Oyinlola’s suspension and the embers of discord

[Mirror]

The crisis rocking the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took another dimension on Monday as its National Working Committ ee (NWC) announced the suspension of four members of the new PDP (nPDP).

Those suspended according to PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, were the national chairman of the new PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje; the deputy national chairman, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja; former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and the national vice-chairman (North West), Alhaji Ibrahim Kazaure.

Speaking during a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Metuh said that the suspension was long overdue but that the party leadership had tarried because it did not want to been seen as being hasty in taking disciplinary action against its members.

His words: "The National Working Committee, in line with the provision of the constitution, has after the preliminary hearings as stated in our constitution, suspended forthwith from the PDP, the following: Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure. "The suspension of these four members of the National Executive Committee, because of their past positions in the party and present, is for the breach of Sections 58 (1), b, g, h and I.

"The party has decided to suspend these individuals because they have engaged in acts that are inimical to the provisions of our constitution. We have witnessed an attempt at political identity theft, where some unknown people, our brothers who are aggrieved, will collude with some known individuals to attempt an identity theft."

The PDP spokesperson also said that the four suspended members of the party are to be referred to the party's Umaru Dikko-led National Disciplinary Committee (NDC), inaugurated two weeks ago by the national chairman, Bamanga Tukur, for further investigation.

In a swift reaction to suspension of its members, the new PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, described the suspension order as an abuse of the judiciary and the Nigerian constitution on fair hearing. He said the suspension is an abuse of the Nigerian constitution and abuse of the judiciary which recently reinstated Oyinlola as the national secretary of the party.

His words: "The suspension is in flagrant abuse of the PDP Constitution Article 57 subsections 7 and 8 which states that 'Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution relating to discipline, no executive committee at any level except NEC shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the NEC, public office holder i.e. Ministers, Ambassadors, Special advisers or any member of the Legislative Houses.

"No disciplinary committee at any level except National Disciplinary Committee shall impose any punishment provided under Article 57 of the Constitution arising from any disciplinary action on any person named in Article 57 of this Constitution.

"With this sections of our constitution and considering that Prince Oyinlola, by his position as the incumbent National Secretary of PDP as stated by the Appeal Court and considering the privileged positions both Kawu Baraje, Sam Jaja and Ambassador Kazaure have occupied in the party, it becomes imperative and a sacrosanct fact that only the NEC of the party and not any funny NWC can suspend such calibre of members of the party as mentioned above therein."

Condemning the suspension, the nPDP spokesman noted that: "This illegal act exposes Tukur and his NWC as lacking not only democratic character but lack common understanding of the PDP constitution. To us, this is an abuse of the judiciary which recently reinstated Oyinlola as the National Secretary of the party, abuse of the Nigerian Constitution on fair hearing and most importantly exposing the intolerant attitude of Tukur and his sponsors.

"Finally, this uncivilised act and action is not acceptable to us as we insist that Oyinlola must be reinstated as a matter of urgency as ordered by the Appeal Court as the National Secretary of PDP.

In this regard, we urge INEC and any other government agency not to entertain any document or letter from PDP without the authorisation of Oyinlola in view of the fact that he is the incumbent National Secretary of PDP fully recognised and sanctioned by a creditable court of our country.

"We urge all good members of PDP to remain calm, steadfast and focussed as we fight the illegality which Tukur and his people represent as the task to strengthen and rebuild our party, a task that we must conclude." Oyinlola, in his reaction to the suspension said that: "This is part of the impunity we are protesting against.

None of us has been queried or requested to give explanations for any alleged offence. And if they are reacting to the issue of the new PDP, why did they decide to leave out the serving state governors, senators and members of the House of Representatives, who have been very vocal? It's all an attempt to circumvent the ruling of the Court of Appeal.

"Certainly, the last has not been heard about this matter and I am sure that truth will prevail over falsehood.'' Irrespective of the reasons given by the PDP for the suspension of the four key members of the nPDP, many people are of the view that the suspension is a direct attack on the Baraje-led new PDP and a move by the Bamangar Tukur-led PDP to circumvent the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which ordered the immediate reinstatement of Oyinlola as PDP National Secretary.

To many political observers, the refusal of the PDP NWC to suspend the G-7 governors and other prominent leaders of the new PDP, is a pointer that the suspension of Baraje, Oyinlola and two others was a move by the Tukur-led PDP to checkmate Oyinlola from assuming the position of the party's Secretary as ordered by the appellate court. Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, for instance believes that the suspension is an attempt by the Tukur-led PDP to ensure that peace eludes the party.

"Tukur and his funny NWC have only succeeded in exposing themselves not only as champion of undemocratic acts but the greatest enemies of PDP as all their actions are all geared at ensuring that peace eludes the party," he said.

A PDP chieftain, Chief Taiwo Kuye, however saw it in another light. According to him, the suspension of the four members of the nPDP will strengthen the PDP and give them opportunity to forge ahead without any distraction. His words: "The suspension of Oyinlola and three others will strengthen the party the more.

They are already on their way out of the party because with the suspension their commitment to divide the party has failed. Once they go, the party will have the opportunity to forge ahead without any distraction."

The nPDP led by Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje broke away from the PDP during the party's August 31 Special National Convention in Abuja. The membership of the breakaway faction includes former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the G-7 governors; Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), members of the National Assembly, among others, who are disgruntled with Tukur-led PDP. Since the formation of the nPDP, both factions have been at loggerhead over the structure of the ruling party.

In the last few months several efforts have been put in place by President Goodluck Jonathan, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and many other founding fathers of the PDP, but the moves seem not to have yielded any fruit as both factions refused to sheath their swords. While both groups were still flexing their muscles, a Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja last Wednesday ordered the reinstatement of Oyinlola as PDP National Secretary.

The appellate court ruling generated lots of confusion between the party leaders on the effect of Oyinlola's reinstatement. The threat by the nPDP that it would ensure that the reinstatement order was carried out also generated some heat over the court verdict. While some people have thought that the reinstatement of Oyinlola as Secretary would create a platform for reconciliation of the two factions, others believe that it would be dangerous to the Tukur-led faction, considering the recent romance of some leaders of nPDP with the leading opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC). Considering several moves against the New PDP and alleged witch-hunting of its members by the presidency and PDP leadership through security agents and federal government agencies, some people believe that the suspension of Baraje, Oyinlola and two others is a deliberate plan to prevent Oyinlola from being reinstated as PDP National Secretary.

To political analysts, the suspension of four key leaders of nPDP would generate more crises within the ruling party as it may build or mar PDP, especially in their quest to put an end to the crises in the party, which seem to be creating a cracking wall for the opposition to penetrate.

In the last few weeks, the opposition leaders led by APC national chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and former Head of State, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, have visited some of the G-7 governors to woo them into joining APC. Though some of the visited governors told the APC leaders that they were not prepared to leave the PDP for now until they were told to do so.

Those in the know believe that some of them were just playing pranks as their soul was already in APC, with only their body in the PDP. Head or tail, the suspension of the four members of the New PDP is going to affect the turn of events in the ruling party as those factions are strategising to ensure that they outsmart each other in the battle for the soul of PDP.

The question on the lips of many people is who blinks first between the two factions? Political observers can't wait to see who, at the end of the day, outsmarts the other.