From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State after the conduct of its governorship primaries on May 25, may be far from over.
Months before the primaries, Abia PDP was enmeshed in crisis over which zone should produce the governor. While Abia North wanted power to return to the area where it started in 1999, with Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, the outgoing governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu and his kinsmen insisted power must remain in Ukwa/Ngwa. Senator Theodore Orji from Abia Central who took over from Senator Orji Kalu handed over to Ikpeazu from Abia South, hence the expectation was that having gone full circle with the incumbent governor, it would start again from Abia North for the sake of equity and justice.
To drive home their point, political stakeholders of Abia North restated that the elders and traditional rulers of Ukwa/Ngwa had met with their Abia North counterparts on March 5, 2019, at Uturu in Isuikwuato council area, where they pleaded for the people of Abia North to support Governor Ikpeazu’s re-election in 2019, while Abia North will be supported to produce Ikpeazu’s successor in 2023.
A spokesman for the stakeholders and former Commissioner for Housing in the state, James Okpara, explained that no Ukwa/Ngwa elder or monarch has denied the agreement they made with the people of Abia North and tasked them to ensure that the agreement to rotate power to Abia North is implemented in 2023.
Okpara disclosed that one of the Ukwa/Ngwa elders, Dr. Gershon Amuta, has recently acknowledged that there was an agreement between the Ukwa/Ngwa elders and their Abia North counterparts.
“A meeting took place on March 5, 2019. The elders of Ukwa/Ngwa land met us at the residence of Prof. Gregory Ibe in Uturu, Isuikwuato LGA. They came with drinks and kola nuts, pleading with the elders of Abia North to support the re-election of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in 2019 while they will reciprocate by supporting power shift to Abia North in 2023.
“We ate and drank together and reached agreement. In Igbo land, when you have a meeting of such nature, you have entered into a covenant. Ukwa/Ngwa elders who were present in that meeting include Dr. Emmanuel Adaelu, Senator Adolphus Wabara, Chief Allen Nwachukwu, Chief Theo Nkire, Dr. Gershon Amuta, G.I. Akara, Alozie Agbara, Chiji Nkaru and others.
“Those from Abia North were, Senator Emma Nwaka, Chief Ukpai Agwu Ukpai, Chief Mba Ukariwo, Prof.S.O. Igwe, Prof Ihechukwu Madubuike, Ndidi Okereke, Paul Mba, Donatus Okorie, Chief Jerry Kalu, K.K. Owen , Prof. Greg Ibe and others.
Speaking further, Okpara said, “There were also monarchs from the two sides; Eze Eberechi Dick, Eze Ukandu, Eze Kalu Ogbu, Eze Linus Mba and Eze Professor Nwankwo”.
At the height of this agitation however, the leadership of the PDP in the state came out with a joker. They zoned the governorship ticket to both the Abia North and Abia Central zones at the same time.
This strange zoning arrangement did not go down well with some elders of the party in the state who believed it was done to deny Abia North the opportunity to produce the next governor.
The first to kick against this was the former Senate President, Adolph Wabara who saw the arrangement as a way of making Ikpeazu hand over power to an Ngwa man after his tenure and said Abians are not ready for the “back to back Ngwa thing”. He advocated that power must return to Abia North or at best to Ukwa area if those who want power to remain in the Ukwa/Ngwa bloc are truly out for justice and fair play.
Other elders of the party in the state, including Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, the former governor, senator Orji; former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Eme Okoro, among others, kicked against the party’s zoning arrangement and against retaining power in the Ngwa axis of the state.
With the governor’s anointed candidate, Prof Uche Ikonne having come from Abia Central, the party leadership in the state stood its ground on the zoning arrangement which many described as strange.
The controversy that trailed the zoning arrangement, again found itself enveloping the conduct of the 3-man delegate election. While Ikpeazu and the leadership of the party were of the view the election was conducted, seven of the aspirants and their supporters insisted non of such took place. And the battle line was drawn.
A week to the primaries, about seven of the nine aspirants, jostling for the party’s governorship ticket then, kicked against the 3- man delegates list, compiled by Abia SWC.
Led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the aspirants took the matter to the national leadership of the party in Abuja and appealed to the party’s NWC to do away with any list submitted by Abia SWC as 3-man delegates list, and shift the Abia primaries until a proper 3-man delegates election was conducted in Abia.
