PDP Convention: Consensus As A Spoiler For Delegates

Some of the candidates who had earlier
showed interest in contesting for offices
at the national convention before eventually
withdrawing for a concensus candidate.Ayodele Adesanmi, was at the last Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention which held in Abuja last weekend. In this piece, he captures all the intrigues and undercurrents which eventually saw candidates emerging unopposed as against the election which delegates from all states of the federation had earlier prepared for.

AFTER many months of delay, postponements andhiccups brought about by the crisis of confidenceamong the top echelon of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the National Convention of the largest political party in the country finally took place on Saturday 8th March. The reasons behind the many shifts are already in the public domain.

The Saturday convention was a relief balm, sort of, to the frayed nerves of the party members and other political observers who had earlier believed that the party was trying to, in its usual character, exhibit its mastery of the political game.

Or how does one explain a situation in which some obscure party members rushed to the courts a few days to the convention, seeking the consent and mandate of the court to prevent the staging of the convention? Horse trading and open display of readiness to disobey court ruling pervaded the atmosphere surrounding the party, should such order be made at all. Therefore, when the court of law gave the go ahead to the convention, it was applauds all the way.

On the D-day, delegates from the 36 states of the federation arrived early to the Eagle Square venue of the convention resplendent in the PDP aso ebi wear with some governors in flowing agbada trailing them like bridal gowns.

The airwaves were characterised by jingles on both the radio and television stations weeks that preceded the convention as candidates were trying to sell themselves and their manifestoes. The streets also within and outside the nation’s capital were adorned with coloured posters of contestants itemising their programme.

Before the National Congress at Abuja, wards, states and zonal congresses had been conducted with some hitches, some manageable while others blew into full scale crisis brought about by the adoption of consensus in choosing the officers instead of the known election which contrasted the mind set of the delegates.

Some states have been able to manage this effectively, but others are still in the court of law.

Political observers made postulations on what to expect at the Eagle Square based on what happened in the states and the zones where officers who were expected to be elected were handpicked by the godfathers in those areas.

To add to this was the comment credited to the ageless politician and the stormy petrel of Ibadan politics, Alhaji Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu, that the national officers at the convention would emerge through consensus, and true to his comments, it came to pass.

Adedibu said in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, that the issue of consensus was not new to the PDP, adding that the party had been employing the method and that the 2008 edition would not be an exception.

Therefore, events at the zonal congresses had almost settled the issue where it systematically approved candidates for the offices allocated to their areas and made the job much easier at the national convention.

It was then not a surprise when the name of officers for each zone were ready and were distributed on Frida,y 24 hours to the national convention.

In spite of the list approved and made available on Friday, some aspirants, in the optimistic nature of an average Nigerian, still believed that election would still take place. They were, however, embarrassed when the names were being reeled out by the secretary of the National Electoral Panel screening committee, Prof. Julius Ihonvbare, leaving out the position for the national chairman and the national secretary.

One of such aspirants who still had the belief that delegates would still vote was Barrister Benson Enikuomehin who was eyeing the position of the National Legal Adviser. He said he was shocked to hear the name of his opponent, Barrister Olusola Oke, announced as the winner of the seat without any contest, saying there was no time he had a discussion with anybody on consensus.

According to him, “On March 6, I put up a memo to the party National Electoral Panel that l wouldn’t be a party to anything called consensus and that each of the aspirants should be allowed to test his or her popularity. The panel assured me that election would take place.”

But by the event of the day, he said he felt sad and that his supporters were, also, not happy.

“I’ve traveled the length and breadth of the country campaigning, and for somebody to have just been announced without discussing with me shows that a very good number of the aspirants don’t want to test their popularity.” He vowed to protest to the party to show his displeasure.

The positions of the National Chairman and that of the National Secretary were equally filled without casting any votes as the chairman of the National Electoral Panel, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, announced the names of Vincent Ogbulafor and Alhaji Kawu Baraje respectively for the positions.

However, the emergence of Ogbulafor could be described as one of the wonders of the 20th century as he was not among the front runners for the position. The contest before then was between Dr. Sam Egwu, the immediate past Governor of Ebonyi State, and Pius Anyim Pius, the former Senate President.

