Date: 2018-02-14

The Kwara state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has gone through crisis in recent years. Despite its successful congress in November 2017, the party still appears to be in the throes of crisis as it battles with insinuations that Senate President Bukola Saraki is allegedly making moves to re-join the party. BIOLA AZEEZ, writes on the intrigues and endless cracks within the Kwara PDP household.

Observers had expressed the belief that following the successful conduct of the state Congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in November 2017, the crisis bedeviling the party had taken a retreat and stakeholders had all put their hands on deck towards the forthcoming 2019 general election.

In spite of the emergence of the Iyiola Oyedepo-led executive at the November congress, however, all seems not well with the PDP in Kwara State as events before, during and after the state congress daily indicate that there are still many rivers to cross before it would get to the promised land as despite holding what looked like a united congress, the erstwhile two factions that constitute the party are yet to speak with one voice.

Discordant tunes are playing out daily, while suspicions, accusations and counter accusations have trailed moves and activities of main actors in the political family. It is the perception of executive members of the Kwara PDP that leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state are to blame for fuelling the unending crisis in the Kwara state chapter of the PDP. The allegation has been there that the leadership of the APC in Kwara is perfecting plans to influence the national leadership of the PDP for a takeover of the PDP structure in the state.

On the strength of that, it was gathered that another round of crisis has been brewing within the Kwara state chapter of the PDP. Insiders in the party said that the bone of contention this time is on the purported plan by the Iyiola Oyedepo-led faction of the party to conduct ward and local government congresses in five local government areas of the state.

Since 2015, the factions of the party, being led by Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo and Prince Sunday Fagbemi, have been at loggerheads as regards the running of the state chapter of the PDP. It will be recalled that some wards and local governments did not participate in the last state congress of the party in November 2017.

The new state chairman that emerged from the congress, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, had purportedly slated the ward/local government congresses for February 3 and 10, 2018 respectively.

A statement signed by Prince Sunday Fagbemi, the factional state PDP Publicity Secretary loyal to Alhaji Ganiyu Alawo, and made available to journalists in Ilorin, urged PDP supporters in the state not to participate in the congresses, saying that conduct of such congress by anyone now was illegal and would be null and void.

The statement, which said that some leaders of the party had met with the national secretary and some members of the national working committee of the party in Abuja last week, added that the meeting had resolved that the issue of Kwara PDP's conflicts would be reviewed.

Also speaking on the development, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo said it was not his executive members that had planned the congresses, adding that it was the responsibility of the national leadership of the party to conduct ward and local government congresses.

"It's the responsibility of the national leadership to do the congresses and it's the national leadership that is doing it. If they are aggrieved or they are against the congresses in one way or the other, they should approach the national leadership. It's not within our power in the state to stop it. It's not planned by us. If they are against it and maybe they want another date, they can approach the national leadership," he said.

The statement by the factional PDP spokesman reads: "Our attention has been drawn to the plan by the Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara state to conduct ward and local government congresses in five local government areas of Kwara State. These are the wards and local government that did not participate in the last state congress of our party. The congresses have been purportedly slated for February 3 and 10 respectively.

"We want to urge our supporters not to participate in these congresses because the conduct of such congress by anyone now is illegal and will be null and void.

"Some leaders of our party last week met with the national secretary and some members of the national working committee of our party in Abuja and the resolutions we reached at that meeting are as follows; that the issue of Kwara PDP's conflicts will be reviewed, that all pending issues concerning the party in the state should be resolved before any congress could be held, that each factions within the party should sheathe their swords to allow peace reign."

"It's on this premise that we are saying that anyone who is bent on conducting any congress at this moment will be fanning the ember of disunity among party members. We urge all PDP members in the state to remain calm but should discountenance any information concerning congresses. We are calling on the security agencies in the state to take note of this development so that there would be no breach of security in the state."

While the issue of the planned ward and local government congresses yet to be resolved, the Iyiola Oyedepo-led executive members met with the national leadership of the PDP in Abuja few days ago to intimate it of alleged plan by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, to re-join the PDP, calling on the party leaders not to allow the Senate President take over the structure of the party from the newly elected state PDP leaders.

A source in the Oyedepo-led executive, who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune in Ilorin, said that the party was aware of frantic moves by the Senate president to come back into the PDP, adding that they are prepared for him and will thwart all the efforts.

