AFTER weeks of intrigues, the embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu on Wednesday finally bowed to pressure and resigned his position as chairman of the party.
BY HENRY UMORU
MU’AZU’S resignation was almost followed immediately by that of Chief Tony Anenih from his office as chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, BoT. For Anenih, it was the second time he would be stepping down from the same office as chairman of BoT, having been first forced out in 2007.
This time around, Anenih in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan made public on Wednesday night said he stepped down to enable the president take up the position as he claimed to have verbally communicated to the president earlier.
The developments in the PDP flowed from the party’s poor performance in the recent general elections.
The governors, led by the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and outgoing governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio; Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, President Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidential Campaign Spokesman, Chief Femi Fani- Kayode, had been pushing for the sack of the Muazu led National Working Committee, NWC, voicing their lack of confidence in him and blaming Muazu and the NWC for leading the party to what they described as the worst electoral performance in Nigeria’s recent presidential, governorship and legislative elections.
Indeed, barely twelve hours to the resignation of Mu‘azu, Chief Fani-Kayode had on Tuesday demanded the sack of majority of the members of the NWC, alleging that they betrayed the President.
With the pressures unrelenting, Mu‘azu’s support within the NWC was also ebbing and it was not a shock that on Tuesday night it was resolved that he should hand in his resignation. What threat or form of coercion that was used on him remains a matter of conjecture but allusions were being made to issues that flowed from the conduct of the primaries among others as acts of intimidation exerted on him.
However, in going, his colleagues in the NWC decided that Anenih, who they perceived as a threat to them should also go.
Few hours after Muazu resigned, Anenih’s own letter of resignation addressed to the President was also received by the PDP NWC staving off earlier threats issued by the NWC of dire consequences on Thursday.
Prior to his resignation, there were shuttles between Anenih’s Asokoro residence and the Presidential Villa on the need for him to resign to allow for injection of fresh blood into the party.
When Mu’ azu submitted his letter, pressure was said to have been mounted on the BoT Chairman, with some members of the NWC said to have been sent to his house to get the letter he wrote to the president.
In line with Article 32(2(c) of the Constitution of the party which stipulates that the Chairman and Secretary of the BoT shall serve a term of five years and no more, Chief Anenih would have been left with another two years to hold on to the position because he was elected in 2013.
Anenih’s letter
Anenih in the letter dated May 20, 2015 and titled: “Notice of my decision to step down as Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party”, said that his decision would enable President Jonathan to assume effectively the chairmanship of the BoT.
The letter reads: “Your Excellency will recall that in a conversation I had with you a few weeks ago, I had offered to step down from the office of the Chairman of our party’s Board of Trustees and proposed to hand over to you as its new Chairman in a ceremony that would have taken place on the 23rd of May, 2015. I had also repeated this position in our subsequent meetings.
“As a follow up to the above proposal and in view of the current state of affairs in our party, I have decided to formally put my offer in writing to enable you effectively assume the Chairmanship of Board of Trustees or approve a process that will enable any other member of the BoT who is considered competent, to assume the position.
“Kindly accept, therefore, this letter as notice of my decision to step down from the position of Chairman of the BoT of our party with effect from today, the 20th of May, 2015.
“I am happy to inform you that, I remain a loyal foundation member of our great party and will continue to pray for the prosperity of Nigeria, our party, and for you and your family.
“Your Excellency, kindly accept the expression of my highest regards.”
Accepting his letter of resignation, PDP National Secretary, Professor Adewale Oladipo who said the party received the letter and was wishing him well in his future endeavour, however, questioned Anenih’s stance that he was resigning to allow Dr. Jonathan who would leave office next Friday to take over the office.
“Consequent upon the resignation, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin holds forth pending the election of a new BoT Chairman,” the national secretary said in an unhidden disavowal.
Wednesday was the second time that Anenih would vacate the office albeit under conditions not exactly dictated by him. Almost eight years ago he was edged out from the office by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Anenih became the PDP BoT chairman as he was seen as the most experienced of them all and he came at a time the party was faced with major challenges, mostly from within. When he came, his leadership contended with the seeming feud between the presidency and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF.
