There
are indications that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party may, after all
do away with its age long tradition of conducting primaries for all
elective positions and, instead; endorse the incumbent president and
incumbent governors seeking re-election as its flag bearers in the
forthcoming 2015 elections.
The chairman of the party’s Board of
Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, gave the hint when he spoke late
Thursday night at a forum tagged PDP Family Dinner held for the party
stalwarts at the Banquet Hall of the State Hose, Abuja.
But in a
swift reaction, the Arewa Consultative Forum said it would amount to a
mockery of democracy if
the ruling party decides not to conduct
primaries for some elective positions for the 2015 polls.
According
to Anenih, sharp divisions over the outcome of primaries in the past
have created serious problem for the party and its members.
Big
wigs of the PDP had converged in Abuja to wine and dine in an attempt to
revive the party, which in recent times have been battling with
internal wrangling.
Seeking the legitimisation of his opinion on the
jettisoning of primaries, the BOT Chair said the party must evolve a new
system of producing "our flag bearers that will preserve our unity and
the President and governors seeking second term should be given
automatic tickets."
Anenih also told participants that the
current situation whereby two of the party members are laying claims to
the leadership of the Nigerian Governors Forum was unacceptable and must
be addressed urgently.
Anenih, who said the survival of the
party hung on the balance, noted: "Having two chairmen in the Nigerian
Governors Forum and both of them are PDP members is embarrassing and
must be addressed. We cannot preside over a divided house and I urged
the PDP leadership to step in and address the situation."
But the
chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, followed a different path
by openly declaring that Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau was the new
chairman of the NGF. Jang later led 14 of the governors to a meeting
with President Jonathan yesterday morning.
Jang, who insisted that he
was the legitimate chairman of the NGF, told journalists after the
Friday meeting that the governors met the president to felicitate with
him on his achievements after two years in office and discussed the
security challenges in the country.
President Goodluck Jonathan,
who spoke last at the dinner, in the early hours of yesterday, also
posited that controversies in politics was a healthy development that
strengthen affiliations, stressing that criticism of the ruling party by
the opposition political parties should not cause it any worry.
The
president said: "if opposition keeps holding meeting then you should
smile; if they don't you should be uncomfortable. If the opposition
abuses the President you should sleep well; if they don't you should be
worried.
"PDP is not built on the platform of conspiracy. We
don't believe in conspiracy. We must continue to unite. Sometimes family
members disagree; why we continue to win at elections is because we
have a way of settling our differences at the 11th hour. We must
continue to work together and resolve our differences; then we will
continue to win elections."
The spokesman of the ACF, Anthony
Sani, said the proposal by the PDP to give incumbents automatic tickets
in 2015 would be against the Electoral Act, which prescribes internal
democracy in the political parties.
According to him, the Act
prescribes that even if there is only one candidate for a position, the
members of the party must vote "yes or no".