Political watchers in the state are of the opinion that the apprehension by the PDP supporters in this regard is quite understandable judging by the antecedents of such moves. The Saraki political structure, which is said to have been in existence for over 40 years, is also seen as cohesive, large and formidable in Kwara.

kwaraPrevious movements of the political structure from one political party to another had been massive, whereby the structure takes over any existing structure it met wherever it goes. However, the poser here is, which political party will shun such political structure in a situation when the structure makes move to join?

Also, a chieftain of the PDP in Kwara state, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who was one-time governorship aspirant and a senatorial candidate of the party in the state, says that the Senate President is not welcomed in the party. He also said that positions and offices in the state chapter of the party should not be conceded to the Senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki, if he re-joins the opposition party. The PDP chieftain, who said that the party did not need the Senate President to win elections in Kwara state, added that the recent local government election in the state is a testament to that. "The people of Kwara state are tired of poor service delivery, non-payment of salaries and absence of governance. Saraki constitutes an albatross that will sink our ship", he said.

"Our attention has been drawn to the misguided position of the self-serving factional chairman of PDP in Kwara state in which he is not only groveling to welcome Saraki into PDP in Kwara state but is also seeking to undemocratically concede positions and offices to him.

"The factional chairman has little understanding of the dynamics of Kwara politics today, for his information, the dynamics have changed.

PDP does not need Saraki to win elections in Kwara state. The recent local government elections in the state in which PDP won overwhelmingly is a testament to that. The people of Kwara state are tired of poor service delivery, non-payment of salaries and absence of governance. Saraki constitutes an albatross that will sink our ship.

"While the doors of the party are opened to those that want to join the party, there will be no red carpet treatment for anyone," he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara state has debunked claims in certain quarters that he or the Senate President is planning to return to the PDP, which he said they both left with some other chieftains of the party prior to the 2015 general elections.

In a statement by his media team, the governor said that he, the Senate President Bukola Saraki and other political leaders in Kwara have no reason to return to the PDP. Governor Ahmed clarified that the insinuations, which emerged from his recent interview with a newspaper, did not suggest that he was planning to leave. Rather, he was stating the conditions under which he and other political stakeholders in the state left the PDP.

The governor emphasized that he, Saraki and other governors left the PDP due to impunity, disregard for the rule of law and lack of inclusiveness in the party at the time and following extensive consultations with stakeholders and supporters.

He, therefore, declared that he, Dr. Saraki, other stakeholders and supporters are committed to the APC and have no intention to cross-carpet to the opposition PDP. The governor also urged those commenting on the matter to read the said interview properly, rather than relying on social media headlines and insinuations to draw uninformed conclusions.

Governor Ahmed also advised disgruntled elements within the legacy parties of the APC that are urging him and Senator Bukola Saraki to hasten their exit from the party to educate themselves with that interview and be appropriately informed instead of making misguided comments on issues they have no knowledge of.

He affirmed his full support for the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari and commended him for his strides in governing the country and for the unprecedented federal projects in Kwara State, which he added, were aided by the intervention of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

The governor also restated that his administration is fully committed to sustaining its ongoing fulfilment of its electoral promises to the people of Kwara across all sectors, and refuses to be distracted by uninformed commentaries and political mischief from any quarters.

Also, the APC in Kwara State has dismissed the fear expressed by the PDP that Dr. Saraki might likely take over the structure of the PDP in Kwara State as unfounded and baseless.

In a statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, the party warned the Kwara State chapter of the PDP to stop clutching to the personality and influence of the Senate President for political relevance in Kwara State.

Excerpt from the statement reads: "The party has observed that most of the times Kwara PDP has appeared in the press in recent times, the name of the Senate President has been deployed as a recurring factor. We have strong reasons and convictions to believe that it is a deliberate strategy of the PDP in order to remain relevant in politics of Kwara State.

"Meanwhile, the declaration by Kwara PDP that the party is ready to make concessions to the Senate President is needless because the Senate President has no intention to dump the APC for the PDP. Like Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed recently said, the Senate President and his political family in Kwara State have no plan to leave the All Progressives Congress.

"Therefore, the speculation registered by Kwara PDP should be disregarded by the good people of Kwara State because it lacks substance and credibility."