Plagued by internal conflicts and factionalism, which have weakened its foundation, including a lingering post-2023 election crisis and previous internal quarrels that have left it divided and vulnerable, the PDP is in a state of severe decline.
This is a party that had all the opportunities of turning Nigeria into the proverbial Eldorado, but failed with distinction. Not only did the PDP fail to change Nigeria, but it also ‘installed’ one of the most inept leaderships this country has ever had, making it possible for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to assume power in 2015, and the rest is now history.
A Tiger and its stripes
Now, caught between being alive and dead, the PDP, which is preparing for its national convention, has succeeded in proving to Nigerians that the tiger does not change its stripes. How else can one explain the sort of treatment the party meted out to former Governor of Jigawa State and one of its most loyal founding fathers, Sule Lamido?
I hate to recall that the PDP denied Lamido, who is angling to contest for its national chairman at the forthcoming convention, a nomination form. Before Lamido declared his intention to contest, a section of PDP members, led by the all-powerful governors, had zeroed in on former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Tanimu Kabir Turaki, as the consensus candidate for the national chairmanship.
One would have thought that a party desperately struggling to reinvent itself would guard against the mistakes that forged its piteous fate. But certainly not the PDP, a party that has become notorious for falling into familiar traps. And that is why those running its affairs find nothing wrong in denying Sule Lamido access to the nomination form, even though they are well aware that such an action could further weaken the already wobbling party.
At 77, former Governor Lamido is one of the most loyal founding fathers of the opposition PDP. This is one man who has remained faithful to the party against all odds. He could have defected to the APC or, better still, told whoever cares to listen that he has retired from politics, and then covertly worked for the current administration, which has continued to offer Nigerians renewed hopelessness, as some of his contemporaries are doing. However, Baba Sule Lamido chose to stand firmly with the PDP like the Rock of Gibraltar, and as one of its remaining voices of conscience.
Even on the strength of this, the guys currently running the show at the PDP should have accorded him that respect and made the form available for him to purchase. But instead of allowing him to buy the form, campaign, and then face delegates to determine his fate at the convention, these individuals would rather deny him the form.
Curiously, some party members claimed that Lamido had no access to the nomination form for two reasons. One was that he sought to buy the form late, storming the secretariat at a time when he should have been discussing submission. Secondly, they claimed he went in search of the form at the wrong venue. Laughable excuses!
It’s simple. The forces currently struggling for control of the PDP, which are numerous, even though they are merely flogging a dead horse, know too well that Lamido is independent-minded and cannot be remotely controlled.
They also know that allowing him to enter the contest could upstage so many things. That is why they ensured that he was denied the nomination form. Sad. But that is PDP for you.
But did Lamido not see it coming? What was he expecting from a party that relies heavily on funding from someone who has done very incalculable damage to it? What can any dedicated member expect from a party that lacks the guts to suspend its members who are hobnobbing with the ruling party at its expense?
I am surprised that, despite belonging and remaining faithful to a party that most Nigerians believe has built its reputation around manipulation, Lamido appears to be astonished that he was barred from accessing the chairmanship nomination form.
It is clear that when you belong to a party with PDP’s kind of history, you should expect anything and everything, including being prevented from purchasing a nomination form to vie for an office in a national convention that is expected to help the party reposition itself. I feel for Lamido and the few committed party members who have chosen to remain with the PDP. But are they not aware that things will continue to get worse?
Lessons for Mutfwang
Given the treatment meted out to former Governor Lamido, I am compelled to offer free advice to Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who recently stated that he was under pressure to defect from the PDP to the APC.
Mutfwang said, despite the pressure on him to defect, he would not leave the PDP. My one piece of advice is for the governor to, without delay, dump the opposition PDP.
It is true, as Mutfwang said, that only God and the people who voted him into office have the authority to determine his political allegiance. However, one fact that has remained irrefutable is that if Mutfwang stays in the PDP, he will have no platform to seek re-election, as the PDP is effectively dead.
But it appears the options before Mutfwang are limited. Even though he has repeatedly acted in ways that suggest he is likely to defect to the APC, like three of his colleagues: Governors Peter Mbah of Enugu, Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, and Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, APC stakeholders in Plateau State have publicly opposed his joining their party.
As it stands, the road to APC appears closed for Governor Mutfwang, who claims to be under pressure from individuals known only to him.
The emergence of Nentawe Yilwatda, who in 2023 contested against Governor Mutfwang but lost despite the incumbency factor, has further compounded the governor’s plight. It is highly improbable that a Nentawe would be happy to see Mutfwang defect to the APC, as that would automatically make him the party’s leader in the state and, most likely, the sole gubernatorial candidate.
I am sure that the APC in Plateau, basking in the euphoria of a strong federal might amidst the fact that the president is seeking re-election, would rather have Mutfwang, who is now a political orphan in view of the impending burial of the PDP, remain where he is. I feel for him.
As things stand, Governor Mutfwang shares the same fate as Governor Adeleke of Osun. For the two, their supposed movement to the APC has been blocked by some vested interests in their states. Their platform, the PDP, has since become a relic of the past and is now merely surviving at the mercy of some individuals who are holding on to it for a political bargain.
While this may be a terrible state to find oneself in, it is often at times like these that political strategists hone their skills and prove their mettle. Interestingly, both governors were elected based on popular votes and the determined will of their citizens. Since they emerged as governors against all odds, disdaining the ruling APC’s federal might, they can do it again. Good enough, the National Assembly is working on the Electoral Act to accommodate independent candidacy. That may be an option for them.
