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“Morals are a matter of agreement; decency is a public concern.”
—Marguerite Yourcenar
By Omoniyi Salaudeen
By guile and intrigues, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is pushing ahead with his campaigns for the 2023 elections not minding the obstinacy of the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, and his allied group who are insisting on the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, as a condition for support.
It’s been a long drawn battle for equity, fairness and justice, but there is no glimmer of hope that the warring factions are ready for any compromise or settlement of whatever form. But just one condition: Ayu’s exit.
The reason for the stubbornness of the group in insisting on Ayu’s voluntary resignation from office as national chairman is already a familiar story and needs not be repeated here. But for the benefit of hindsight, in the run up to the presidential primary of the PDP held in May where Atiku emerged the party’s standard bearer and Wike as second runner up, Ayu had promised to throw in the towel if peradventure an aspirant of northern extraction eventually emerged the candidate to allow for balance of power equations. That gentleman’s agreement followed the collective resolution and subsequent agitation of the 17 Southern governors for a power shift to the South.
Tongue in cheek, Ayu gave the verbal commitment based on two premises. One, the zoning arrangement contained in the party’s constitution which allows rotation of presidency among the six geo-political zones of the country to give a sense of belonging to the federating units. Article 7 (2) (c) of the PDP Constitution specifies respect for the Federal Character Principle and zoning policy of the party. It states: “In pursuance of the principle of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of the party and public elective offices and it shall be enforced by the appropriate executive committee at all levels”.
The second premise is the expediency of ensuring equal representation of all parts of the country within the party hierarchy.
Precisely, the constitution of the party disapproves of a situation where the chairman and the candidate are from the same zone. In this scenario, both Atiku and Ayu are of the Northern origin. And there is a strong belief that Ayu surreptitiously used his position to influence the delegates at the national convention to vote in favour of Atiku.
Now, the party is irretrievably divided between the Wike group and Atiku’s loyalists simply because Ayu has defaulted in honouring his own words. He is holding the office by default, despite the fact that he has lost all the moral grounds to continue to lead the party.
You may like Wike or you may not, depending on how you view his actions and inactions. But one thing you cannot take away from him is his deep sense of conviction and the doggedness to fight for whatever he believes in.
In this case, he believes, and rightly so, that there is no justice, fairness and equity in the way the PDP is currently structured. And he has an army of supporters behind him to slug it out with Atiku. Prominent among his team are former Governors Segun Mimiko of Ondo State, Donald Duke of Cross Rivers, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Governor Makinde of Oyo State, his counterparts in Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, Ifeanyi Ugwunayi of Enugu State, former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose and Bode George.
All they are saying with their vehement opposition and seeming restiveness is the need for a restructuring of the party in a way that guarantees a true sense of belonging to all sections of the country. But Atiku has refused to budge; arguing that the constitution of the party most be followed if at all Ayu must be removed. The grim irony here is that restructuring is one of the unique selling points of Atiku’s candidacy. Now, this question: can a party that fails to respect its constitution truly and sincerely manage Nigeria’s diversity? Certainly no! Doing so is like putting the cart before the horse.
Wike also has another giant-sized grudge against Atiku. And that is his choice of the governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate against the recommendation of the special committee set up by the party to decide on the right person for the position. Unofficially, report of the committee revealed that Wike polled 16 votes to defeat Okowa who scored three votes. But Atiku turned down the committee’s recommendation and opted for Okowa to the chagrin of the party’s supporters. Those who feel strongly about that unilateral decision argued that Wike got less than he bargained for as a major financier of the party.
Unless there is a reversal of Atiku’s position on Ayu’s ouster, Wike and his group will take their own pound of the flesh in this election. How it will happen is what no one can predict for now.
Lately, Wike has been involved in an amorous relationship with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). This is evident in his recent open declaration of support for the re-election bid of the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwao-Olu, against the candidate of the PDP in the state, Olajide Adediran. And he has been doing so with funfair and malicious gusto.
Although it is generally believed that Atiku’s choice of Okowa is for mere bargaining chip to get enough votes from the South-south, the permutation doesn’t add up. As far as politics of Rivers State is concerned, Wike remains a formidable force that anybody can ignore at his own peril. Out of the six states in the South-south, Rivers State has the highest voting figure. In 2019 presidential election, the PDP scored 473,971 to defeat President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress who pulled 150,710 votes. That is what Atiku is about to trade off for Ayu’s position as chairman.
That is not all. The odds against his presidential ambition in all the states where Wike’s supporters hold sway, including Ondo, Oyo, Benue, Enugu, Abia, Lagos, and indeed the entire Southeast region are enormous. Traditionally, the Southeast is an exclusive enclave of the PDP. Since 1999, until recently when APC made a feeble showing with the defection of Governor Dave Umahi to the APC, no party has made any successful in road into the region. Ordinarily, this coming election is supposed to be a payback time for the Igbo for their unflinching loyalty to the party. Rather, the party ditched the people by turning its blind eyes to the region during the presidential primary by throwing the ticket open to all aspirants instead of supporting the aspiration of the Igbo to produce the next president. For being so inconsiderate, the region will give it back to Atiku in full measure in this coming election. This is even more so with the emergence of Peter Obi as the candidate of the Labour Party whose popularity and acceptance cut across age, ethnic or religious barriers.
Outside the Southeast zone, there has also been a gradual decimation of his support base especially within Wike’s sphere of influence. For instance, this past week, in Ondo State, Mimiko had to quickly dissociate himself from Atiku Campaign Council as a mark of solidarity with Wike when the news filtered out that he had been shortlisted as a member of the council, sparking off insinuation that he might have dumped the agitation group.
In a release issued by his media aide, John Akinduro, Mimiko stated that his inclusion in the Presidential Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) conflicted with his stand for regional equity within the party.
“It must be stated with emphasis that Dr Mimiko was neither consulted by anyone nor consented to his inclusion in any Ondo state PDP Presidential Campaign Council list.
“For the avoidance of doubt and to set the record straight, Dr Mimiko is unwavering in his commitment to the principle of equity, fairness and justice through, which he believes a credible push for a PDP victory is possible,” he declared.
In politics, they say, there is no need predicting beyond the next fortnight. Obviously, four months is a long way. For anything can happen between now and then. If the planned settlement works out, the party will be better for it. So also will Atiku.
If not, the former vice president will be holding the short end of the stick going into the coming election.
Atiku Abubakar is a perennial contender. From 1992 up till present, he has contested more than six times. Whether or not he makes it to Aso Rock, this coming 2023 general election may be his last shot at the exalted position, as age is no longer on his side. He is one of the oldies the youths are increasingly becoming resistant to their aspiration to remain in the power arena.
