October convention: Intrigues as S/West battles for PDP chairmanship

Ahead of the October 30 convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South West stakeholders are warming up to present a ‘suitable’ candidate for the national chairmanship position. Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the zone is now confronted with the challenge of choosing the right candidate without further polarising the party.

The national convention organising committee, being chaired by the Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has been inaugurated.

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New members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party are expected to emerge at the end of the convention. There are indications that the largest opposition party in Nigeria and one-time ruling party is ready to right the perceived wrong done to the South-West geopolitical zone in the last convention.

The emergence of Prince Uche Secondus as the national chairman of the party in December 2017 was largely viewed as a slap on the South West geopolitical zone, which made frantic efforts to clinch the position, having not occupied same since the formation of the party in 1998.

Prior to the 2017 convention, the party had zoned the chairmanship to the South and presidential candidate to the North respectively. What this meant was that it was open to all the three zones within the southern region, comprising South South, South West and South East.

However, some stakeholders of the party pushed for the position to be micro-zoned to the South West. Sources said the party was unable to speak with one voice at that time following the emergence of multiple candidates from the zone. For instance, in Lagos, a former deputy national chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George, and a former governorship candidate, Mr Jimi Agbaje, were in contention for the position. Several other candidates emerged, making it impossible for the zone to have a united front towards presenting a formidable candidate.

The outcome of this infighting could be seen in the way the zone lost out of that position with the emergence of Secondus from South South as national chairman.

For stakeholders, the events of 2017 have become history and the opportunity now presents itself for the zone to rise again and take what ‘rightfully’ belongs to it. As it becomes clear that the PDP is looking northwards for its next presidential candidate, stakeholders have made a strong position for the ceding of the chairmanship of the party to the South West.

As a party with a history of zoning political offices across the six geopolitical zones in the country, observers say it would not be out of place to reward the South West with the position if the presidency would go to the North in 2023.

But who, among the army of party stakeholders in the South-West, is the right candidate for the position? This is a question on the lips of stakeholders in the party. Will the right candidate come from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti or Ondo? Already, names are flying around in the South-West as the convention inches closer.

Fingers are being pointed at Chief Bode George; former PDP candidate for Ondo State governorship, Mr Eyitayo Jegede; former governor of Osun State, Ọlagunsoye Oyinlọla and a former governorship candidate of the party in Lagos, Mr Jimi Agbaje.

Also, a former governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, is said to be eyeing the position, but he is yet to declare interest.

In Lagos, Dr Layi Ogunbambi, a chieftain of the party and member of the Elders’ Forum in the state said that in the interest of equity, fair play and justice, the South-West should produce the next national chairman.

He said the emergence of Chief Uche Secondus should not have happened in the first place, adding that it was an injustice to the South-West.

He said, “The rather unfortunate situation that brought Secondus ought not to have happened in the first place. But that should not stop us from learning. Once we attempt to situate the mistakes of the past into the present situation, it makes it easier for us to articulate a trajectory that ought to set the agenda for who actually should be the next chairman of the party.

“It is clear that for equity, fair play and justice, it ought not to be a subject of debate that they should search for suitable, well qualified and experienced candidate from the South-West, mindful of the internal wrangling, even within the South-West itself.”

He, however, warned that “ambitious young men with exaggerated image and political worth in Nigeria should learn from the past and ensure that their inordinate ambition” does not distort or create problems that would make the position slip away from the South West this time around.

The retired federal permanent secretary and former member of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) said there were at least four candidates in the South-West who have the capacity to lead the party.

Also speaking with our correspondent, a former chairman of the party in Lagos State, Captain Tunji Shele said, “The party is trying to manage the crisis now. A similar thing is happening in the All Progressives Congress (APC). One party is watching what the other would do.”

He said the PDP should try and put its house in order before the convention. “I can see a lot of things happening between now and the convention time. We need to manage the convention and the present situation, where some people took the party to court.

“The only consolation I have is that the APC is having a more serious problem. They have a fundamental issue they have not addressed. Who is their chairman? Having a caretaker committee is an aberration,” he added.

Former Governor Oyinlola is said to be receiving the blessing of Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State for the position.

Oyinlola served as the national secretary of the party before he was removed under controversial circumstances.

Although Oyinlola has not officially declared his ambition to contest for the position, his supporters and members of the party in Osun said he was willing to contest.

At the moment, Oyinlola is the only known aspirant from Osun. Political observers in the state said he would be presented by the South-West if the zone would be given the opportunity to produce the next national chairman of the party.

The deputy national publicity secretary of the party, Prince Diran Oyeyemi, said the zoning arrangement would be decided in the next couple of weeks.

“We will soon know the positions that would be zoned to the South and we will decide what goes to each region. So we cannot talk about the South-West now. Let’s wait and see what comes to the South first,” Odeyemi said.

In Ogun State, findings revealed that no chieftain of the party has shown interest to contest for the national chairmanship position.

The acting national chairman of the party, Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, hails from the state. He was deputy chairman (South) before he was named in acting capacity in the wake of the court order that suspended Secondus as chairman. But it is not clear yet whether or not he would vie for the position.

The state chairman of the PDP, Sikirullahi Ogundele, told our correspondent in Abeokuta that the state leadership of the party had not taken a position on candidates for the national chairmanship.

He said, “Until the issue of the tenure of Secondus is settled out of court and peace is made, that is when we can be talking about a convention in October. The 36 state chairmen, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have taken a position – we stand by the constitution of the party.

Ogundele, however, backed those calling for the zoning of the national chairmanship of the party to the South-West, saying the zone has credible and outstanding leaders to lead the party.

In Oyo, no chieftain of the party has signified interest in the chairmanship position.

Daily Trust on Sunday, however, reliably gathered that the governor of the state, Makinde, is backing a former governor of Osun State, Prince Oyinlola, for the position.

Confirming the development to our correspondent, a loyalist of the governor and former South-West chairman of the party, Mr Dayo Ogungbenro, said the party would determine the fate of every interested member ahead of the national convention.

Ogungbenro, who spoke with Daily Trust Saturday in Ibadan, said Makinde and other leaders who are supporting Oyinlola were only preparing for any eventuality.

The PDP scribe in Ekiti State, Mr Raphael Adeyanju, while reacting to the development, said that for now, nobody has indicated interest for such position, as far as the party is concerned in the state.

But asked if former Governor Fayose would be interested in the chairmanship position of the party, Adeyanju said he is eminently qualified and had paid his dues as a credible opposition voice in the country.

Abdullateef Aliyu (Lagos), Peter Moses (Abeokuta), Hameed Oyegbade (Oshogbo), Jeremiah Oke (Ibadan) and Raphael Ogbonnaiye (Ekiti)