Politics
PDP And Reward For The South- South
Some of the delicate issues that the main opposition party in the country, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will have to wisely resolve as it makes efforts to dethrone the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming 2023 general election came to the fore earlier this week.
The first one came on Monday from Uyo, capital of Akwa Ibom State, where the South-South stakeholders of the PDP held their meeting.
Addressing the august gathering, the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, was reported to have demanded a just, fair and equitable treatment that is commensurate with the South-South geo-political zone’s contributions to the survival, sustenance, stability and considerable success of the party as it distributes positions, and dispenses favours in the run-up to the 2023 election season.
“ The South-South is the pillar of the PDP. If the South-South is the pillar of the PDP, they must be treated with fairness, justice and equity. It is not only when it comes to work, it is not only when it comes to giving votes that we will all remember that the South-South is the pillar. When it also comes to sharing dividends of democracy, they should remember that this is the pillar of the party, ’ ’Governor Wike was quoted to have said.
To this end, the report said Governor Wike charged his counterpart governors, national and state legislators and other critical stakeholders in the zone to close ranks and be united in purpose towards achieving success for the party in the coming polls.
Just the following day, Tuesday, March 21, 2022, the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, in what some have interpreted as a direct reaction to the demand by Governor Wike, was quoted to have said that the South-South is not in a position to win the Presidency for the PDP.
According to reports, Tambuwal made the assertion when he met with former presiding officrs of state Houses of Assembly and the House of Representatives in Abuja in the course of his consultation with stakeholder groups ahead of his official declaration to run for the office of President in 2023.
When emphasising the need for the party to work towards winning the elections, especially the presidency, Tambuwal is reported to have said that’ ‘‘Yes, we can share tickets and everybody can take his piece and go to his zone but you must plan to win the election. That’s the reality of it.
“ So, we must accept these realities as a party and work with these realities to win the election. After that, we can now say okay, let’s share power. Win the election first. Don’t win zoning! Win the election and then we’ll come and share power.’’
He is quoted to have requested the PDP to be strategic in its quest for upstaging the APC at the centre by jettisoning its zoning arrangement, especially as it affects the number one political office of the land, expressing the view that because the APC has ceded its presidential ticket to the southern part of the country, the PDP should go the opposite direction to stand a strong chance.
Reacting to the development, some members of the PDP in Port Harcourt told The Tide that the stance of the Sokoto State governor was not only insensitive but selfish and self-servicing and does not encourage sacrifice, loyalty, faithfulness and commitment to the party. “The statement of the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, is completely out of place,” Barr. Chimenem Wodi said, adding that the position of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives was aimed at furthering his personal interest as an aspirant for the ticket of the party.
He said in the history of elections in the country, the South-South had never been undermined and the North could not win any election in Nigeria without support from the South-South, pointing out that even in 2015, the APC had substantial assistance from South-South to emerge victorious.
While dismissing Tambuwal as one that is only testing the water, the PDP stalwart in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State said he could not be taken in by Tambuwal’s argument even viewed against the background that since former President Goodluck Jonathan only just left the office in 2015, it may be difficult to make Nigeria accept another person from the region so soon.
He said the fact that Jonathan spent only six years in office should make other regions concede the position to the South-South for it to be considered as having fully taken his share.
More than this, the party faithful emphasised that the only fitting position for the South-South region of the PDP, going into the 2023 general elections is the presidential ticket of the party, insisting that nothing short of that would adequately compensate the region for what it has given to keep the party alive and well.
“ After they lost power in 2015, the PDP was headed towards oblivion and we saw a lot of discordant and discomfiting rumblings at the national level.
“ In fact, at that time, we never heard about some of the “mighty men’ that are now parading themselves as presidential aspirants.
The likes of Atiku Abubakar, at some point, were not in the picture. However, one person stood out and became the rallying point towards the resuscitation of the party. The South-South region became a Mecca of sort and all the mighty men’ were trooping here for strength.
“ For instance, we saw the Governor of Rivers State taking it upon himself the burden to resolve all the major rifts in the party. The South-South clearly took the lead and the initiative to give the party a change to live.
“ I think it is on the strength of this that Governor Wike is saying that we should be rewarded according to what we have done for the party and you can not fault him on that,’’ he said.
“What would be a fair deal is for the South-South to be compensated with the presidential ticket of the party while other offices should be shared in a way that will give every other region a sense of belonging and inclusion so that the PDP can return to power and rescue Nigeria and Nigerians from the misrule of the APC,’’ he submitted.
In his reaction, Mr Reuben Izu (Jnr) said Tambuwal’s statement should not be taken seriously because any credible Nigerian from any part of the country can be President if he or she enjoys the overwhelming support of a political party that has the spread, presence and confidence of the majority of the voting population.
“ If he says that no one from the South-South can win, I can tell him as well that no one from any other part of the country can win.
Irrespective of where a candidate comes from, with support from other regions, he can win,’’ he said, adding that he will agree with the Sokoto State chief executive if his argument is that zoning the slot to any particular region may hamper the chances of the party to win without proper planning.
“ It is unfortunate that he had to single out the South-South for mention but there is no denying the fact that majority opinion within the party is that the presidential ticket of the PDP should be ceded to the Southern part of the country. And in the light of that, I will strongly advise that the party heeds the majority view while the choice of which part of the South the candidate should emerge from be left for the Southern caucuso determine based on where they could get the most credible, capable and acceptable candidate,’’ he argued.
According to the Ahoada West Local Government Area-born politician, Governor Wike did not exaggerate when he intoned that the power base of the PDP is the South and the strength of the party in the South is the South-South. Zoning the presidential ticket to the South- South therefore will not be a bad idea’’.
He expressed the confidence that the current seemingly divergent positions being canvassed by chieftains of the PDP on the subject matter is not sufficient to shift their focus on the ultimate goal of winning the presidential election next year, adding that ‘‘the fact Nigerians want the PDP back in power is obvious for the blind to see and loud enough for the deaf to hear.’’
He said, “A man who chased away his wife and took another in but realised soon after that the second is not as good as the first would readily and hurriedly go and take back his first wife with apologies. That is the situation in Nigeria,’’ stressing that all that is needed for the PDP to climb back to power is ‘‘to make Nigerians understand that we are coming with sincerity and determination to effect a positive change in their currently deplorable socio-economic conditions. Right now, we are asking Nigerians to give us a second chance so that we can correct the mistakes of the past.’’
With heavyweights like Atiku Abubakar already bought their interest and nomination forms and officially and publicly posted their ambitions, the PDP does not appear likely to come out with an effective zoning arrangement.
However, it will not be too difficult for the party to avoid an implosion and forge a commiment for the most coveted political seat in the country in 2023.
By: Opaka Dokubo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”