By Obi-Nwosu Emmanuel
It is no more news that the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA has overwhelming swept the polls in yesterday’s Governorship election, what is news to very many PDP members across Nigeria is that our great party came a distant third in the race which most of the party members erroneously boasted that PDP was going to win.
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With mouth agape, many party members are asking “what went wrong with our party in Anambra State?
It is very pertinent to provide a straight forward answer to the question; at least to assuage the agitated minds of innocent PDP members who were ignorant of the manipulation that heralded our party Ward Congresses and Primary in the State.
Just before the Ward Congresses of our great party in Anambra State, the National Caretaker Committee under the leadership of Senator Ahmed Markafi convened a Stakeholders meeting of Anambra PDP at the party Headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting which had majority of Anambra PDP Stakeholders in attendance was offered two options by the National Chairman viz;
Dissolution of all factions of the State Executive and Setting up of a State Caretaker Committee maintaining the status quo by keeping all factions of the State Executive, while allowing the South East Zonal Executive of the party to conduct the Ward Congresses and Primary.
May I state here that I and a handful of other stakeholders went for the second option while majority went for option 1
Option 1 was approved and a Caretaker committee headed by Professor ABC Nwosu was inaugurated.
The committee for the Ward Congresses was setup and had Professor Jerry Gana as Chairman. All stakeholders were very pleased with the choice of Professor Jerry Gana and we all promised to ensure the victory of PDP at the polls once the Congresses and Primary were free and transparent.
In a shocking somersault, the National Caretaker Committee under the influence of Peter Obi, Nyesom Wike and Ayodele Fayose; changed the Prof. Jerry Gana Committee and announced Wike and Fayose as the ones to conduct the Ward Congresses.
This very undemocratic and unpopular action triggered wide spread condemnation by Anambra State PDP Stakeholders. May we again put it on record that Wike and Fayose only breezed into Awka and breezed out without as much as lifting a pen and paper; not to talk of conducting Ward Congresses.
Myself; in company of the State and Local Government Marshalls of the PDP National Volunteer Front addressed a press conference in Awka where we alerted the party leadership of the manipulation that heralded the Ward Congresses and we made it abundantly clear that if the shenanigan was allowed to pass, then PDP should be prepared for a comprehensive defeat at the polls.
Not a few overzealous ignorant members of the party waved our timely warning aside, including those who never visited Anambra State before; not to talk of knowing the political interplay in the State.
The worst of all manipulations took place on the day of the Governorship primary when Peter Obi and his Cohorts forged the delegates list and imposed Dr Obaze who as at the date of the primary; was not qualified to contest party election in line with our party constitution.
To add salt to injury, Peter Obi conducted himself as a Demi god and discountenanced major PDP stakeholders in the State and made Dr Obaze’s campaign his personal business. The rest is history and it is there for naysayers to read and to hopefully learn from.
Our unbridled habitual character of imposition and impunity has once more cost us a very good opportunity to reclaim Anambra State government house.
Is there any need crying over spilled milk?
A capital no would have been the answer, except for this adage “he that fails to learn from his past errors is bound to repeat same”
The Anambra State election has come and gone, what remains is lessons to be learnt from it. What will become of PDP if we repeat the Anambra mess at the coming Convention? I will leave the naysayers to answer this poser and to undertake to bear the consequences of such outcome. May I conclude by calling on His Excellency, Senator Ahmed Markafi, to please; make history and not allow history to make him.
It is no more in the realm of speculation that our respected Party Chairman; Senator Makarfi has his eyes on the Presidency and it is very much within his right, nevertheless; a major determinant factor in his quest to clinch the party ticket for Presidency will be how he handles the December Convention.
Will he make history by conducting a free and transparent Convention devoid of any form of manipulation or will he again listen to the same people who have consistently brought misfortune to our party (the Modu Sherrif case is still fresh in our minds); and then lost all credibility he has earned over the years?
As a very intelligent and wise man we know him to be; we are convinced that he will make history and redeem the battered image of our great party by proving to Nigerians that this PDP is now Born Again. *Imposition of candidates in the coming Convention will surely result in worse humiliation to us than what just happened in Anambra State.