The then aspirants’ decision to approach the party’s NWC on the vexed issue was reenforced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) letter the previous week, stating that the 3-man delegates election was yet to be conducted in Abia. This gave the aspirants hope that the primaries might be shifted as was the case in Imo and Anambra states.
However, when the party insisted on conducting the primaries with what the aspirants described as a strange 3-Man delegates list, they withdrew from the race.
Those who withdrew from the race include, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Ude Oko Chukwu, deputy governor; Nnanna Nwafor; Ncheta Omerekpe, Senator Emma Nwaka and Sampson Orji.
Apart from the seven governorship aspirants, others who withdraw from the PDP primaries include Darlington Nwokocha, member representing Isiala Ngwa North/South Federal Constituency; Nkem Abonta, member representing Ukwa East/West Federal Constituency and Solomon Adaelu, the member representing Ugwunagbo/Osisioma/Obingwa Federal Constituency.
Others are Chijioke Chuku, Head legal services of the Nigerian Governors Forum and aspirant for Bende Federal Constituency; Eke Idika Kalu, aspirant for Arochukwu/Ohafia; Ibe Nwoke, Executive Chairman, Obingwa Local Government Area and aspirant for Ugwunagbo/Osisioma/Obingwa Federal Constituency Seat.
Also on the list are Ginger Onwusibe, member representing Isiala Ngwa North state Constituency and aspirant to same position; and Ubani Dannie, former Commissioner for youth development and aspirant for Isiala Ngwa South State Constituency seat.
While some of them decamped to other parties to pursue their future political carriers, others threatened to go to court.
On May 21, a member of PDP in the state, who claimed his name was on the 3-man delegates list, went to an Abia High Court sitting in Aba and presided by Justice C.U Okoroafor to obtain an order, making it mandatory for the primaries to be conducted only with the contentious 3-man delegates list and the court adjourned further hearing till May 25, the same day for the primaries.
The court’s order read in part, “The PDP, PDP Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu; PDP Abia State Chairman, Allwell Okere, PDP national organising Secretary, and Independent National Electoral Commission (1st to 5th defendants), their agents, privies, and employees howsoever described are hereby restrained in the interim from using, adopting or relying on any other list apart from the three-man ad-hoc list annexed herein as Exhibit ‘D’ as that has the name of the claimant based on the Ad hoc election congresses or election of the 1st defendant (PDP) held on 6th May, 2022, pending hearing and determination of the motion of notice.”
The court equally barred INEC from “recognising and monitoring any primaries by the 1st defendant (PDP) sought to be conducted with any other delegates list from the 1st defendant (PDP) other than the three-man ad-hoc delegates list annexed hereto as Exhibit ‘D’ which contains the name of the applicant as one of the three-man Adhoc delegates congresses or election held in Abia State on 6th May, 2022, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
This court order gave the PDP in Abia the leeway to conduct her governorship primaries unhindered.
Another member of PDP, Akuoma Friday later approached the same court, urging it to vacate its earlier order.
He averred that the NJC, in an attempt to limit the multiplicity of political matters involving INEC, “on May 11, 2022, stated that all suits to which these Policy Directions apply shall be filed, received, or entertained only at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in so far as the relief sought, or potential consequential order (s) or declaration (s) may restrain or compel persons or actions beyond the territorial jurisdiction of any one State;”
After due consideration of the suit, Justice Okoroafor on June 29, vacated the said order. In vacating the order, the Judge said the court erred in law to have granted its earlier order.
Justice Okorafor explained that the new National Judicial Council guideline had stripped the court of the jurisdiction to entertain such matter.
Any tension created within the PDP by the court ruling, however, appeared to have been doused by Amah Abraham, PDP State Vice Chairman/Acting State Publicity Secretary. In a statement, he said it was not true the court has upturned the use of the Abia ad-hoc three-man delegates for the conduct of Abia State PDP primaries.
He described the interpretation being given to the ruling as the handiwork of Fifth Columnists, aimed at creating panic and confusion for the PDP.
However, despite the party’s heart-lifting position, a chieftain of PDP who did not want his name in print see the latest development as a danger signal for the party.
For him, with the U-turn of the Abia High court on the matter, the only order now subsisting is that of the federal high court which had earlier ruled that the 3 -man delegates election did not hold.
So, as it appears, only time would tell who becomes the PDP standard bearer in next year’s governorship election.