PDP

PDP: Whither G-7 Governors?

Ado Umar Mohammed

From all indications it has become inevitable that the so-called G-7 governors who have rebelled against the mainstream Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will soon have to look for new political platform(s) on which to ply their trade. This is because, among other things, the move by President Goodluck Jonathan to thaw relations with them is reportedly being discouraged by some of his close associates.

The G-7 governors broke away and formed what they call ‘New PDP,’ led by former vice-president Atiku Abubakar with the apparent backing of ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo. After several meetings with the president the governors themselves have since realized that some people around him do not want the reconciliation move to succeed. The reports said the president’s advisers had indeed told him to stop wasting his time with the governors because they are allegedly championing their own personal interests and not the interest of the people.

And so the meeting scheduled for October 7, 2013 may have therefore been cancelled. Spokesman of the New PDP, Eze Chukwuemeka, confirmed last Wednesday that the meeting has been ‘postponed,’ ostensibly because their participants would by then be engaged in the ongoing Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia. Actually, by next Monday Hajj flights may not have been concluded and Arafat Day would be at least eight days away.

Under the circumstances, it seems the PDP leadership has resolved to dispense with the G-7 governors whose support they think is no longer needed to win the presidential election in 2015. That means the governors will either have to swallow their pride and return to the PDP despite the humiliation or move on and join one or two of the three newly registered parties, i.e. APC, PDM and VOP.

All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be the most attractive bride to the governors. Already, Rivers state Governor Chibuike Amaechi and his supporters are reported to be getting set to join the party any time soon. APC itself has shown signs of its readiness to welcome the rebellious governors with open arms. But has its leaders thought seriously about the implications of doing so? Would the party not be giving the wrong impression that all it cares about is to come to power without minding whether the means justifies the end?

It must not be lost on the party’s leaders that they had assured Nigerians that one of the fundamental reasons for the merger of the opposition parties was to provide a credible alternative government that would save the country from doom. They also pointed out that as a viable alternative they would be distinct in orientation and content, with some people even suggesting that corrupt politicians should not be accepted as members. The party also pledged to adopt ‘welfare’ as one of the major thrusts of its government, and I suppose PDP type of politicians are more concerned about elite issues.

In that case, therefore, will the APC not be smearing its image if it allows leading members of the PDP to be associated with it? There is nothing wrong in seeking the support of ordinary members of other parties in order to win elections, but certainly having prominent faces that have been linked with all that is wrong with the PDP negates the claim to being distinct in content and character.

What is more it will create problems in some states more than what is already on ground presently; that of fusing the supporters of the three or four parties that have merged to form APC. As supporters of these parties try to reconcile and harmonize their divergent interests sacrifices will have to be made that would be very hard on some people. To bring in a governor from outside the merger with all his supporters and resources is to compound the situation further with dire consequences for the party.

There is currently high tension already in some states, as some naive leaders of APC have reportedly been holding nocturnal meetings with G-7 governors with alleged intent of harming certain interests of those already in the party. By the time the discord they are now sowing germinates and grows to monumental proportions these leaders should know that it may consume their personal ambitions as well as that of APC to replace the PDP in 2015.

Without doubt, the generally assumed purity of the APC can only be claimed by its leaders if it is not associated in any way with PDP. Atiku Abubakar and his fellow travellers already have fallback platforms in the PDM and VOP, which they had registered before summoning the courage to confront their party. If the APC thinks that it cannot succeed in the elections without bringing in top shots from other parties it is hereby advised to opt for an alliance instead. In this way, it may not unnecessarily soil its image, harm the party’s support base and squander the goodwill of the people.

The purity of the APC is indeed a reputation that must be preserved and protected at all cost. It came about as a result of the confidence the people have in it as they view the party as an alternative to the ruling party that has been in power for so long but has very little to show for it. It therefore behooves these leaders to jealously protect the positive perception people have of APC from the blemish of discredited politicians.

Suffice it to say that if the party’s leaders allow it to be toyed with by vengeful and inexperienced politicians they may be failing in their bounden duty to save Nigeria from a cabal of economic leeches that have been ruining the country. The order by the party for APC governors to woo the G-7 governors during meetings of Governor Amaechi’s faction of the Nigerian Governors Forum is therefore uncalled for as it is counterproductive.