74 | Tuesday, March 18, 2014
THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com
Politics Consensus and Ekiti PDP aspirants From Muyiwa Adeyemi (Head, Southwest Bureau, Ado-Ekiti) HESE are not the best of times for the Ekiti T State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as it is planning to pick or elect its governorship candidate for the June 21 election. The party initially fixed March 15 for the candidate to emerge, but it postponed it till this weekend for the party leaders to mobilise intending voters for the Continuous Voter’s Registration (CVR) exercise, which began on Wednesday. But the party has been in a fix whether its candidate should emerge through primaries or a consensus arrangement. The arguments on it commenced last year when President Goodluck Jonathan first mooted the idea that for the party to avoid unnecessary crisis, the aspirants should abide by a consensus arrangement. Few days after the president suggestion, the leaders and executive members of the party in the state were sharply divided, as they smelled a rat and feared that if the Presidency and the national secretariat of the party were left to pick a candidate through consensus, their choice might not reflect the popular demands of the party members in the state. They reasoned that this would adversely affect the chances of the party in the election, and also determine the future of the PDP in the Southwest. To some of the members in the state, delegates should elect the candidate through a direct primary. A former governor of the state, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has been in the vanguard of the people advocating primaries. However, former Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (Rtd) did not see the President Jonathan’s suggestion as an advise but an “order,” which must be carried out to the letter. Still, many have argued that Olubolade pitched his tent with the president’s option because “that seems to be the only arrangement through which he can emerge as the candidate.” Until about two weeks ago, 33 aspirants were jostling for the PDP ticket but with the national secretariat’s imposition of N11 million each for the purchase of the nomination form, the aspirants were reduced to 16 while the Senator Ndoma-Egba-led committee that screened the candidates further reduced the number to 13. Those that scaled through the screening include, Olubolade; Fayose; Prince Dayo Adeyeye; Senator Gbenga Aluko; Abiodun Aluko, a former deputy governor of the state; and former Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr Abiodun Adeyanju. Others are: Chief Bisi Omoyeni; Ropo Ogunbolude; Ambassador Dare Bejide; Erelu Dupe Ogundipe; Alhaja Habibat Adubiaro; Wale Aribisala and Deji Ajayi. The committee disqualified Dr. Peter Obafemi, Senator Bode Olowoporoku and Mrs. Bosede Dada. Olowoporoku was rejected for not providing tax clearance and also reportedly failed to produce a court judgement, which, he claimed, overturned his expulsion from the party. Obafemi’s ambition was truncated for failing to produce his NYSC discharge certificate while Dada was dropped because she could not produce her Secondary School Certificate and evidence of payment of party membership dues and tax payment. Sources close to the Screening Committee disclosed that consensus for picking the candidate was recommended to reduce friction and zoning, if necessary. But the leadership of the party was said to be considering holding the primary election because of the strong forces from the Southwest zonal office that seems to favour the 13 aspirants slugging it out through primaries. The comment of the national chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, when the
Jonathan
PDP Chairman, Adamu Muazu
Ndoma-Egba committee submitted its report at the Wada House, Abuja, was a soothing balm for the advocates of the primary election. Muazu was reported to be emphatic that the era of imposition of candidates had gone in the party. To the PDP faithful in Ekiti State, consensus option is seen as imposition and many have alleged that the Presidency had canvassed consensus arrangement to pave way for the emergence of Olubolade claimed as the “anointed” candidate of the president and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan. Olubolade is an experienced politician with requisite experience, having been a Military Administrator in Bayelsa State and a minister, but his grassroots support within the PDP in the state is suspect. Olubolade did not become a minister as a nominee of the party from the state, but through his relationship with the president, which started when he was the administrator of Bayelsa State. His first appointment as a Minister of State for Special Duties was not celebrated by the PDP in Ekiti State; so also his appointment as Minister of Police Affairs. Indeed, he was said to be the only minister that his party did not organise a reception to honour him. That could be explained away as an unfriendly attitude of the then Bola Olu-Ojo-led executive of the party, which had been changed with the Makanjuola Ogundipe-led secretariat. The new executive was jointly installed by Olubolade and Fayose, to upturn former governor, Chief Segun Oni’s structure. THE proponents of the primary election were also afraid that the consensus option might jettison the zoning formula in the state. The Southern senatorial district has continuously argued that for fairness, equity and justice, the zone should produce the candidate for the party. To the people of the district, with the highest number of local councils in the state, the other two senatorial districts had produced governors for two terms; why denying them what would be their first ticket through a consensus option that would relegate them and make them look inferior among their peers in the state. And to show their determination for the ticket, seven of the 13 aspirants that scaled the nomination screening hail from the south, four from the central and the remaining two from the North. But aspirants like Fayose and Adeyanju have argued that to defeat an incumbent, the party should jettison the zoning formula and leave
