Posted by From John-Abba Ogbodo, (Abuja) and Isa Abdulsalami, (Jos) on
TUESDAY'S meeting of the Democratic Party (PDP) must have come as an anticlimax to people. The expected expulsion or suspension of the National Chairman of the party Chief Audu Innocent Ogbeh did not come to pass despite the hype the meeting generated.
TUESDAY'S meeting of the Democratic Party (PDP) must have come as an anticlimax to people. The expected expulsion or suspension of the National Chairman of the party Chief Audu Innocent Ogbeh did not come to pass despite the hype the meeting generated. The decision of the meeting to suspend the Anambra State governor Chris Ngige and his godfather Chris Uba was the only surprise at the meeting.
However, the build up to the meeting had given an inkling to the outcome on Tuesday.
last week, some People Democratic Party (PDP) governors who were at the forefront of the plot to remove the National Chairman of the party, Chief Audu Innocent Ogbeh were hosted by their Niger State counterpart, Abdulkadir Kure.
The meeting according to The Guardian sources reviewed the aborted attempt to unseat the Ogbeh on December 16 when the emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) was held at the national secretariat of the party at Abuja.
For over three hours, the governors, who were also joined by some members of the NEC interested in the Ogbeh-must-go project brainstormed and agreed to reconvene in Abuja on January 3.
Before the Minna meeting, Benue State Governor George Akume, had invited his colleagues who stood by him in his effort to save Ogbeh's job, to Makurdi. In private, he said his "thank you" and showed his gratitude. The Guardian learnt that the dinner, which was attended by Ogbeh and notable politicians, served a dual purpose. First, it served as a forum for appraisal of the tactics that earned them success in the last outing and secondly to seek how fresh ideas could be brought to bear to sustain the tempo.
The meeting in Minna and the restricted visit to the former military president Gen. Ibrahim Babangida by the governors has lent credence to the speculation that the crisis rocking the party is a manifestation of the clash of interests between Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Babangida. It is believed that at the bottom of the present crisis in the PDP is the battle for the 2007 presidency. Ogbeh's letter, which has triggered a crisis in the party, is in this light seen as a mere smokescreen.
The Guardian was told that the idea of bringing corruption charges against Ogbeh in order to whip sentiment from his army of loyalists was hatched at the Minna meeting. Consequently, a few days to the January 4, NEC meeting, about 16 members of NEC facilitated the circulation to the Press a long list of the real reasons behind the plot. The Guarding learnt that those who want Babangida to succeed President Olusegun Obasanjo believe that Ogbeh is sympathetic to the vice president, and if not checkmated, he may succeed in setting the stage for him to get the 2007 ticket before leaving office.
However, the pro-Babangida forces feel that for the general to succeed in his ambition for 2007, the PDP machinery must be overhauled and another structure installed to enable them a foothold before the party's elective convention in 2006.
In this light Ogbeh is perceived as a "radical" and a stone wall, which must be dislodged.
The war plan as laid out from Minna was compact. The group was to establish more contacts with a view to wooing more support, which was lacking in the previous attempts. It was therefore not surprising when Kure came to the National Assembly last week on a "courtesy call" to the deputy senate president, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu. Although the dummy sold to the public was that the governor came in respect of the proposed Niger Basin Development Commission, it was gathered that the motive was to canvass support for the removal of Ogbeh.
Prior to that visit, Kure had visited the National Assembly to lobby for one project or the other in his state. However, when he did so, it was not in the full glare of the press. The lobby had been done in the Senate and the House of Representatives, but this time, it was only Mantu who played host.
It is further believed that Kure did not visit the Senate President, Adolphus Wabara because he is already an unquestionable ally in the anti-Ogbeh camp.
Wabara is said to be uncomfortable with Ogbeh because the National Chairman ignored him in the distribution list of the letter to the president.
After the mobilisation, it was taken for granted that the petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would have Ogbeh's credibility and sympathy among Nigerians to the extent that his removal would be effected easily.
Having "exposed" him, a motion would then be moved at the NEC for him to step aside for an independent investigation, which would have nailed Ogbeh and tainted his image. Another reason for publishing the petition was to create bad blood within the NEC members. They were to be made to see the unfairness of the situation where National Working Committee (NWC) members claim as much as N397 million as housing loan, while NEC members have not benefited a dime. Even within the NWC, the publication was intended to pitch them against one another because it was thought that not all the members were aware of the largesse.
