With the surprise emergence of Prince Vincent Ogbulafor as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the party’s convention last week, opinions have been divided as to who among the contending forces in the run-up to the convention has eventually carried the day.

The candidacy of Ogbulafor, a complete dark horse, had received the blessing of the PDP governors over and above those of more popular contenders like ex-Gov. Sam Egwu and Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.

Although former President and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had done everything to sell his choice candidate, Egwu, to the PDP kingmakers, the governors had stuck to their gun that neither the former governor nor his chief opponent, Anyim, would succeed the departing Amadu Ali.
With each of the contending camps within the party claiming victory with the emergence of Ogbulafor, neutral elements in the party believe rather than victory for any parochial interests, the development is a victory for the party as a whole.

Senator Smart Adeyemi said nobody should lay exclusive claim to Ogbulafor because he succeeded in the first place because he did not belong to any camp. He said both Anyim and Egwu were rejected because they were perceived as controversial candidates.
Besides, he said it would be wrong to describe it as a victory for President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua because the president never supported any candidate.
“He emerged as PDP chairman by the grace of his antecedents, he was not in the reckoning at all. It was a case of antecedent meets opportunity. His name only came up about 96 hours to the convention, and immediately things started taking shape in his favour,” Adeyemi said.

Describing the new PDP chairman as a very intelligent individual, Adeyemi hinted that Ogbulafor’s independent mindedness evident in his refusal not to compromise during the third term saga might have worked in his favour during the convention.
“Therefore, let nobody claim exclusive credit for this chairmanship victory. For sure, I know that President Yar’Adua did not support any candidate. In fact, I was in a meeting where he said, as far as he was concerned, he could work with anybody as long as his execute responsibilities would not be interfered with, and that he would allow any party official and lawmakers the free hand to do their work. So the President did not influence the convention,” the senator said.

Furthermore, he said, members of the National Assembly wanted a chairman who would not be under the control of any individual “and they knew that Ogbulafor would never operate under the shadow or fear of any god-father, so whoever claims taking the credit for Ogbulafor being chairman is not speaking the truth.”
Another PDP lawmaker, Senator Lee Maeba agreed with Adeyemi. Although a child 0f accident, he said, Ogbulafor is essentially “a child of unanimity.”

But an elder of the party in the Federal Capital Territory, Emmanuel Ogbulogor, said the emergence of Ogbulafor was a divine intervention by God to restore peace and stability in the party. Although Ogbulogor said Ogbulafor might not be the best of the candidates, he has what it takes to forestall a possible disintegration of the party

Senator Umaru Dahiru said Ogbulafor’s choice was a blessing in disguise since it ensured that neither of the two warring camps succeeded in taking over the party.
“In order to save an otherwise rancorous situation, the choice of Ogbulafor has come as a blessing to us. Don’t forget that some leaders would have been rubbished if an election had been conducted, so they also supported Ogbulafor who is not only seen to be neutral but also a ready-made for the job,” he said.

However, Senator Bala Kaura of the rival All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) said the process that produced Ogbulafor spelt doom for Nigeria’s democracy, besides that the new PDP henchman might be working in concert with Obasanjo who had earlier handpicked him as the secretary of the party.
“Whether Vincent Ogbulafor is a child of accident or that of anybody’s choice, it is not important, but the fact that he emerged after the PDP convention is what we should take into cognisance and what the circumstance of his choice portends to Nigeria as a political entity,” he said.

Essentially, he said, what happened was not an election “and this kind of trend in politics where due process and the character and characteristics, form and content of primaries for political dispensation have been thwarted in order to arrive at a candidate of consensus does not speak well for Nigeria.”
According to him, such process spells doom “because the other parties have seen in PDP the coming together of warlords … the coming together of interest groups whose identities and personalities were intricately tied together only to do anything no matter how sham it might be, just to survive.”

Senator Kaura said the consensus arrangement represented treachery and mischief, because it did not portray the PDP as a democratic party that could give level-playing field to candidates of repute to show their popularity. “I believe Senator Pius Anyim would have emerged if there was any election, but we can see that his aspiration and desire of those who represent morality, candour, growth and development of Nigeria have been thwarted by imposing a consensus candidate.”
He expressed the hope that his own party would not borrow from “this kind of sham and unwholesome political development, just because of the interest of the few, against the hope and aspirations of majority of our party members.”

