman of the party by a clique of governors brought peace to the party. Rather the party was plunged into deeper crisis with clash of interests among stakeholders.

Last month there was cheering news that Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi’s factions have agreed to work together for the interest of peace in the party. A former member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party who pleaded anonymity, told The Guardian that before the two factions agreed to work together, some prominent and aggrieved members of the APC, including a former vice president and an ex-governor from the Southwest were among those that intervened secretly to broker truce.

Not long after the truce, another crisis erupted between the two factions over which of them should produce the candidate for the forthcoming Ondo governorship election. One week to the poll, the matter is still in court.

Surprisingly the Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee inaugurated a 115-member strategy review and inter-party affairs committee, with a mandate to consider the possibility of merging with other political parties.

Speaking while inaugurating the committee, Makarfi said the quest for alliance was part of the party’s strategy to return to power in 2019 through every democratic means. Former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, leads the committee.

Makarfi said: “You don’t remain docile and inactive, you don’t remain cornered so that you will not be toyed with at the whims and caprices of anybody. Time is going, a lot of things are happening and our men and women are on their own and are beginning to do all sorts of meetings. However, if you don’t bring all your flocks together to talk as one family, before long, good chunk of them would have gone on their own, because nobody will remain inactive forever.”

Before now the issue of the crisis-ridden party merging with other political platforms has remained in the realm of speculation. From Makarfi’s disclosure, it is obvious that his faction of the PDP is on the verge of merging with others ahead of 2019. Sheriff faction also confirmed the plan, when the factional leader recently accused Makarfi of planning to kill the PDP by merging with the other parties.

But the questions are of what difference would the Makarfi faction of the PDP make, merging with other parties? Won’t it be the case of strange bedfellows hurriedly brought together by ambitions and personal interest? Won’t the same things that brought them together tear them apart as being witnessed in APC now? With this merger move, does it mean that peace moves between the two factions has been foreclosed?

Speaking to The Guardian on the development, a member of the BoT of the party and former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope said that the Makarfi faction has not informed members of the body who they are talking to.

“APC is not a party for Nigerians because their members are insincere. We the BoT members don’t know who Makarfi people are talking to. If they are talking to the wrong people that will continue to create confusion in the party, I will join UPN.”

In his remarks, former minister of Health and PDP chieftain, Prof ABC Nwosu said the party is not merging with any platform for now.

Nwosu said, “We are in the process of review and stocktaking. We are not thinking of merger now, not that we will not merge, but not now. We are trying to reposition the party.”

Sheriff

On the Sheriff faction, Nwosu said, “There is no faction in the party. Because whenever Makarfi calls a meeting, all the party governors and National Assembly members will attend. The question is where are the factions?”

Investigation reveals that some APC governors and estranged party members are being lured into the Makarfi faction of the PDP to form a mega party ahead of 2019. It is a result of this, that the idea of the strategy committee was mooted.

One of the aides of an APC governor from the Northeast state who craved anonymity, disclosed that his boss has been approached recently by the PDP agents, but that he is weighing his options.

Being aware of the Makarfi faction’s move to woo some APC governors, National Assembly members and estranged party members, the leadership of the APC and the Presidency has swung into action by wooing some PDP governors and federal lawmakers especially from the South-South and Southeast zones. Also penciled down are initial members of the ANPP and CPC that are in the Sheriff faction of the PDP.

A source within the Presidency disclosed that the authorities were aware of all the secret political moves ahead of 2019 which was targeted against the APC government, being spearheaded by some aggrieved APC members in collaboration with their PDP counterparts.

The source said, “The presidency and the party leadership are aware of the three emerging groups in the party that include a group of former governors of the PDP, who defected to the APC before the 2015 elections. Members of this group include the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and others.

“Another group is led by former governor of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The group comprises former members of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). The third group consists of members of the defunct ANPP and the CPC. This group in collaboration with some close allies of President Muhammadu Buhari are the powers dictating the pace in the Buhari government.’

The source continued, “President Buhari’s men are already reaching out to some PDP governors and members, especially from the South-South and Southeast zones. The idea is to bring the zones in, alongside some Southwest states and the north ahead of 2019.”

The Guardian investigation also reveals that APC members in the two zones are not happy for not being carried along in the arrangement by the Presidency. A zonal leader of the party in the Southeast confirmed the development, stressing that it is the major reason for the influx of PDP members to the APC in the zone with the tactical support of the PDP governors.

He said, “We are aware of the move by the President’s men to bring in PDP members into the APC without carrying us along. We are just watching the event as it unfolds. Not even the party leaderships in the zone or states are being carried along. It is unfortunate that those who worked for APC are being sidelined. This is unprecedented. It is really affecting our party’s mobilisation in the zone.”

In his remarks, the first civilian governor of Enugu State and former National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo told The Guardian yesterday that with the crises in the PDP and APC, there is ongoing alignment and realignment of political forces across the country ahead of 2019.

Nwodo said, “There is no doubt that the PDP and the APC are at cross roads now. A situation that is too dangerous for emerging democracy like ours. So, the ongoing alignment of forces is to see how the situation could be salvaged for the good of the country. Nigerian democracy is still evolving. The political topsy-turvy within the two major political parties is bound to happen. The political class has not helped matters with their style of politics.”

A political scientist, Mr. Kelvin Uda said the bane of political harmony in Nigeria is the selfish interests of politicians, which is not for the good of the ordinary people.

He said, “The crisis in both PDP and APC is all about the struggle for self-preservation by the politicians. It is about them alone, not about the others. That is why they can do anything to win election into political office. If the politicians like, let them realigned and formed many mega political parties, they will be tear apart by their inordinate ambition and selfish interests. Until the political process is sanitised for fairness, merit, and transparency to thrive, no political party can provide Nigeria with the right leadership.”