Vanguard : Amaechi, six other governors float new party

LAGOS—Thecrisis in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, took a turn for the worse,weekend, with the decision of seven of the party’s 23 governors to float a newparty, the Voice of the People, VOP.

Theapplication for registration by the new party, it was learnt at the weekend,has been filed with the Independent National Electoral Commission, which isprocessing it. A source in INEC contacted on the development, yesterday, saidhe was unable to confirm the veracity or the stage of the application.

Theparty, it was learnt, is receiving the patronage of several chieftains of thePDP.

Theseven governors alleged to be behind the new party include all five Northerngovernors that have engaged in a series of consultation with eminent statesmen,including former heads of state. The five governors are Murtala Nyako ofAdamawa ; Rabiu Kwankwanso of Kano; Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto; Sule Lamido ofJigawa and Babangida Aliyu of Niger State. The five governors are being joinedin the rebellion against the PDP by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara andRotimi Amaechi of Rivers State.

Anothergovernor is also sympathetic to the proposed VOP, but his identity could not beconfirmed as at weekend. The inclinations of Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwaltowards the new party have also not been confirmed though it was learnt that hehas been approached.

Thedecision of the governors to move out of the PDP came ahead of the specialnational convention of the PDP this weekend. Governor Amaechi who has beensuspended has not been invited to the convention but the decision of the othersix to pull out of the PDP could come as a blow to the PDP given the electoralweight of the states involved.

WithSokoto, Kano and Jigawa states out of control of the PDP and the Southwesttotally out of control of the ruling party, the PDP would be reduced to playingsecond fiddle in the Northwest and Southwest regions whose total voters’population is more than 40% of the national voting population.

Therewere indications that last Friday’s private meeting between Governor Kwankwasoand President Goodluck Jonathan was a last minute bid to stop the governor andhis colleagues from the rebellion.

Thoughassociates of Speaker Tambuwal in the House of Representatives claimedignorance of his involvement or knowledge of the new party, there werenevertheless suspicions that the involvement of Governor Wamakko couldinevitably lead the speaker into the emerging party.

SpeakerTambuwal has been severally flayed by some PDP associates for his close tieswith opposition political parties.

Thedecision of the governors to float a party instead of teaming up with the AllProgressives Congress, APC, it was gathered, flowed from deep suspicionsbetween the governors and some of the promoters of the APC.

Oneof the governors involved in the new party had told Vanguard thatGeneral Muhammadu Buhari and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who are among the championsof the APC were missing when activists fought for democracy during militaryrule.

AlhajiAbdulfattah Ahmed (KWARA)

GovernorAhmed has been a silent crusader in the PDP. Even though he has not beenvisible in the campaign against the alleged injustice in the PDP, his voice,has however, not been totally quiet.

Gov Abdulfattah Ahmed

Hispolitical benefactor, Senator Abubakar Saraki, it is believed, may have greatlyinfluenced his decision. Though he, Saraki has silently offered advice to theJonathan administration at the highest level, Senator Saraki who was theimmediate past governor of Kwara State is known to be a strong political allyof Amaechi. The administration’s on-again-off-again probes of the Saraki regimehas also been taken with offence in Kwara.

WithGovernor Ahmed decamping to the VOP, it would inevitably crumble the PDP inKwara State. The PDP would now have to play third fiddle after VOP and the AllProgressives Congress, APC.

GovernorRotimi Amaechi (RIVERS)

Amaechihas been consistently labelled as the enemy of the people of the South-South onaccount of an alleged ambition. He has been accused of aspiring to the post ofvice-president with the intent of substituting the office of the president nowoccupied by a Niger Delta man for the office of vice-president.

GovernorAmaechi who is generally believed to have performed well in office, especiallyin the areas of education, health and agriculture, provoked controversy withhis ascendancy to the chairmanship of the NGF. As the NGF chairman he had theresponsibility of speaking the minds of the governors. Amaechi remarkably hadenjoyed some level of personal rapport with the president, and had the closestrelationship with the president of all South-South governors until about twoyears ago.

Hisrefusal to heed the alleged directive of the PDP hierarchy not to re-contestthe chairmanship of the NGF brought him into direct conflict with presidentialminders and it was a testimony of his political tenacity that he braved theodds to win the contest against the PDP’s favoured candidate for the position,Governor Jonah Jang.

ThePDP had left Amaechi’s few options in the last few months. The party structurewas taken from him in controversial circumstances and handed over to his onetime chief of staff, Mr. Nyesom Wike.

Notlong after, the governor was suspended from the party. Only last week, the newleadership of the party under Mr. Felix Obuah commenced an appraisal of publicofficials elected on the platform of the PDP. The move it was claimed byassociates of Governor Amaechi was aimed to effect the expulsion of thegovernor’s associates from the party on the fact that Amaechi’s associateswould not appear before the panel.

