2015: Worst year for PDP

From Taiwo Amodu, Abuja

(amodu200910@gmail.com,08059306448)

2015! It is a year chieftains of the erstwhile ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) would be willing to forget in a hurry.
A political party (it prides itself as the largest in Africa) which had ruled for 16 years and boasted to retain the central government for 60 years, it got its nose bloodied by its main rival, the All Progressives Congress, (APC) two years into the latter existence, having been officially formed on February 6, 2013.
Before the last presidential election won by a fourth timer, Muhammadu Buhari already dis­missed in certain quarter as a serial candidate, the PDP was in control of 23 states.
Daily Sun chronicles major events in the party, in 2015
February 16: Obj tears party card: former presi­dent, former chairman of the party board of trustees, Olusegun Obasanjo finally dumped the ruling party in the presence of PDP members from ward 11 in Abeokuta North local government, Ogun state. He instructed his ward chairman, Usman Oladunjoye, to tear his (Obasanjo) membership card The former President while addressing members of the PDP at his Presidential hilltop mansion in Abeokuta who came to confirm whether he has been expelled from the party or not offered reason for his action.
Obasanjo said: “I’d rather sacrifice my political party for the interest of Nigeria than sacrifice my country for a political party led by a drug baron.
“I’d rather tear the PDP membership card than sit down and let Jonathan use PDP and corruption to tear my beloved country apart.
“I have national and international standard to maintain. For this reason I’d rather stand alone than be in the same political party with Buruji Kashamu.”
Obasanjo said that the party card he tore was one of the considerations to him in the bid to project Ni­geria, pointing out that there was nothing he could not sacrifice for the interest of the nation.
He boasted that despite the destruction of his par­ty card, he would not be cowed by anyone, as he was still ready to comment on any matter that required his comment or view.
He further said: “If there is anything that requires my comment, position or views, I will say it. It is only when you kill me that I will stop doing so.”
April 1: Buhari floors Jonathan It was no “April fool’. In his fourth attempt as presidential candidate, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari became the first opposition candidate to win a presidential election in Nigeria.
He defeated then incumbent Goodluck Jonathan by more than 2.5 million votes, as the Independent National Electoral Commission , (INEC) officially declared the 72-year-old general the winner of the presidential election.
The APC won 15,424,921 votes while Jona­than’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) gained 12,853,162 votes. Professor Jega went on to declare the APC presidential candidate as the winner of the presidential election and was returned elected “hav­ing satisfied the requirements of the law and scoring the highest numbers of votes”.
May 20: Mu’azu, Anenih resign After leading the party to its historic defeat, the duo of Tony Anenih and Adamu Muazu resigned from their positions as chairman Board of Trustees and national chairman, respectively of the PDP While Muazu premised his action on health grounds, Anenih gave ‘personal reason.’ Former acting national chairman of the party, Dr Haliru Bello was to emerge as replacement for Tony Anenih as acting chairman of the PDP BoT, while Uche Secondus assumed office as acting na­tional chairman of the party.
June 9: Ekweremadu emerges DSP. Following the crack in the APC over choice of candidates for Senate President and deputy, the PDP lawmaker, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, became a beneficiary as he emerged as Deputy Senate President. To retain the position he held in the last dispensation , he de­feated Senator Ali Ndume, candidate of the ruling party. At the inauguration of the 8th Senate, Bukola Saraki was nominated on the floor of the Senate as his contender, Senator Ahmed Lawan and some of his supporters were absent. 17 June: Mimmiko emerges chair PDPGF Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State elected the chairman the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, (PDPGF).
He was elected at a meeting of the PDP governors in Maitama, Abuja. Five governors were absent at the meeting which had in attendance, Governors Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, Capt. Idris Wada (Kogi), Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Dave Umahi
(Ebonyi), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom) and Darius Ishaku (Taraba).
The deputy governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Ad­miral John Jonah represented the state governor at the meeting.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, said: “The forum of PDP governors unanimously elected Gov­ernor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State as the chair­man of the PDP Governors’ Forum” but did not give reasons for the absence of five of their colleagues.
October 1: Ekweremadu’s committee zones pres­idential ticket to North.
The PDP Post-Election Review Committee inau­gurated last May and led by Deputy Senate Presi­dent, Ike Ekweremadu submitted its report to the Uche Secondus led national working committee of the party. It resolved to restore the zoning of elec­tive offices in its Constitution.
It also resolved to zone the ticket for the 2019 presidential election to the North, and abolish the delegate system as a means of electing its candidates for elections. It also recommended that the title of party leader be discarded.
According to Senator Ekweremadu, the com­mittee “recommended to the party to strictly apply the zoning principle at all levels. In particular, since the last President of PDP extraction came from the southern part of Nigeria, it is recommended that PDP’s presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections should come from the northern part of the country.’’
