AN END

But like the saying goes you cannot teach an old dog a new triek. The party leadership who enjoys the leverage of excessive use of arbitrary powers has become too used to this game and would not let go easily. The first attempts by members of the rebel group to wrestle away control of the party from state governors failed because their submission on how to promote the culture of internal democracy in the party, known as the reform agenda never saw the light of the day. The reform group led by former Senate President Ken Nnamani and former Speaker Aminu Bcllo Masari, earlier presented the report to the PDP National Working Committee at the behest of the presidency in whieh it demanded democratization of the party’s mode of selecting delegates and candidates. This proposal would have whittled down what it called the overbearing influence that state governors have on the emergence of the party’s flag bearers at all levels. The party leadership declined all overtures, their reason for opposing any discussion of the memo, they claimed, was because the PDP Constitution prohibits grouping within the party and therefore any submission by sueh a group must not be considered. This position was upheld despite protest from members of the reformist group and the memo was discarded. The hard stanee maintained by the reform group has begun to tell on the image of the party and the members of the public had serious doubts on the party’s readiness to embrace holistic reforms being championed by the Rebel Reformists. It was against that baekdrop that the presidency had to summon a reconciliation meeting between the Leadership and the Rebel PDP reform forum. The efTort to persuade both sides to sheath their swords gained partial success as the Presidency requested the Party Leadership to lift the suspension order earlier slammed on the group while on their part the Reformists were asked to withdraw the court case they instituted against the party and reduce their level of criticism of the party. Whether the aftermath of the entire rcconciliatory process is capablc of returning the party to the honourable path of practicing internal democracy is actually a matter of conjecture but the only true outcome of the entire course of action is the remov al of the former chairman Prince Vincent Ogbulafor and his replacement with a candidate reputed to be more of a pro president Jonathan man. The real question is if the aftermath of the reformists’ efforts has delivered the goods of internal democracy to the party the answer is an apparent NO as most members of the PDP reform group are still in splinter groups far from the party’s mainstream where they continue to serve as internal opposition members or have become totally disgruntled and have decided to align with one opposition party or alliance outside the party. This is a clear indication that the problem is not over as there are clear indications from the first days of the Prince Nwodo administration’s activity that the party will be plunged into another bout of more serious altercation when the chairman shortly after being sworn in announced the demise of the much touted zoning issue ostensibly to favour his benefactor, the incumbent president whose ambition was highly threatened by the zoning debate at the time of ascension. The position taken by the chairman was not bereft of its attendant consequences which resulted in a series of grouping, alliances for and against the zoning. The battle unfortunately has taken a very dangerous and volatile dimension with the party breaking into too many ranks and files, all working against each other. It doesn’t look as if the last has been heard neither does it look as if the reformist will run out of steam with the realization that their only opportunity for relevance is for the party to allow unhindered allowance for internal democracy to take root in the party through this popular advocacy.

A N A M BRA S T A T E G U B E R N ATO RIA L 1) E E E AT; First electoral consequence of dissent

The defeat suffered by PDP in the Anambra election early this year, February to be precise is enough indication of how opposition parties ean benefit from internal dissent in a rival or dominant party. Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo was scandalously imposed as the flag bearer of the party for the February election against the rules of the party .This led to serious disagreement and incongruity within the party .The aggrieved members secured a court injunction to the effect that Soludo should stop parading himself as the flag bearer of the party. While the crisis lasted, the opposition parties were busy selling themselves and their programmes to the electorates. Before Soludo could overcome the debilitating effect of his court case, political permutations had shifted in favour of the opposition .The Anambra electorate and the general public in consonance with the position advocated by the disgruntled element within the PDP in the aftermath of the undemocratic application of the strong arm tactics and arbitrary imposition of a candidate which have become a major feature in PDP practice content also reacted. When the election held and result was declared the PDP candidate. Professor Charles Soludo found himself in an