Amaechi’smove to the VOP would create a challenge to the PDP in the sense that the partywould be denied that leverage of harvesting its traditional two million votesin presidential elections.

DespiteGovernor Amaechi’s near excellent performance in office, his capacity to swingthe whole state in the direction of the VOP would be undermined by the forcesof Mrs. Patience Jonathan and Mr. Wike.

RabiuKwankwaso (KANO)

Dr.Rabiu Kwankwaso’s exit from the PDP came despite last minute apparent pleasfrom President Jonathan last Friday when the two men held a one on one session.Kwankwaso has had a running battle with the PDP since 2010 when he formallylaunched his campaign to reclaim the governorship he lost in 2003.

Partybureaucrats working in cahoot with some officials in the presidency allegedlysympathetic to Vice-President Namadi Sambo had tried to deny Kwankwaso the PDPgubernatorial ticket on the fear that Kwankwaso would at the end of the secondterm pose a serious challenge to the hushed ambitions of the vice-president.

Ittook strong security reports of a possible riot in Kano for the PDP tobelatedly restore Kwankwaso’s ticket. Perhaps buoyed by that victory or themessianic spirit that now effuses through his Kwankwasiya movement in Kano,Kwankwaso has turned into a stronghold that no one can stop. He has beenconsistent in championing regional interests.

Manydisaffected PDP stalwarts in Kano would be glad to see him leave as it wouldgive them room to operate. His exit would also gladden many in the APC as itwould soften the state for the opposition party.

SuleLamido (Jigawa)

Arguablyone of the best performing governors in the country today, Governor SuleLamido’s politics is following the path of rebellion against feudal oppressionhe learnt from his late political master, Mallam Aminu Kano.

Hehas not had any direct political problems with Abuja except the notablesuspicion that his sterling performance could galvanise a momentum fromstakeholders for him to contest the 2015 presidential election as a way ofreplicating the Jigawa experience on a national level.

Itis not surprising that posters of Governors Lamido and Amaechi are regularlyadvertised as an item for the 2015 presidential contest.

Giventhe revolution he has put in terms of infrastructure and the welfare programme,Governor Lamido’s exit from the PDP would be a major loss for the party and hewould almost certainly deliver the state across board to the VOP.

AliyuWamakko (Sokoto)

GovernorAliyu Wamakko is the political phenomenon whose tentacles attracted PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo in 2007 to the extent that the former president caused hisprotégée, Alhaji Mukthar Shagari to surrender the PDP’s ticket to the then ANPPgubernatorial candidate.

Itwas one act of political engineering by Obasanjo without which the PDP couldnot have dreamt flying its flag in the Sokto Government House.

GovernorWamakko’s problems with the national party are in part an extension of hisdomestic challenges. Many of his foes who found habitation at the PDP nationalsecretariat helped to stoke the crisis between Wamakko and the national party.It is, however, reflective of his prominence that when the national partyannounced his suspension on the fact that he did not answer the nationalchairman’s telephone call, zonal and state officials of the party and also, theSpeaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal publicly cameout to denounce the national party.

Oneof the greatest dangers in Wamakko’s exit from the PDP is the effect it couldhave on Speaker Tambuwal. If Tambuwal as it is most likely joins him, thespeaker could through his network in the House cause a free fall of the PDP inthe House of Representatives.

ThoughSokoto State has not been very lucrative for the PDP in presidential contests,the fact that the votes mobilized by Wamakko could go to another party ofinfluence could put the ruling party in more jeopardy.

MurtalaNyako (Adamawa)

Thechallenges in Adamawa arguably were the main factors that exacerbated thecrisis in the PDP. When Alhaji Bamanga Tukur sought to displace the PDPstructure under the control of Governor Murtala Nyako, PDP governors led byGovernor Amaechi quickly came to his support and at one time forced theNational Working Committee, NWC to disown Tukur.

Butwith steadfastness and the presidency backing him, Tukur has held his ownagainst Nyako

ButNyako’ exit from the PDP would be too much of a good news to his traducers. Hiscapacity to rally support for the VOP in the state against the determination ofTukur and the PDP is, however, open to debate.

BabangidaAliyu (Niger)

ForGovernor Babangida Aliyu his path of rebellion was like a call to duty. Aschairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, NSGF it was his obligation todefend what was alleged as the understanding that President Jonathan wouldserve only one term in office. Governor Aliyu though without proof went on tosay that the president signed an agreement on the issue.

Thoughsome had in the past alleged that the governor could do a deal with Jonathanunder the correct understanding, so far no deal has been marshalled.

Hisexit from the PDP would leave Niger State an open play for all three majorparties, the VOP, PDP and APC.

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