PDP NATIONAL CONVENTION: PDP deepens nation’s democracy with rancour-free convention

It is no longer news that the leading opposition party in the country, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), held its national convention in Abuja on Saturday.

The Eagles Square was filled to the brim, amidst fanfare as many people converged at the venue, Whereby 3,600 delegates from all the 36 states plus the FCT voted for new members of the NWC of the party at the convention.

Out of all the 21 positions put on the line at the convention, one that many pundits see as the most sought after is the position of Deputy National Chairman (South).

With many arguing that the position might be the most important position in the long run due to the party’s complexion and organization whereby the position of National Chairman and Party’s Presidential Candidate can’t come from the same zone.

There are chances that the party will present a Northern candidate, boasting of personalities like, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwakwanso, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal among others.

Now that the party, through a consensus process, elected a Northerner from Benue State, Senator Iyorchia Ayu ,a choice that might put the party in a difficult situation after the party’s.

This is where the position of Deputy National Chairman becomes crucial, because according to the party’s constitution, whenever the Chairman is out of office without the expiration of his tenure, the Deputy Chairman will take over.

The position of Deputy National Chairman (South) was keenly contested by the duo of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former Governor of Osun State and Taofiq Arapaja a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State.

At the end of the day, after hours of voting by the delegates and lobbying from both camps, as a matter of fact, Oyinlola was persuaded to step down for his adversary which fell on deaf ear, but yet Arapaja from Oyo State emerged triumphant.

Now the convention has come and gone and one thing that is synonymous with all contests, is that, there must always be a winner who will bask in his victory and a loser who will sit and count his losses.

WINNERS

Bukola Saraki: The former Senate President one of the leading hopeful for presidency in the coming election has been a strong member of the party. He was very crucial to the success of the convention.

The highlight of his achievements was the significant role he played in the emergence of his associate, Barrister Kamaldeen Ajibade, as the new legal adviser of the party.

He was also the arrowhead of the Reconciliatory Committee that worked tirelessly to ensure unity in the party which metamorphosed into the success of the convention.

Taofeek Arapaja: Coming from what seems to be a political wilderness, the former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, during the tenure of Chief Alao Akala and a former Deputy National Chairman of the party in the South-West emerged as the winner of the coveted post of Deputy National Chairman (South) after serious battle with Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

He enjoyed the support of the majority of delegates from the South Western States at the convention after Oyinlola was unsuccessfully persuaded severally, even before the commencement of the meeting to step down for him.

Arapaja polled a total of 2,004 votes to beat Oyinlola who barely garnered 705 votes.

Governor Seyi Makinde: The Governor of Oyo State and a staunch Minister of Arapaja’s Gospel, gave him an open support at the expense of Oyinlola who is a leading figure in the party structure not just in the region but Nationally.

The emergence of Taofeek Arapaja has, more or less, confirmed his status as the leader in the South Western PDP, boasting of 181 voting delegates yesterday at the convention which might not be a surprise being the only PDP governor in the region and having 33 Local Government Areas in the state, compared to Kwara with only 16.

He was also one of the most visible personality at the event yesterday after he made his address to the crowd where he expressed the party’s readiness to take power at the polls.

Senator Ademola Adeleke: A Former Senator from Osun can be seen as one of the achievers in the aftermath of the process that brought the victory of Arapaja.

Through Arapaja’s victory, he is able to maintain his leadership status in Osun PDP, a position that will definitely be at stake in the event of Oyinlola’s victory who would have swept the leadership rug from under his feet.

Nyesom Wike, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Samuel Ortom and other PDP governors: The governors have again proved to be the jugular of the party as they all stole the show with hundreds of their supporters adding glamour and colour to the arena.

They all showed that they’ve been holding forth in their respective states by pulling massive crowds, who are singing and dancing to the venue.

The indisputable fact about the voting pattern of delegates was that they all voted uniformly for the consensus candidates handpicked by either the governors of their state or their associates.

Premising on the fact that the governors have bigger vote banks compared to those that are opposition party in their respective states, hence wielding the greatest power in the party.

In a reminiscence of 2017, the PDP governors compiled names of their preferred candidates, all of whom emerged victorious at the convention.

The emergence of the National Chairman Ayu was heavily influenced by his state governor, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, same as the choice of Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the party. His unopposed was also influenced by Governor Nyesom Wike. A choice that was also well backed by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu

The Party: Party is the overall winner of the entire process, being able to organize a successful convention despite the opposition and legal litigation that stood in its way.

PDP was able to show solidarity among its members and maintain decorum as it was evident throughout the day, with relative peace at the arena and no cause for alarm despite having such a massive crowd at the venue, which is commendable.

Even the idea of consensus on the cusp of which most of the candidates emerged was of the governors because from the get-go, the 13 governors made it clear they weren’t interested in a political contest but in a consensus arrangement.

LOSERS

b Being a leading figure in the party and its one time National Secretary, one would expect him to be able to pull off the win against Arapaja who might as well be returning from a political obscurity.

As at the time the voting was about to commence around 5pm on Saturday, some of the party stalwarts were trying to convince him to cede his aspiration for Arapaja but remained adamant.

Despite his loss yesterday, there have been some predictions mooted that he might be considering going for the post of Zonal Chairman of the South West.

Hajia Maryam Inna Ciroma: A former Minister of Women Affairs is part of the losers despite mounting a valiant effort towards being the first female Deputy National Chairman (North) of PDP.

A position many deemed she was destined for, her loss was a shocking one to many as she was defeated by her opponent, Umar Damagum who came from Yobe State.

Her loss could be shared with Jonah Jang and some other ex governors who openly backed the candidacy of Ciroma but all could do nothing to salvage the victory for their favourite candidate.

Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum polled a massive 2,222 votes to emerge Deputy National Chairman (North) against Ciroma who only managed to garner 365 votes.

Gov. Ayodele Fayose: A two-time former Governor of Ekiti State and a party stalwart can also be regarded as a loser in this party process as all of his candidates contesting for positions in the party were screened out during the build up to the main event.

The likes of Hon. Wale Oladipupo, a former National Secretary of the party contesting for Deputy National Chairman and Hon Eddie Olafeso aspiring for the post of National Publicity Secretary of the Party were screened out in the build up to the convention

The duo alongside other aspirants were examined on Wednesday in Abuja by the Screening Committee led by a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke.