As politicians loyal to Ali Modu-Sheriff lick their wounds following the July 12 Supreme Court verdict which unanimously declared Ahmed Makarfi as the authentic national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), some PDP senators may as well kiss goodbye to re-election in 2019 under the party’s platform.
This is due to their support for Sheriff while the 14-month-old leadership crisis lasted.
The senators who left the Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee in the lurch and threw their weight behind Sheriff include: Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, Hope Uzodinma (PDP, Imo State); his counterpart in Privatisation Committee, Ben Murray-Bruce (PDP, Bayelsa State) as well as Buruji Kashamu (PDP, Ogun State).
All three senators failed to follow the path of their colleagues in the PDP Senate Caucus which recognised Makarfi as the authentic national chairman of the party.
It is an open secret that Uzodinma and Kashamu gave Ali Modu-Sheriff, the immediate past chairman of the party, financial support to prosecute the battle against Makarfi. At the beginning of the crisis in May 2016, the two federal lawmakers reportedly made overtures to Makarfi for them to be given control of structures of the party in their respective states, which was turned down. But when they received Sheriff’s commitment on the matter, the duo not only hobnobbed with him but also led separate delegations to pledge allegiance to him.
However, the factions loyal to former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel and former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha (who hails from Imo State), were constant as the Northern Star in their loyalty to Makarfi.
Herein lies the dilemma for the opposition party: deny the two moneybags politicians return tickets for the 2019 polls and risk being starved of funds to prosecute the next general elections in the two states.
For Murray-Bruce, he entered the black book of the Makarfi-led Committee after he diplomatically threw his weight behind Sheriff in February 2017 following the Appeal Court verdict which recognised him as National Chairman.
I have always maintained on this column on the need for political actors to guard their utterances because this could be used against them when the chips are down. The current face-off between the Senate and Executive was aggravated by a comment credited to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to the effect that some appointments from the President did not need Senate confirmation. Now the upper legislative chamber vowed that requests from the Presidency would not be considered until the Acting President withdraws that statement.
The same dilemma is being faced by ‘Mr. Common Sense’, as the Anti-Makarfi comments he made are being used against him. In February this year after the Appeal Court verdict favoured Sheriff, the showbiz icon-turned politician had urged the Makarfi faction to accept the judgment, even when the National Caretaker Committee had indicated interest to contest the judgment at the apex court.
“My position is not about Sheriff but about the overall interest of our party- the PDP- and I make no pretensions about it. It is about the future and interest of our party. We have been in crisis for about two years now and we have been fighting each other and we don’t have a leadership for the party. We have lost four senators to the opposition.
“They have defected to the APC and we cannot declare their seats vacant because they cite the current crisis in the PDP as the basis for their defection. My position, therefore, is to preserve the party from destruction,” he had said.
As it later turned out, the Supreme Court upturned the judgment of the Appeal Court.
Reading the handwriting on the wall, one of the aides to the embattled lawmaker reliably informed me that his boss would not seek re-election on grounds that “The coast is not clear”.
Unlike Kashamu and Uzodinma, Bruce has PDP Governor, Seriake Dickson, who would have come to his rescue. Unfortunately, the Bayelsa State Governor who chaired the dissolved Ad-hoc Peace and Reconciliation Committee is seeking a soft-landing from the Makarfi-led Committee for his support for Sheriff during the crisis.
Although the National Chairman, in his victory speech, had declared that there was “no victor and no vanquished” as former Head of State Yakubu Gowon pronounced after the Nigerian Civil War, events last week indicated that it was a mere political statement, as the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) mandated the panel to set up a Standing Disciplinary Committee to sanction erring members. NEC is the second highest decision-making organ of the party.
The revalidation of the Makarfi-led executive has also reshaped new permutations on the 2019 elections. For instance, campaign posters of the immediate past Senate President David Mark (PDP, Benue State) have flooded social media, even as speculations are rife that All Progressives Congress (APC) senators like Senate President Bukola Saraki and Rabiu Kwankwaso may return to PDP on account of what his associates allege as their ‘persecution’ in the hands of the ruling party.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Senate will embark on six-week recess this week. But it will have its hands full, as Saraki is expected to announce reshuffling of committees, read a letter from Acting President Yemi Osinbajo seeking approval for virement of N136 billion. The Red Chamber is also expected to adopt clause-by-clause consideration of amended items in the 1999 Constitution for onward transmission to 36 State Houses of Assembly for adoption as well as Second Reading of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency (Establishment etc) Bill, which seeks to ensure that Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) is independent and autonomous of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
