2019: PDP unveils plans to sack APC

Still basking in the euphoria of Wednesday’s victory at the Supreme Court, the Ahmed Makarfi-led Peoples Democratic Party PDP has begun moves to shoot itself back into public reckoning and dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2019 general elections.

Though Makarfi had in the aftermath of the Wednesday court victory which sacked his rival, Modu Sheriff, asked the APC to begin to prepare its hand over notes, he did not however disclose how the PDP intends to wrest power from the APC.

Saturday Vanguard has however learned that the PDP, among other plans, will use the APC’s manifesto against it.

“The APC had at least 81 promises in its manifesto. Among all the things the party promised, how many has it achieved? The promises were mere propaganda tools which unfortunately many people bought into because some of our colleagues in government under Jonathan also lost focus and were too detached from the people. So, today we intend to benchmark those promises and then take the APC up on its own words”, said a former key minister under the Goodluck Jonathan administration who did not want his name in print for fear of a backlash from the current administration as he is presently facing prosecution by the anti-graft agency.

He said, “the PDP will also zone its presidential ticket to the north knowing that President Muhammadu Buhari might be too ill to recontest in 2019. The PDP will beat any other person including Buhari if he stands for re-election because Nigerians have seen through the lies of his party and can now judge better, having tasted the soup of two wives”.

The former minister added that the PDP has learned useful lessons and will ensure that in order to move, it practises internal democracy.

“Printing only one presidential ticket, and therefore excluding others, was perhaps one of the major reasons we lost the 2015 presidential election. By the time we are able to put our house in order, we will ensure that there is nothing like imposition, especially beginning with our forthcoming national convention. We shall improve on our reward system so that party members are rewarded for their contributions unlike what the APC is doing now to its members”, he said.

On the fate of Sheriff, the ex-minister added that the PDP was already trying to reconcile all the parties to the dispute, but added that the Makarfi-led caretaker committee could wield the big stick on those who refuse to abide by the rules of the party.

“Makarfi is like that small Fulani boy who guides a herd of cattle from Daura to Ibadan. He has the rod. People are expected to shape in or shape out, otherwise it will not be out of place to suspend or outrightly expel those who may want to drag the party back”, he added.

PDP should merge with Accord, APGA—Attah

Meanwhile, former governor of Akwa Ibom state, Obong Victor Attah has advised the PDP to merge with other political parties if it must provide a robust opposition to the ruling party.

Attah, who had long exited the PDP and retired from active politics told Saturday Vanguard in Abuja that democracy is best when there is an opposition, rather than having a one-party state.

He said the PDP has an image problem and should not be too arrogant to hold on to its present brand but merge with other parties.

“I had once advised them (PDP) to change their name and merge with other parties. Now that they have resolved their crisis, what is left of the PDP? Many people have left. I respect Makarfi as a person and believe he can administer the party, so they have to go and bring back some of those people, because really, a one-party system is not good, especially for a country like Nigeria. We need at least two strong parties. I will still advise the PDP to woo other parties like Accord party founded by Rashidi Ladoja and even APGA. If they all agree to surrender their names to the PDP, fine but if they want another name, it is also fine. The PDP should not be too proud to hold on to that name, after all what have they done that they should be so proud of?”, he queried.

Other chieftains of the party who spoke on how to launch the party into reckoning include a former deputy national chairman of the party, Chief Bode George; Deputy Senate Minority Whip, Senator Biodun Olujimi; Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Rep Leo Ogor; Senator Stella Oduah; Senator James Manager and Rep Tajudeen Yusuf

According to Chief Bode George, the top management of the party has been holding series of meetings since the judgment was delivered on how to stabilize the party and restore its lost glory(see Saturday Politics on page12 for details).

APC moves to tackle PDP in S’West

Meantime, with its loss of last Saturday’s Osun West senatorial bye-election, the APC was said to be reviewing its strategy to consolidate on its earlier gains in the south west. Saturday Vanguard however learned that the APC was not particularly unhappy that it lost the bye-election as some of its leaders saw it as a way to teach Tinubu a lesson.

“The Lagos power brokers had always accused us of working against them. They accused us of going against their candidates in the Kogi and Ondo elections and that we did not do much to ensure the recall of the suspended SGF. In Osun West, both the primary election committee and the screening panel disqualified the aspirant presented by the governor, but the Lagos power brokers subtly blackmailed the party’s national leadership to upturn the two verdicts and the party did so. Of course, the rest is now history and you saw what happened. If we did not do their bidding, they would have been writing letters again”, explained a member of the National Working Committee NWC who was part of the whole process.

According to him, some APC national leaders were said to be contemplating wooing a former PDP governorship candidate, Iyiola Omisore. “The thinking is that the PDP is ready to take advantage of the power struggle in the APC and then gain new grounds especially in the south west. If you look at Tinubu the APC leader in that region, he has lost in virtually all recent elections. From Kogi, Ondo to the recent senatorial bye-election in Osun state, his candidates lost. Then, there is the issue of the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal who many see as a close confidante of Tinubu from the north. The man’s influence is waning and there are strategists within the party who feel that if we allow him (Tinubu) to continue to bulldoze his candidates through, then the party would lose just as it happened in Osun”, he said.

We’re Unperturbed, APC Declares

However, APC has said it is not losing any sleep over the resolution of the PDP crisis, despite concerns in some quarters of possible political realignments across the country.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, in an interview in Abuja, said it does not matter who heads the PDP, saying the APC is actually comfortable with having a virile opposition.

“Whichever way you want to look at it, the ruling has no direct consequence on APC whichever faction the pendulum swings to”.

Newly-appointed zonal vice chairman of the party in the North-East, Mustapha Salihu, also said the party was not threatened by who became PDP chairman.

“Makarfi or Ali-Modu Sheriff is no threat to us; we are looking at the institution and not the person.”

We should be worried -Timi Frank

Despite claims of the party’s preparedness for the antics of the PDP, the ‘suspended’ National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Comrade Timi Frank, said there was cause for his party to be worried.

According to him, APC is treading the same path that led to the loss of the PDP in the last general elections and the subsequent crisis that nearly led to its destruction. He however said the resolution of the PDP crisis was the needed tonic to spur the APC into delivering on its electioneering campaign promises.

Noting that Nigeria needs a viable opposition political party for democracy to succeed, Frank added that “having a strong opposition, whether it is PDP or any other party will force the ruling APC to deliver more on its promises to Nigerians. It is high time my party (APC) learned from the PDP experience by urgently resolving all the issues at hand before it is too late. I know that as a ruling party, we believe in multi-party system because we were once in the opposition, so the insinuation that APC does not want opposition does not arise.

“As we prepare for the 2019 general elections, I believe that APC is still the hope of Nigerians if the party will sustain its popularity and resolve all the internal crisis at all levels.”

Frank observed that; “Though PDP had allowed itself to swim in troubled waters for a long time but if they will be able to put their house in order that will be good for democracy.

He however, restated his call on the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to force the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun’s led National Working Committee to a round table in order to quickly resolve all outstanding issues, saying the APC might not survive the kind of leadership crisis that had held the PDP down for so long.

 Source Vanguard News.