He also came at a time some loyalists of Obasanjo like Chief Bode Mustapha, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola were sacked from the NWC of the party, even as the South-West congresses believed to be in favour of the Obasanjo’s camp were also cancelled.
Anenih’s stewardship of the BoT came when the party experienced its most critical challenges including the defection of five governors elected on the platform of the party.
He was the National Campaign Adviser of the PDP for the 2015 Presidential election and played stabilising and interventionist roles during the campaigns especially when things were not going well, he was said to have intervened severally, but unfortunately, the PDP lost the election.
Undoubtedly, Anenih has left office with one major wish yet unrealised. That is his failure to realign his native Edo State to the PDP. It was expected that he would use his influence as BoT chairman to influence the political developments leading to the 2016 governorship election. Not a few in the camp of Governor Adams Oshiomhole in Edo State would rejoice and gloat over the development.
Muazu came on board in January 2014 to replace Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who himself, came on board March 24, 2012.
Mu’azu came on a rescue mission at a point the party was severely bleeding on account of the problems that arose during Tukur’s leadership of the party.
The problems were climaxed during the August 31st Special Convention organised to right the wrongs that were made during the March 2012 National Convention when the party split into two parallel NWC, when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and five northern governors staged a walk out. They later addressed a press conference to announce the formation of what they tagged new PDP.
The former Acting National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje named himself the National Chairman with Sam Jaja becoming Deputy National Chairman and Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola the National Secretary.
The governors who stormed out of the Convention venue were Sule Lamido of Jigawa; Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara; Aliyu Babangida of Niger; Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko of Sokoto state; Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano; and Murtala Nyako of Adamawa.Following the irreconcilable nature of these problems, governors Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara; Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko of Sokoto state; Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano; Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers dumped the party for the opposition, All Progressive Congress, APC, leaving Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Aliyu Babangida of Niger behind.
Unfortunately, Muazu who came to help put the party right and was called a game changer, could not change things as he could not bring back the governors who left the party. There were also subtle signs of discord within the NWC as he was accused by some of the national officers of running a running a one man show.
Lack of internal democracy and indiscipline continued during Mu‘azu’s stewardship and was climaxed by the adoption of the right of first refusal in which the party made a mockery of internal democracy by adopting Dr. Jonathan as a consensus presidential candidate.
Even though almost everyone openly supported the right of first refusal, within,it never really went down well with most people especially from the north and this became a scar in the party that never healed. Some of the governors also had their way in foisting unpopular candidates on the party and this led to the dumping of the party for the APC . The PDP lost in such states where candidates were supposedly imposed on the people before the very eyes of Muazu as in Adamawa, Niger, Katsina, Jigawa, among others.
There were allegations that Muazu betrayed the PDP and worked against Jonathan, just as there were issues raised relating to misappropriation of funds before the very eyes of Muazu. Before his very eyes, PDP lost woefully in his home state, Bauchi State where he served as governor for eight years, a state where the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Senator Bala Mohammed and Governor Isa Yuguda were said to be on ground.
Muazu’s resignation on Wednesday as chairman of PDP was a replay of the past tortuous history of the PDP. Since the party came to power, only two chairmen, Barnabas Gemade, who was refused a second term and Ahmadu Ali, served out the stipulated term in office without a forced removal.
Many others were humbled out of power through intimidation and blackmail. One weapon of intimidation used in coercing a number of them out of office was the charge of corruption given that about half of those who occupied the office had charges of corruption hanging over them before entering the office.
After the resignation of Muazu, Fani- Kayode who noted that he has been vindicated, however, insisted on a total overhaul of the party with the resignation of other members of the NWC for the party to return to its former glory.
“I am glad that about seven hours after I said somebody should resign, somebody listened and stepped down. Every single one of them should go.”
With the position of Fani- Kayode and others that most members of the NWC must go and with the festival of resignation in the PDP, the question is who is next on the board to step aside, resign or be sacked.
– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/pdp-unending-intrigues/#sthash.uA9Nms70.dpuf
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