16 months after, PDP Reps caucus’ crisis lingers

Sixteen months after, the crisis rocking the caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives has not been resolved, Daily Trust reports.

The dispute between the Minority Leader, Rep. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta)-led camp and the Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) group started since the inauguration of the ninth House of Representatives in June 2019.

At the inauguration of the parliament which saw the emergence of Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila as the speaker, two caucuses of the PDP emerged. Sixteen months after, the crisis persists.

How it all started

Lawmakers in the opposition parties elected Ndudi Elumelu as the Minority Leader; Toby Okechukwu as Deputy Minority Leader; Gideon Gwani (PDP, Kaduna) as Minority Whip and Adesegun Adekoya as Deputy Minority Whip.

However, the emergence of Elumelu as the minority leader was not acceptable to some members of the PDP national leadership. This led to the emergence of another minority leadership with Rep Kinsley Chinda as leader, Chukwuma Onyema as deputy, Umar Barde as whip and Muraina Ajibola as the deputy whip.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike was fingered as the alleged mastermind of the support being enjoyed by the Chinda faction.

The Elumelu-led group was, however, enjoying the support of Speaker Gbajabiamila, most members of the minority caucus and the ruling APC.

The two groups had been issuing separate press statements with claims and counter claims which escalated the division within the party caucus in the house.

The sanction of Elumelu by the party’s leadership did not help matters; it aggravated the division in the caucus and affected the cohesion of the minority caucus dominated by the PDP.

Reconciliatory moves

The PDP, however, started a reconciliatory move through an intervention reportedly headed by Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

The relative peace between the camps, according to observers, was as a result of the reconciliation effort of the governor.

However, others view it as an uneasy calm that may flare at any moment over some underlying issues.

When contacted, Rep. Kinsley Chinda simply stated in a text message: “Well, time naturally heals wounds sometimes”.

But Ndudi Elumelu did not respond to calls and messages sent to his phone by our reporter.

However, one of the principal officers in the minority caucus close to Elumelu, said the reconciliation is ongoing and may be concluded soon.

He added that Rep. Kinsley Chinda had at a meeting said the two sides should forget about the bickering and forge ahead.

“Chinda has already spoken and said enough is enough. However, we are waiting for the party to make an official announcement on the issue,” he said.

It is being resolved – Party

When contacted, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, also told our correspondent in a telephone chat on Monday that “the issue is being resolved.”