PDP Takes Another Chance

WHERE is the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, heading?It is doubtful if
the PDP, any side of it, knows. The matters are complicated, so
complicated that the intentions of its members are unknown. In
analysing theconfusion that PDP is throwing into the polity, it is
important that we consider the size of PDP and its pervading
influences.
It is equally important that we note that the insistence of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, that the PDP follows
the provisions of the party in electing its national executives, is
responsible for most of the recent slide that hit PDP. Other interests
have fed on this to unleash anger at the party leadership.
Hardly any PDP leadership has gone through the challenges Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur as chairman has faced. Members oppose him. Back home in
Adamawa State, the party is fractious. The State chapter could be
among those that would be in Abuja with different delegates for the
party's special convention.
Tomorrow's convention, would attend to the circuitous crisis that
imposition of candidates has bred. Should PDP not be moving away from
such undemocratic practices that exclude the ambitions of other party
members? Why would a democratic party shun internal democracy in its
operations?
Imposition of candidates under whatever guise is undemocratic. PDP is
not the only party involved in thispractice, but with its stature as
the leading party its examples are important.
After several failed attempts to have the convention to fill vacancies
in the executive, there are still fears that the affair may not
proceed smoothly. The stakes are heightened by the fast approaching
2015 elections. Thecontentions are for vital positions from which to
influence party decisions.
The public's concern in these matters is the distraction that the
tussles in PDP provide. They affect non-partymembers too. With the
number of States PDP controls,and its dominance at the centre,
resources, including time, the importance of which is often
undervalued, are expended in resolving one party issue or the other.
State governors have spent too much time in Abuja thisyear attending
to endless party crises or the other. Governance is suffering.
Those who expect that the wrangling would tear PDP apart do not
appreciate the allure of power which PDP holds for most contestants
for office. PDP would not break up from its disagreements. The central
interest inPDP is access to power. It is an aspiration too important
for such interests to leave the party.
Internal party democracy is important to growth of democracy. INEC
should be commended for insisting on it with PDP. It should extend the
requirement to the shrouded operations of the other political parties