Though the party had to postpone the meetings for some reasons, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will eventually hold its all-important meetings to address the perceived drift in it, beginning from tomorrow, barring any unforeseen circumstance. OLAWALE RASHEED writes on the issues that will feature when the PDP heavyweights meet.

THE meetings of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scheduled to begin tomorrow are a critical assemblage that may go a long way to determine the future of the party. With 2014 as a pivotal pre-election year, the success or otherwise of the leaders in mending fences, preventing further defections and cementing cracked walls is going to be determinant of power struggle in the countdown to 2015.

The year 2013 got the party badly shaken to its foundation; its corporate existence was threatened and political obituary writers were already busy with their pens. The depth of the eruptions which saw five governors and the party losing comfortable majority in the National Assembly was unprecedented. From 1998 to 2013, the party remained invincible, retreating from precipice when driven mad by power play.

The current crisis is, however, defying old logic. For the first time, a build of conglomerate forces is challenging its continued hold on power. Even the ever-confident party patriarchs agreed that the current struggle is unusual. Many party chiefs lost faith and were even contemplating options. PDP truly faces a destructive infighting which combines an array of external, internal and defecting forces.

Summoning of the meetings across party levels is, thus, seen by many observers as a determined push by the party leadership, supported by the Presidency, to put an end to the politically fatal hemorrhage. The meeting involves all national organs of the party, namely the National Working Committee (NWC), the Board of Trustees (BoT), the national caucus and the highest organ of the party, the National Executive Committee (NEC). This week is, thus, going to see the assemblage of key party leaders, especially many founding fathers, important former office holders and who is who within the party. Since the crisis erupted, the meetings, which begin tomorrow, will be the first time those considered the heart and soul of the ruling party will gather to salvage their heritage.

Watchers of political happenings have identified various issues the leaders are sure to confront. Clearly challenging is the continuous defection, coupled with presence of some party chiefs alleged to be moles in the house. There is the belief that some politicians and elected officials are only bidding their time, waiting for the most auspicious time to quit. Others are said to be waiting for the long haul to destroy and sabotage the party from within.

Some other analysts posited that the leaders would have to design appropriate options to contain fifth columnists said to be in league with the opposition. How to determine loyalty or otherwise may, however, be a complicated issue, especially as reports confirmed that many embedded enemies were potently operating within the party. Options may include deliberate expulsion of political suspects considered incapable of being reformed, application of multiple loyalists’ tests and definitive actions on disciplinary cases before the party.

The other vexed question is the management of the party. The party chairman, Bamanga Tukur, is facing such vitriolic opposition that at a point, some considered him the problem. Those who defected were unrelenting in their call for his removal; those who stayed have also persisted in seeking his removal.

The former governor has fought back, insisting that opposition to him was due to his insistence on democratisation of party structures at all levels, including his belief in the enforcement of party supremacy.

Tukur’s woes were, however, reduced when a new National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo, assumed office. The two-prong approach of the party leadership to the complicated crisis succeeded in stabilising the party, even though defections could not be stopped. The decision to commence immediate holding of meetings with the party caucus in the Senate and the House of Representatives went a long way to reconnect disconnected legislative leaders of the party. The crowning of the consultations with a vote of confidence on Tukur by the party’s governors’ forum was a turning point in the life of the party.

Those successes in crisis management have, however, not removed question marks on the management of the party. Tukur’s critics canvass the need to regularly hold statutory meetings at the right place and time, in addition to urgent need to allow party officers to statutorily perform their functions without interference from aides of the chairman. Others are so sarcastic they alleged the chairman has moved the party secretariat to his house, leaving the party’s headquarters sleepy.

The leaders are, thus, in critical position as the fate of the chairman is still hanging in the balance. Credible reports indicate that key leaders are meeting to wriggle out of the quagmire. Meetings are being held in high places and increasingly, a consensus is said to be emerging on the issue. There are signs that the groundswell of opinions is running against the chairman. How it will end will manifest clearly during the week.

Aside Tukur’s case, the meeting will also have to take definitive action on the office of the national secretary which is a subject of litigations. The case of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola is likely to confront the party chiefs. The party’s NEC has to decide the fate of the former governor as well as that of the subsisting national secretary of the party, Professor Oladipo. The report of the disciplinary committee which expelled Prince Oyinlola and two other leaders is expected to be presented before the NEC for decision.

The decision may not be that easy, especially in view of subsisting court cases. There is a standing ruling of the Court of Appeal faulting the process of removal of Prince Oyinlola. There is also a subsisting appeal against the court ruling, in addition to application of a stay of execution. Insiders, however, hinted that the current national secretary is likely to be confirmed by the NEC, especially as reports indicated that there is no ‘appetite’ to take the former Osun governor into the fold.

Rebuilding the party structures in states affected by defection is equally critical. Caretaker committees have been successfully set up in Kano, Zamfara and Kwara states. The committee for Sokoto is, however, stalled, due to what insiders called disagreement within the PDP caucus. The failure to carry along the state deputy governor, Alhaji Muktar Shagari, and other stakeholders in the state is also a factor. The political adviser to Alhaji Tukur, Senator Abubakar Gada, was alleged to have singlehandedly selected the caretaker committee members without consulting other stakeholders who include a former governorship aspirant of the state and current ambassador to Morocco, Senator Abdallah Wali, and the House speaker, Aminu Tambuwal. This was said to be why the inauguration was put on hold.

If Sokoto committee is hanging in the balance, the situation in Kwara is also said to be creating rupture within the party. There are complaints the composition is not representative of the many anti-Bukola Saraki forces in the state. A court case has also been slammed on the party by its state executive that was dissolved by the NWC. For Zamfara State, the caretaker committee could not function because of a faction belonging to the former National Security Adviser (NSA), General Aliyu Gusau. That crisis is said to have been caused by the recent defection from the PDP.

Reports, indeed, indicated that the NEC may review some of the caretaker committees. According to the party’s constitution, the NEC must approve all major decisions taken by the NWC, including decisions taken on the composition of the caretaker committees. Getting the composition of the committees right is seen by many party strategists as a smart way to reposition the party in the core North.

If rebuilding the shattered structures is a preoccupation, the forthcoming elections in Osun and Ekiti are bothering the leadership. That issue is expected to be tabled before the meetings, especially with the need for timetable to be prepared. It was hinted that top leaders have been meeting severally as winning for the PDP at the two state elections is seen as capable of brightening the electoral fortunes of the party at the next general elections. Aside the guidelines of primaries, the meeting is scheduled to also set up necessary committees to ensure PDP’s victory in Osun and Ekiti states.

The leaders are also expected to focus on the 2015 polls. As election is expected to hold in the first quarter of 2015, primaries for the various offices must hold this year. That implies that the NEC and other party organs have to take critical decisions to position the party for the heated political events of the year.

For example, many expect the president to give a hint of his interest on the 2015 race. The belief in some quarters is that an early presidential decision will help to stabilise the party.

As of the time of filling this report, meetings are still ongoing in Abuja. Insiders are of the view that party leaders have a major challenge at hand. If they put their house in order, the current crisis may be contained. If they fail, the opposition would have been further strengthened.