It was learnt that as at 2a.m Saturday morning, Sam Egwu had the support of the Forum of the governors and when the issue became knotty, the present Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr. Martins Elechi, was asked to name which of the candidates he would want them to support but found it difficult to make up his mind on any of the candidates.

When the governor could not name any as his favourites, the governors under the chairmanship of the Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki, went into another round of meetings and finally agreed to support Prince Vincent Ogbulafor. The support was not to pick him as a consensus candidate but for him to emerge through voting. And that was exactly what all of them told their delegates.

Immediately the governor summed up their thought to support Ogbulafor, sources confirmed to the Saturday Tribune that the governors raised a sum of N500 million to back his campaign for the national chairmanship contest.

To this, a chieftain of the party said there was nothing new about it as it has become a routine saying that such money is a “stabilization fund”.

One of the governors told delegates from his state that they would vote and it must be for Ogbulafor. That was why there was no ovation from any of the states’ pavilions when the name of Ogbulafor was announced as the Chairman, as the delegates were confused.

That was the reason why three governors (two from the South-South and one from the North-Central) and the Principal Officer of the Assembly were seen holding court at the back of the podium at the Eagle Square while Ogbulafor mounted the podium to read his acceptance speech.

The three governors later proceeded to the pavilion where their state delegates were seated where they further expressed their displeasure with the emergence of the new Chairman.

It was gathered that the governors and the National Assembly top shot were unhappy that nobody was allowed to cast his ballot on Saturday, contrary to the much-touted rule of law stance of the administration.

Out of annoyance, one of the governors from the South-South, who had endorsed the former Senate President, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, was overheard telling his other colleagues that it was time to make the party ungovernable for the new executive. The National Assembly top shot was also overheard saying that his members were displeased that they were not allowed to exercise their voting rights in choosing the National Chairman.

One of the governors involved put a call through to his troubled godfather and was overheard raising dust on the telephone. He told the man on the other side that a bad thing had happened to the party, which he said must be resisted.

Explaining the choice of Ogbulafor, Governor Bukola Saraki said his choice was to save the Peoples Democratic Party from a serious division. But another governor, who did not want his name published, said that it was only Ogbulafor that deferred to them during campaign, adding that his choice was to tell others that they hold the ace when it comes to the election of principal officers of the party.

Speaking on his emergence, the new PDP Chairman in his own words described his emergence as a “divine intervention”.

When hosting party members who came to pay homage to the new helmsman, Ogbulafor said, “That we are here is destined by God. I never expected to become the National Chairman of PDP. I never expected it. I never printed posters. I never made one advertisement; but here I am serving as the National Chairman of our great party.”

Opinions on the convention differs among the party members. To Dr. Gboyega Isijola, the Special Adviser to the governor of Ekiti State on Rural Development, “It was good for our democracy.”

Isijola specifically commended the Ekiti State Governor, Engr Segun Oni, for the way he took care of the delegates from the state. He said he agreed with the way officers emerged through consensus, which to him portends a good omen for our nascent democracy.

But Chief Segun Adegoke the Political Adviser to Ondo State governor, stated that as time goes on, the party would get it right, as the method adopted was not a full blown democracy. He said “As situation demands, this is the best they can do. I believe that in future, all positions of the party will be keenly contested for and there should be no imposition of any kind.”

The convention might have come and gone, but the common delegates surely will not forget the evil of the consensus in a hurry, as they were denied their usual “meal”.

The delegates were the worst hit by the method of consensus adopted, as they were not allowed to exercise their voting right.

When they were coming as it was normal of any convention, the candidates were expected to come and campaign and later come back home with ‘Ghana Must Go Bags’ filled with currency from vote seekers who must come to persuade them to vote for them. But unfortunately they all missed out of the action courtesy of the consensus. The hope of naira filled pockets that majority of them took to Abuja vanished into thin air as almost all of them had zeroed their minds to come back home with some thing. They lost at both ends. They were not allowed to vote and also denied the opportunity of making some bucks.