PDP, Supreme Court Judgment And Nigeria’s Democracy

On the night of February 16, 2016, members of the National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) comprising the National Caucus, including governors, members of the National Assembly, Board of Trustees and National Working Committee were locked in a crucial meeting at the lodge of then Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

Their task was to choose a new national chairman for the party which had been embroiled in crisis following their defeat at the 2015 general election. Twenty nine party men were said to have indicated interest for the position, but the list was pruned down to seven, including a former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who eventually did not show up for screening that night.

Among the frontrunners were former FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed and a founding member of the party and former governor of defunct Gongola State, Wilberforce Juta.

But after very exhaustive consultations a former Governor of Borno state, Alhaji Ali Modu-Sheriff, who was not even in the race as it appeared emerged at the venue at almost 11 pm that night and within few minutes he re-emerged amidst the governors and party leaders who announced him as the new national chairman of the party, replacing Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, who had resigned.

Sheriff, who was the Chairman, Board of Trustees, BoT, of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) had never been seen as a PDP brand politician and this left many party members angry.

Therefore, the choice left a sharp division among the organs of the party but those who made the decision foisted it on others who kept bickering. It was only a question of time, for the cookies to crumble.

Few months down the line, the cracks began to emerge as the governors who principally had anointed him began to fall out with him. They subsequently outsmarted him, pushed him aside at the Port Harcourt convention amidst a legal puzzle as they quickly inaugurated a national caretaker committee under the leadership of former Kaduna State Governor, Ahmed Makarfl.

From there the battle moved to the courts with the lower courts of coordinate jurisdiction often delivering conflicting judgments. The Court of Appeal however affirmed Sheriff as the authentic national chairman of the party, a judgment which threw many PDP leaders and members into a state of hopelessness, as he was largely viewed by the mainstream of the party as an outsider who could not be trusted.

The Markafl-led group went ahead to institute a case at the Supreme Court. The waiting period was a tension soaked one as the party was between the devil and the deep blue sea. The protracted legal tussle and division had begun to take a toll on the party, with Ondo state falling to the ruling APC and many defections as well as resignations from the party.

So when on July 12 the Supreme Court finally delivered judgment in favour of the mainstream Ahmed Makarfi-led group, it was wide jubilation amongst loyalists and members of the PDP as they could not hide their joy. They sang, danced and embraced one another as they freely celebrated the victory at the Supreme Court.

The pronouncement of the apex court brought to an end the leadership tussle that had engulfed the former ruling party in the last 14 months. The court in delivering the judgment held that the former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi, is the authentic leader of the PDP, thereby sacking the Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction.

This judgement has been widely seen as a victory for Nigeria’s democracy and the rule of law. In adjudicating on this intricate matter, the Supreme Court must have looked at the bigger picture which bothers on the survival on the nation’s democracy. This is indeed worthy of commendation and a culture that should be sustained.

But more importantly, as a former spokesman of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh said, the judgment should be used as a platform for the rebuilding process in the party to place it in good stead ahead of future polls, especially the 2019 general election.

No doubt, the judgment has once again rekindled the hope of the average Nigerian on the judiciary as the last hope of the people. In this regard, both the ruling APC and the Supreme Court should be commended for maintaining the independence of the judiciary.

The Makarfi-led team should be magnanimous in victory and ensure that the “no victor, no vanquished” mantra be sincerely implemented. Also, those who jumped ship when the future of the PDP hung in the balance should be encouraged to return and be part of the rebuilding process.

For them, the lesson should be that staying with a party should not only be when things are fine. Party supporters and those that left in the midst of the crises should bury every sentiment and rally round the party. It would be foolhardy to be lost in the celebrations and forget to learn lessons from the entire saga because this whole scenario leaves a lot of lessons for the nation’s political class, that’s if they are ready to learn.

The age long culture of imposition of candidate for elective or other offices has been at the root of many political crises across parties. One would have thought that the disastrous outing of the PDP especially at the presidential level in the 2015 polls would have taught the party a bitter lesson never to impose, but apparently they did not learn.

But if the PDP carries on as usual, then it means it has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing, and the first test of this would be during its forthcoming national convention to elect new leaders before the end of this year. Time will tell!

Agbenson is the Politics Editor, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, and sent this piece from Abuja.