Hon Leo Ogor, a three-term member of the House of Representatives representing Isoko North/Isoko South Federal Constituency does not see Ogbulafor’s emergence as a victory for any camp. According to him, the new chairman is the man PDP yearned for to take it to the next level.
Ogor argued that Ogbulafor is prepared for the job, and his antecedents as a democrat well known.
The legislators explained that with his emergence the issue of camps or factions within the PDP had become a non-issue. He explained that camps were bound to emerge in any contest or election of officials in a democratic setting.

“I do not see the emergence of Ogbulafor a victory for anybody or camp. The issue is that we are still together as one big family, one political party.
“We must understand that camps or factions which emerged as part of the process for the election of the party officials is democracy in action, somebody will win at the end of the day. Camps or no camps are no longer the issue. We must appreciate the fact that at the end of the day the wish of the party for a consensus candidate was actualised, that is the beauty of democracy. What has happened is in the greater interest of the party

“No, the issue of Ogbulafor being hijacked does not arise, Ogbulafor is a good democrat. W know his antecedents, besides the PDP is greater than any interest.
‘What the party should be concerned now is how its policy of rule of law, due process and how to deliver the dividends of democracy are achieved, and we believe that Ogbulafor would do all within his power to ensure the party achieves this.
“The issue of camps is no longer of consequence, that it existed before is part of the democratic process, but now all camps stands dissolved, and I believe Ogbulafor has what it takes to take the party to the level of amazing grace”

Hon Tony Anyanwu, former member of the House of Representatives and an aspirant for the PDP National Chairmanship sees the emergence of Ogbulafor as the PDP National Chairman as a victory for the PDP as it would herald the reconciliation of aggrieved members of the party. According to him, Ogbulafor is a centrist who would not be easily hijacked by the extreme factions in the parties, but would rather weld them together.

“I regard the PDP as the winner in the emergence of Chief Vin Ogbulafor, because the PDP is no longer factionalised. Ogbulafor is a centrist who would unify all factions in the party. He did not emerge from any of the factions angling for the position.
“Ogbulafor would be committed to a real unification of all the factions in the party and I am confident that at last Dr Alex Ekwueme’s report on the reconciliation of the various interests would be implemented. Therefore the emergence of Ogbulafor is a victory for the PDP. No group can claim exclusivity in the emergence of Ogbulafor as the National Chairman

“I am confident in the capability of chief Ogbulafor to lead the PDP and make it a platform for real progress, he would lead the PDP, Africa ’s biggest political party to become the party which would meet the aspirations of Nigerians.”
Dr Fabian Ihekweme a former gubernatorial candidate in Imo State and a political scientist contended that the emergence of Ogbulafor is a victory for democracy.
He argued that owing to the extreme positions of the two major camps angling for the National Chairman position, Ogbulafor emerged as a compromise candidate independent of the machinations of the two camps.
“The emergence of chief Vin Ogbulafor as PDP’s National Chairman is definitely not a victory for former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, rather it is a victory for democracy. Ogbulafor emerged out of the squabble between the two camps, while Obasanjo was bent on former governor of Ebonyi State, Dr Sam Egwu emerging as National Chairman, the other camp wanted the former Senate President, Senator Pius Anyim, there was a deadlock, which threw up Ogbulafor.

“My reaction to this development is that time has come for us to see democracy in its real form, by this I mean that a national convention for a political party should be a forum to elect its officials. We can borrow from the USA where we copied our presidential system. From here we can feel the heat as their presidential candidates go throw the hurdles of getting elected as the party’s candidate.

“Yes, the PDP has held its National Convention, but there was no convention.
“Ogbulafor is better positioned to handle the affairs of the party. HE is highly experienced; he has been a former Minister of National Planning, former special adviser and former National Secretary of the PDP. He has garnered enough interest to turn the fortunes of the PDP around Chief Sonny Iroche, one of the 25 candidates that stepped down for Ogbulafor sees his victory as a victory for the governors who stood between Obasanjo and his dream of having Egwu elected as the chairman of the PDP
Another candidate, Chief B.B. Apugo said it could have been anything but victory for Obasanjo who he said should quit the party after what happened last weekend.