The strategy had proved unworkable. On the night of January 3, a day preceding the NEC meeting, Rivers State Governor Peter Odili and his Enugu State counterpart, Chimaroke Nnamani shuttled between their colleagues and the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT), Chief Anthony Anenih. The pro-Ogbeh governors, the NWC and NEC members who met with Anenih at his Asokoro residence refused to shift their ground. The option for them was for the party to disintegrate. Two governors from the South-South offered their muscles if necessary.
The strength of the opposition dawned on the anti-Ogbeh group that the battle had been lost, and the option was to seek a face saving way. The convenient way was to stand down the agenda and take only the Anambra crisis.
The meeting was initially billed to discuss two items. The first was what Obasanjo believed was an attempt by Ogbeh to invite the military because of his utterances on Anambra crisis.
Also Ngige was to be forced to resign at the meeting because his political godfather, Chris Ubah, had admitted that the 2003 gubernatorial election, which brought Ngige into power was indeed rigged.
A source close to the meeting said that when the time came for a decision, Anenih raised his hand to announce that only one issue, the Anambra state was to be discussed. It was said that he had seen the handwriting on the wall that Obasanjo would be disgraced, especially if he tried to move against Ogbeh.
Immediately he offered the president a way out through what was seen a shocking but pleasant announcement, Obasanjo reportedly raised his hand and supported the motion. It was further gathered that 22 state governors were likely to favour Ogbeh, and to save Obasanjo's face, Anenih's gambit rested the case.
And when the issue of Ngige was mentioned, 100 people showed support for the governor while about 25 people believed that the governor should resign. Because of this overwhelming support for him, he was given the milder punishment of suspension for 30 days from the party activities in the state.
Even after Anenih took that decision and was supported by Obasanjo, somebody wanted to raise the issue of Ogbeh, but was said to have been overruled by the President.
Before the Tuesday meeting, political undercurrents and intrigues were said to have gone on a large scale, involving all PDP state governors even those who did not attend the meeting like Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye.
The deep division in the party was displayed in the debate over whether Anambra State governor Chris Ngige should be sanctioned alongside his political godfather Chris Uba. The governors and NEC members who called for the expulsion of Ngige were also those who moved against Ogbeh.
Delta and Edo state governors Ibori and Lucky Igbinedion respectively, found themselves fighting the same battle they fought for Ogbeh as they argued against extending any sanction to Ngige. With Ngige's suspension it is reasoned that his flanks have been exposed and he has become vulnerable.
It was agreed that an olive branch be handed out to the Ogbeh group to show them, even if temporarily that the hatchet had been buried. And this was where the president hatched the self-invitation to a lunch of pounded yam at Ogbeh's residence with NEC and NWC members. As a prelude to the lunch, the president rode in Ogbeh's official car to the venue of the NEC meeting. The same car took him and Ogbeh to Ogbeh's house for the lunch.
Despite the import of the lunch, some observers are sceptical about the future of PDP. Could this be the Last Supper for some people in the party?
At least, one incident in 2001 points to this. After a long drawn battle with the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo during his reign as Senate President, a peace move was arranged with Okadigbo. The settlement was crowned with a dinner at Okadigbo's new official residence. At that dinner, which was characterised by banters and dancing, the president philosophically said that, "unless the Lord builds, the builders do so in vain." A few weeks after, Okadigbo was impeached. Not a few PDP members have drawn this parallel while fearing that this could be a send forth lunch for many.`
After a long drawn battle with the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo during his reign as Senate President, a peace move was arranged with Okadigbo. The settlement was crowned with a dinner at Okadigbo's new official residence. At that dinner, which was characterised by banters and dancing, the president philosophically said that, "unless the Lord builds, the builders do so in vain."
It was agreed that an olive branch be handed out to the Ogbeh group to show them, even if temporarily that the hatchet had been buried. And this was where the president hatched the self-invitation to a lunch of pounded yam at Ogbeh's residence with NEC and NWC members. As a prelude to the lunch, the president rode in Ogbeh's official car to the venue of the NEC meeting. The same car took him and Ogbeh to Ogbeh's house for the lunch`