But for Northern power brokers in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who rallied behind Prince Uche Secondus, the party’s national chairman, the coup spearheaded by Governor Nyesom Wike to forcefully remove him from office last week would have succeeded, Daily Independent gathered.
Credible sources informed Daily Independent that these northern powerbrokers were led by Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Senator Walid Jibrin, the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT).
Following the upheavals that trailed the resignation of seven members of the National Working Committee (NWC), which included the Deputy National Financial Secretary, the Deputy Legal Adviser, the Deputy National Auditor, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, the Deputy Women Leader and the Deputy Organising Secretary, Tambuwal, who is the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum was said to have rallied his colleagues while Jibrin also mobilised members of the BoT to do all they can to prevent the party from an imminent implosion.
It was also gathered that some group of retired generals from the Northern part of the country who played a crucial role in the formation of the party also used their influence to calm the situation, leading to a temporary ceasefire.
According to our source, “But for the intervention of Northern powerbrokers in the party who quickly mobilised last week Tuesday, maybe the PDP national chairman would have resigned by now. The motive of those behind the coup plot, led by Governor Nyesom Wike, was to create the impression that Secondus was incapable to lead again as governors defected and NWC members had also passed a vote of no confidence on his leadership.
“However, Governor Aminu Tambuwal really lived up to his responsibility as chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum. He mobilised his colleagues and I think they were the ones that gave Secondus the needed backing that he shouldn’t resign as they were solidly behind him.
“Also, Senator Jibrin, the chairman of the BoT, also mobilised elders in the party against the coup plot. He wondered why some individuals in the party want the NWC dissolved when the BoT passed a vote of confidence on the Secondus-led exco in March, this year, and the National Executive Committee (NEC) also did the same a month later.
“Those in support of Secondus who are in the majority believe that it will be an insult for the PDP for a single individual to believe he can install a national chairman of the party and remove him when he deems fit. We are not talking of a mushroom political party here. We are talking of a party that still boasts of more than 10 governors and large number of federal lawmakers across the country.
“They also believed that the current NWC led by Secondus should be allowed to serve out its term which will lapse in four months’ time and seek reelection if they deem fit. They also said if the national chairman decides to contest without the support of his major backer and triumphs, it shows that he is now popular among party members.
“Also not to be forgotten is the silent roles played by some retired generals and some elder statesmen in the party who urgently called the warring gladiators to order, a situation that prevented the matter from degenerating into a full-blown crisis”.
Daily Independent also gathered that the PDP governors and the BoT will meet today to deliberate on the issue, while an enlarged meeting which include PDP governors, National Assembly members, NWC members, former governors, former ministers, among other stakeholders, will meet tomorrow where a final position will be taken.
Chief Ebenezer Babatope, a former Minister of Transport, on Sunday said the PDP would have been saved from its current political crisis if the party stakeholders had allowed Chief Olabode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, to become the national chairman in 2017.
Speaking with Daily Independent, Babatope said the powerbrokers in the PDP then conspired against Bode George because they wanted a national chairman they can easily dictate to and control.
He also said that aside the conspiracy against Bode George, many of his associates in the party were victimised while he, who was the Director-General of Bode George’s Campaign Organisation was removed as member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT).
“It is a pity that people have lost political vision. If they had not lost it, they would have discovered that the PDP would have been saved from the current disaster it is facing if they had allowed Bode George to emerge as the national chairman of the party. But they won’t because they want a national chairman they can control and dictate to.
“They conspired against him and all of us who are his friends. All those who they alleged were loyalists of Bode George were removed from all the PDP offices they were holding. For example, I was kicked out of the Board of Trustees of the PDP and Bode George was not allowed to run the party.
“Now, we are facing a major political disaster. Election is only about one and half years and now we have members of the NWC resigning their positions. Honestly, we are faced with a political disaster. All of us are all guilty of the crime of visionlessness whereby we allowed things to degenerate and the PDP is now left like a political beggar”, he said. (Daily independent)