The constitution of a caretaker committee for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano state by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) has deepened the crisis rocking the party in the state.
The PDP in Kano has two factions tagged; ‘ Kwankwasiya PDP’ and ‘PDP Jamiya’. The two factions are operating two parallel offices with different leadership. While the Kwankwasiya group is with the state governor, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the other group led by Aminu Wali, Nigeria’s Ambassador to China supports anything from the national secretariat of the party.
Whereas the Governor’s faction of the party holds sway in the state, cornering all positions, members of the other faction are in charge at Abuja, dictating who gets what at the federal level.
Analysts say the trend has been like that since the 2011 general elections and that members of the party are familiar with it in the state.
When President Goodluck Jonathan was to constitute his cabinet shortly after the 2011 general elections, Kwankwaso’s faction of the party sent a list comprising three names for consideration, but it was learnt that the names were turned down in favour of Wali’s camp. It is believed that the sacked minister of national planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman belongs to Wali’s camp.
When he was booted out of the federal cabinet recently, members of the Kwankwasiya group at first saw it as an attempt to cement the crack in the party, but subsequent events unfolding in the political sphere of the state has deflated that earlier perception about Shamsudeen’s sack.
The constitution of a caretaker committee by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur following the expiration of the tenure of exco of the party in the state led by Alhaji Adamu Aliyu Sumaila, a member of Kwankwaso faction of the party, has reawakened the rivalry between the two factions.
Inaugurating the committee which has Hassan Kafayos as chairman and Andrew Musa as secretary in Abuja, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur charged them to be of exemplary conduct and to work with unity of purpose.
But the charge has come as a tall order considering the reception being accorded the committee. While Governor Kwankwaso’s faction of the party is considering the constitution of the committee as illegal and as an attempt to whittle down the governor’s power ahead of 2015, members of Ambassador Wali’s faction are viewing it as legal and constitutional and giving it their full support.
In an interview with our correspondent, Wali said the constitution of the committee was done in fulfillment of the constitutional requirement of their party.
“This is a constitutional issue, the tenure of the elected executive of the party has expired and to fill the vacuum it created, there is need for a caretaker committee. It is a normal way and the tradition of our great party,” he said in a phone interview.
Expressing optimism that the constitution of the committee will lead to the reorganization of the party for a better outing come 2015, he urged members of the party to support the committee.
But an aide to Kwankwaso, Ahmed Shua’aibu Gara faulted the constitution of the committee by the PDP national chairman describing it as unconstitutional.
“The caretaker committee is dead on arrival because from preamble to declaration in the party’s Constitution, there is no where it provides for a caretaker arrangement as a bridging model for any available vacuum whatsoever. The appointment of the caretaker committee is a careless undertaking that is dead on arrival because it is pregnant with intent,” he said.
He insisted the Kano chapter of PDP has shown much responsibility and uncommon respect to the Constitution of the party by formally notifying the national party leadership on 26th of July 2013 through a letter with reference number KN/PDP/ADM/08/13 that the tenure of the state party executives was due to expire on 27th August, 2013.
“The national body of the party responded in a letter dated 22nd 2023 which contained a timetable for the conduct of a state congress and in it, the zonal office of the party was directed to oversee the affairs of the party in the state, only for the national chairman to swear in a caretaker committee for no reason,” he said.
Another chieftain in Wali’s camp, Mallam Aminu Ibrahim Maidawa said the division in the state was created by the governor when he gave more attention to those who belong to the Kwankwasiya group.
“We will give maximum support to the caretaker committee to enable them succeed. In fact, we are renovating our secretariat for the chairman of the caretaker committee to operate from. If Kwankwaso wants to establish Kwankwasiya political party let him go to INEC and apply but now it is only one PDP we have. As we all know Kwankwasiya is not a party,” he said.
In their reactions to unfolding events in the party, elders of the party in Kano have thumped down the national chairman describing his tenure as disaster. They however threw their weight behind the state governor and urged him to continue to uphold the true tenets of democracy.
Addressing newsmen at the end of their meeting, Ambassador Kabiru Rabi’u described the actions of the national chairman as undemocratic and unconstitutional.
“The present leadership of PDP is very unpopular and disastrous. The national chairman is pursuing the policies of personal loyalties which is splitting our great party and dividing the governor’s ranks. We the elders of the party and the entire new PDP family in Kano state are saying no to the breach of our Constitution and to the politics of divide and rule,” they said.
Though the state governor has not come directly to say anything regarding the setting up of the caretaker committee, it is obvious that it does not support it.
The PDP national secretariat had instructed the chairman and secretary of the committee to make wide consultations before naming the other nine members of the committee as it is to supposed to be composed of 11 members including the chairman and secretary.
But feelers from the Kwankwasiya camp show that the committee will not receive the cooperation of the governor’s camp in the regard since the national secretariat of the party which it believes is working with the Wali faction has already taken the two key positions of chairman and secretary..
One of the chieftains in the Kwankwasiya camp told our correspondent that even if names are suggested to make up the other members of the committee, it would be of no consequence as they key officials have been appointed from Abuja.
With the current problem, many in the state are wondering how the party is going to operate.
If the state governor, who is the leader of the party maintains his position not to cooperate with the committee, many say the committee would have a hard time doing an effective work that will lead to the putting in place of elected officials for the party.
If however the state governor’s camp decided to accept and work with the committee, there is likely to be a crisis as the two camps are bound to oppose each other on major issues affecting the party.
Kwankwaso is a leading member of the G-7 governors that formed the new PDP and are demanding for the sack of Bamanga as national chairman of the PDP while Wali belongs to the camp that supports Bamanga as national chairman of the party.
But as it is, the PDP structure dissolved by the national secretariat of the PDP before setting up the caretaker committee cannot continue to operate even if it chooses to as it has agreed that its term has expired while only the national secretariat of the party can supervise a congress that would usher in new set of leaders for the party in the state.
Many believe that due to these facts, the Kwankwaso faction would soon come out with a definite position on the matter.
