The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State has consistently been in the news for the wrong reason. Crisis thrown up by the struggle for the control of the party by two retired generals, Lt. General Jeremiah Useni and Air Commodore David Jonah Jang, has balkanised the party into two rival factions.
The crisis which became more manifest during the run up to the 2019 general elections has festered and continues to defy all reconciliation efforts initiated by the state’s chapter of the party and its national headquarters.
On Thursday, June 10, 2021, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party approved the dissolution of the State Executive Committee (SEC), thereby terminating the tenure of Chris Adukuchili Hassan’s chairmanship.
The NWC also appointed a caretaker committee headed by Senator Tunde Ogbeha with Patrick Ogbu as secretary to oversee the affairs of the party for a period of not more than 90 days with effect from June 10.
Other members of the committee are Kunsi Ndayako, Michael Dapianlong, Pam Davou, Emmanuel Go’ar, Istifanus Mwansat, Ishaku Chuntai, Jacob Adikaba, Akims James and Gregory Yenlong.
‘Controversial’ congress
The Hassan-led SEC emerged in August, 2020, from a congress that saw many candidates contesting for various positions boycotting the exercise.
Hassan was then the Commissioner for Works under the then Governor Jonah Jang and an arrow head of his (Jang) faction. In fact, he was a factional chairman following the discontent which consumed the then Chairman of the party, Damishi Sango, and his Deputy, Amos Gombi Gogol.
Hassan’s emergence through what his opponents tagged “backdoor congress” exacerbated the crisis and stretched the party to elastic limit. Observers queried the speed with which the Senator Suleiman Adokwe caretaker committee and the State Congress Committee headed by Major General Amnon Kalayi Kwaskebe (Rtd) organised the congress and handed over the chairmanship seat to Hassan despite the myriad of litigations by aggrieved members.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE further reports that the Senator Adokwe committee emerged after a failed attempt by the national headquarters to extend the tenure of the Yakubu Chocho caretaker committee. With Benue’s Governor Samuel Ortom’s intervention on August 19, 2020, in Abuja, it was agreed that a new State Caretaker Committee be constituted to review the litany of litigations that trailed Choco’s regime.
The national secretariat, on August 26, 2020, announced the constitution of the Adokwe-led committee to oversee the party for a period not exceeding 90 days. The committee was mandated to resolve the discontents which led to cracks in the party ahead of the congress.
The caretaker committee assumed duty on August 27, 2020, but failed to entertain the petitions on ground and went ahead to prepare for the congress despite a court judgement restraining the party from conducting such exercise until a congress was conducted in Jos North LGA.
Two members of the committee, Prof Dimis Mailafiya and Jacob Dashe, resigned in protest, but the Adokwe committee and the congress committee hastily conducted the exercise amid protests and boycotts by some party members and contestants.
The development threw up credibility issues and exacerbated the lingering crisis, with Senator Useni’s camp rejecting the outcome, describing the exercise as “crass illegality”.
Senator Useni said the development was an affront on democracy, but appealed to the aggrieved members to remain calm, noting that the committee dashed the hope of stakeholders who had expected equity and justice to prevail by its action, while warning that the development would further polarise the party in the state.
Senator Jang on the hand congratulated the new exco and applauded the NWC and electoral committee for the successful conduct of the exercise.
However, as warned by Senator Useni, the crisis deepened; with Bitrus Kaze, a former Member of the House of Representatives, who was one of the leading aspirants for the PDP chairmanship position, leading a splinter group.
The faction got “justice” later when a high court, ruling on an earlier case filed by Kaze against the renewal of Choco’s caretaker committee, set aside the congress which it described as a “sham and unacceptable” while ordering a fresh one.
Thereafter, series of reconciliation moves were made to keep Hassan on his seat until the national secretariat dissolved the SEC to pave way for a fresh congress.
Rough road for Ogbeha committee
Our correspondent reports that the 11-member State Caretaker Committee led by Ogbeha has since resumed in Jos for its assignment, which analysts say will be a herculean one; especially that the crisis has been allowed to fester.
Already, there were discordant tunes over the dissolution of the Hassan-led SEC between the two warring groups. While the Useni group hailed the move as a “welcome development”, the Jang faction expressed skepticism on the committee’s mandate, which it said did not include ward/ LGA congresses.
Kaze who commended the NWC for the gesture, said it was consistent with the recommendations of the Governor Ortom committee in their interaction with Plateau PDP stakeholders in August, 2020.
Kaze explained that, “They recommended that credible party faithful who are neutral be appointed as State Caretaker Committee to look into all grievances and litigations affecting the wards, LGAs and the state chapter of the party to pave way for a valid state congress.”
He noted that until the injustice perpetrated at the ward and local government levels was addressed, the struggle was far from over.
However, the Jang group said the reference to the ward/LGA congresses by the Useni faction amounted to taking party members for granted.
A former Legal Adviser of the party and member of the Jang faction, Binchen Jangtur, noted that, “We want to reiterate and make it very clear that the ward/ LGA congresses were not part of the resolutions adopted at the last Abuja meeting.”
These developments have made analysts to fear that the ward/LGA congresses brouhaha is a knotty and intricate issue that may hurt the impending peace process if not well handled by the committee.
However, it seems to be the alibi which the Useni group may hold onto, especially that it is a key prayer in the suit by Kaze which Justice PS Gang granted in the judgement dissolving the congress.