its door open to all aspirants to pick the best and strongest that could win the election for the party. Fayose has specifically argued that, “it is only a weak aspirant that will be canvassing for zoning” and advised the party to pick the “best horse in order to win the horse racing.” With the determination of the aspirants jostling for the ticket, analysts think that consensus would further polarise the party and force some of the members to decamp to the Labour Party (LP) and the state ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that are waiting to reap from the crisis in the PDP. Most of the aspirants claimed that a seemingly free and fair primary poll was the only option that would make the loser to accept defeat in good faith, while consensus would be regarded as a direct imposition by the Presidency, with its consequence profiting the LP and APC. In fact, the LP is reportedly anxiously waiting one of those that may decamp from the PDP as the running mate of its flagbearer, Rep. Opeyemi Bamidele. Ekiti LP chairman, Akin Omole, left the PDP after the congress that uprooted Oni’s men from the executive while the outcome of a PDP consensus arrangement might also determine the fate of the remnants of Oni’s men in the party. Interestingly, an attempt by the leadership of the Southern senatorial district to use consensus to adopt three aspirants did not produce positive result, as some of them opted for direct primaries. Meanwhile, the inability of the PDP to take the INEC timetable into consideration to choose A date for the emergence of its candidate may have impact on the performance of the party in the election. While other parties, especially the APC, were on ground to mobilise for the Continuous Voter’s Registration, almost all the PDP leaders were in Abuja, lobbying for the ticket. Yet, the state party chairman, Ogundipe, explained that the absence of the aspirants did not affect mobilisation for the exercise and was optimistic that the party would win the next election. Speaking on the signal that the party may finally go for the consensus option, Adeyeye advised the national leadership of the PDP to consider grassroots support, acceptability and respect zoning formula in choosing the candidate. The former Afenifere spokesperson said while he was in support of whatever method is adopted to select the candidate, choosing a
person with poor support base in the party would negatively affect the chances of the party in the election. His words: “I am prepared for whatever method is adopted to choose the party candidate. For the past two years, I have been working as if the primary would be held today. “Also, I am not opposed to the issue of consensus. I have canvassed it everywhere I go but I think any serious politician must first work to enjoy the support of majority of party members.” On the issue of zoning the slot to Ekiti South senatorial district, Adeyeye said: “In the spirit of fairness and equity, the position must be rotated among all the three zones. The rotation principle is embedded in our traditional system. At the ward level, people understand that it is necessary. “Now, Ekiti North and South have served two terms as governor; if any of them is given the ticket again, one of the zones would now enjoy 12 years as governor, while our zone will still have nothing. “Contrary to what some people are saying, zoning is helping to stabilise our democracy and reduce tension in the polity. In Switzerland, the headship of the country is rotated among the cantons.” But Fayose, while speaking on his determination to see the party holding the primaries, said: “I have been anti-consensus and I have maintained the same position because the party has repeatedly said it wanted internal democracy. “So to me, I have made my position known. The party, through the National Organising Secretary, reaffirmed that the party would conduct free and fair primaries. Whoever wins the primary becomes a candidate of the party. “I want to tell you, there is none of the aspirants that is not qualified. They are my brothers irrespective of the contest.” On what he would do if he did not emerge as the flagbearer of the party, the former governor said: “I will be 54 this year. It is too late to cross carpet to another party. Even if the party does not pick me, I will not cross carpet. “If it is the will of God that I will be candidate of the party, in whatever manner the party goes about it, it will happen. And if it is not the will of God, I will still stand by the PDP.” For Olubolade, an advocate of consensus, he would stick by the dictates of the party leadership. He said: “As a disciplined person, I normally comply with the directives of the higher authority. Once the leadership has spoken, it becomes our duty as followers to do exactly what they said. “If consensus is being canvassed, they (party leadership) have their reasons and we the followers must key into that. Anybody doing anything different from that must have his reasons and will be treated as such. “I strongly key into the consensus matter and I believe that it will be concluded and there will be positive results. “The party is supreme, whatever the party says that is what we will all do, we have no choice, and we don’t have to do anything different. “We will respect the party’s decision. Discipline is embedded in the party and that is what makes us thick and brings sanity into the party.” Reacting to the rumour that he is the anointed candidate of the President Jonathan, Olubolade said: “You have said it that it is rumour and we don’t have remedy for rumours. That means it is not likely to be true. “I don’t want us to hinge our position on rumours. The issue of consensus should not worry us. I have said that on all matters, the party is supreme.” While some analysts believe that the party may be thinking on choosing less controversial aspirants like Senator Aluko or Bejide, others claim that the powers-that-be have zeroed their minds on Olubolade.