This, the committee said was not only in accor­dance with the popular views expressed in the sub­missions to the Committee, but will assuage any ill feelings in the North over any perceived breach of the Party’s zoning principle.
He said: “We have made extensive recommenda­tions, the core of which is to end impunity, uphold justice, entrench internal democracy, enhance Party administration, promote transparency and account­ability, and return the Party to its true owners- the people- in accordance with our Party slogan and founding principles.
“To this end, we have, among many key recom­mendations, proposed a nationwide biometric mem­bership registration to align our party records with modern technology and further boost the integrity of our membership records as a precursor to other reforms we have recommended.
“It is recommended that the Party should hence­forth be self-funding, relying on membership reg­istrations and enforcement of dues and levies as its primary sources of income at all levels in line with the PDP Constitution.
“This is with a view to ending the prevailing situation where those who pay the piper dictate the tune.”
November 12: PDP holds national confer­ence. The Conference with the theme, PDP and the Sustenance of Democratic Ideals in Nigeria held in Abuja. It was attended by Acting Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, PDP National Chairman, PDP Governors both past and serving, PDP leaders and party members from different states of the country.
December 4: Party fixes Convention . A con­vention to produce new set of national officers for the main opposition party has been scheduled for Saturday, March 19, 2016. According to the party spokesperson, Olisa Metuh, the party said it had also approved the time-table for
the PDP 2016 chapter congresses.
According to the statement, ward congresses are to hold on Saturday,
February 27, 2016 while local government con­gresses is to hold on
Saturday, March 5. State congress will be held on Saturday, March 12, while zonal congresses is expected to take place on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. The tenure of the present NWC will be ex­piring in March next year.
December 6: APC edges out PDP in Kogi: Eight months after its dismal performance in the general elections, the party again suffered another defeat, as the APC defeated its candidate and incumbent governor, Idris Wada in the governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commis­sioner had declared Yahaya Bello of the All Pro­gressives Congress the governor-elect of Kogi State, after conclusion of the governorship election declared inconclusive on November 22.
A Supplementary election was held on Decem­ber 5, in 91 polling units across 18 local govern­ment areas. The election which had earlier been declared inconclusive after the margin of win be­tween PDP and APC was less than the number of registered voters in the 91 polling units where elec­tion was cancelled.
According to the results declared by Immanuel Kucha, Vice Chancellor, University of Agricul­ture, Makurdi, the APC garnered 6,885 votes in the supplementary election, bringing the total votes it received to 247,752, having polled 240,857 in the November 21 election.
The PDP standard bearer Idris Wada, scored 5,363 in the supplementary election.
December 15: Gulak sacks Secondus as PDP chair: Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf of the High Court of the Federal Territory (FCT), Maitama, Abuja sacked the Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus.
The judge, in a judgment in a suit by Ahmed Gu­lak, a former political adviser to ex-President Good­luck Jonathan, held that Secondus was occupying the party’s chairmanship seat illegally.
Justice Baba-Yusuf noted that Secondus was from Rivers State and not North-east geo-political zone to which the PDP zoned the position.
He gave Secondus 14 days within which to va­cate the office and directed that the plaintiff or any other party member worthy of that position should take Secondus’ place. Gulak had argued that Secon­dus was occupying the position illegally.
He contended that by virtue of the provision of Article 47(6) of the party’s constitution, “the 2nd defendant (Secondus) from Rivers State, cannot re­place the immediate past chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, who left office about seven months ago”.
Gulak further argued that it was unlawful and a breach of the party’s constitutional provisions for Secondus to hold office for over seven months in acting capacity and refuse to allow a member from the geo-political zone, where the last chairman came from, to replace him.
#Dasukigate takes toll On Tuesday, Decem­ber 15, a for¬mer Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda and five others were arraigned by the Economic and Finan¬cial Crimes Commission (EFCC,) before Justice Pe-ter Afen of the Federal Cap¬ital Territory (FCT) High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja on a 22-count charge bordering on conspiracy, bribery, abuse of office and criminal breach of trust.
Yuguda, was charged alongside with retired Colonel Mohammed Sambo Dasuki, a former Na­tional Security Adviser; Shuaibu Salisu, a former Director of Finance and Administration, Office of the National Security Ad¬viser; Attahiru Dalhatu Ba¬fawara, a former governor of Sokoto State; Sagir At¬tahiru, his son and Dalhatu Investment Limited.
Daily Sun findings revealed that former acting National Chairman of the party, Dr Haliru Bello is also being investigated over alleged diversion of fund meant for arm purchase into the party presi­dential cam¬paign fund.
Further checks revealed that Yuguda had listed among the beneficiaries, Bode George (South- West); Ambassador Yerima Abdullahi (North- East); Peter Odili (South-South); Attahiru Bafarawa (North-West); Jim Nwobodo (South -East); and Ahmadu Ali
(North-Central).