• Men who want to lead Nigeria’s struggling main opposition party

By Omoniyi Salaudeen

Jostling for the elective National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scheduled for December is gradually building up. Although there is no official date yet for the long awaited outing which would definitely shape the future of the party, a new chairman is expected to emerge before the expiration of the tenure of Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker committee on December 16.

In line with the zoning arrangement of the party, the Chairmanship slot has been thrown open to the South contrary to the earlier scheming by the Southwest geo-political zone to produce the chairman. And in view of the latest development, prospective candidates from any of the three blocs that make up the South can now take a shot at the plum office. So far, four formidable candidates have already thrown in the hats. These include: former national deputy chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George, acting chairman of the PDP National Working Committee from 2015 to 2016, Uche Secondus, two-term governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel and Chairman, Daar Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi.

With an array of powerful contenders such as this, there is no doubt that this contest is going to be another make or mar convention unless it is well managed by the collective effort of all the stakeholders. This is even more so that the party is just coming out of its prolonged crisis. Ultimately, factors such as age, candidates’ track record, loyalty to the party, organizational experience would play a critical role in the choice of who holds the umbrella.

George  

Compared to other candidates, Olabode George combines advantages of rich experience and loyalty to the party to be a preferred choice of the delegates to the convention. Born on November 21, 1945 in  Ondo State, he was the military governor of the state between 1988–1990 before he was made the national vice-chairman (Southwest) of the PDP in 2001 and subsequently national deputy chairman of the party in July 2005.      

While former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in the saddle, George also had a brief stint at the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA as chairman, though he later fell out with his boss. Before his foray into politics as a full time career at the advent of the present civil dispensation, he had served as Director at the National War College (NWC).

In terms of loyally to the party, George stands out. For instance, while the leadership tussle between Ali Modu Sheriff and Makarfi lasted, he consistently maintained that the matter be left to the Supreme Court to decide. The final ruling of the apex court on the matter later vindicated him on his position. 

In the wake of the botched Port Harcourt convention, George had claimed to be the consensus candidate of the Southwest PDP. But according to him, some young elements within the party, including Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, allegedly turned round to prop up Jimi Agbaje to contest the slot against him. Some elders of the party were said to have held a meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, where George was elected by the party’s leaders in the zone as consensus candidate. The claim had been debunked by some supporters of the party. 

One thing that is likely to work against the former deputy national chairman is the issue of age. By next month, precisely November 21, George would be 72. Those opposed to his candidature are insisting that he should leave the stage for the younger generation. Some of his opponents are often too quick to refer to his Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC corruption trial and subsequent imprisonment for contract splitting at the NPA while serving as chairman as an albatross, even though the Supreme Court had given him a clean bill of health, saying the charges of “contract splitting” was unknown to law. Even at that, there is the fear that the ruling APC might cash in on the case to smear his image and reputation, thereby jeopardizing the chances of the party in the future election.   

But George has never failed to urge those who care to listen that the time has come for all the stakeholders to put the past behind them. His words: “My brothers and sisters, fellow party men and women, we must discard this new attitude of ruinous greed and desperate avarice. We must abandon the creed of irreverent conspiracy and the recourse to petty malice.”

Uche Secondus

Born on March 22, 1955, Prince Uche Secondus, served as acting chairman of the PDP National Working Committee from 2015 to 2016. He also briefly served as acting National Chairman of the party, following the resignation of Adamu Mu’azu in 2015. After the exit of Mu’azu, Secondus made spirited efforts to retain the office until he was dragged to court by Ahmed Gulak, a former adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

His active involvement in politics dates back to the  Second Republic when he served as Rivers State Youth Leader of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Rivers State Publicity Secretary of the National Republican Convention (NRC) (1993 – 1998) and a two-term Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party. In 2007, Secondus was the South-South Coordinator for the PDP National Campaign Council that organized the campaigns for the party during the general elections.

There are speculations that some influential power brokers within the party are trying to secure the slot for him at the coming convention. A particular governor from the region is said to be the brain behind the plot to make Secondus the successor of Makarfi.

On the other hand, there are also those who are insisting that there must be a complete departure from the old order for enduring peace to reign. Although Secondus, who is in his early 60’s, appears to have age advantage, this may technically knock him out, especially if the position is supported by the majority. 

Gbenga Daniel

Daniel, a two-term governor of Ogun State, is also interested in the PDP chairmanship contest. Preparatory to the scheduled convention, he has been criss crossing the geo-political zones to consult with the relevant stakeholders.

A fellow of the “Nigerian Society of Engineers, Daniel had a successful career rising to the position of deputy managing director of Schroeder thus making him the first African to rise to that position in the history of the company’s operations. He later founded Kresta Laurel, an engineering firm which specialises in elevators, overhead travelling cranes and hoists in 1990.

As a grassroots person, he successfully defeated the then incumbent governor Segun Osoba in the 2003 general elections on the platform of the PDP. His administration enjoyed relative stability in his first tenure. He, however, ran into troubled waters when he fell out with the state legislature over N60bn bond and other sundry issues.

After his failed bid to install his crony, Gbenga Nasiru Isiaka (GNI) as his successor, he dumped the PDP for the Labour Party. According to him, his reason for joining the Labour Party was to build a platform that would serve as a proper check mate for any irregularities in governance of the state. For the period he led the party, it became the most dominant opposition party in the state.

Among other things, his seeming lack of loyalty to the party is one of the major limiting factors Daniel has to grapple with in his bid to clinch the chairmanship ticket of the party. With his antecedents, not many supporters of the party see him as a dependable candidate.

Another strong factor that is likely to work against him is his protracted trial by the EFCC over an alleged misappropriation of funds amounting to over N200 million, criminal breach of trust and abuse of office while he held sway as governor of Ogun State. Although the trial has witnessed several adjournments, the case is still in court. At this critical time in its search for unity, it is doubtful if the PDP would want to elect any candidate who would jeopardize its chances in the coming general elections. Similarly, some concerned stakeholders in the Southwest are worried that his ambition may split the votes from the region between him and Bode George.

Dokpesi

Raymond Anthony Aleogho Dokpesi is the Chairman of Daar Communications PLC. His Raypower FM is the first Nigerian private radio station. This feat was followed two years later with the launch of Africa Independent Television (AIT).

Prior to that, he had also established the first indigenous Shipping Line in Africa in the 1980s. Although the business did not last long, it contributed a great deal to the Nigerian shipping Industry as it helped formulate the Nigerian shipping Decree 1986 which stated the sharing formula 40:20:20 for cargo between developed and developing countries.

Dokpesi began his political career with his assignment as a political campaign manager for Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, which saw the later into the then Gongola State Government House. He also played the same role during Tukur’s Presidential Campaign in 1993 as well as Peter Odili’s presidential campaign. Dokpesi is one of the leaders of the South-South Peoples Assembly (SSPA) an organisation that seeks to promote the interest of south-south people of Nigeria.

Recently, Dokpesi was said to have teamed up with other politicians to form Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA) in the wake of the PDP crisis, a move that attracted condemnation by the party leadership.  He has, however, insisted that he remained an unrepentant member of PDP and was a strong supporter of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, even at the peak of the party crisis. He promised to build a fearless team that would prepare PDP for the 2019 elections.

On December 9, 2015, Dokpesi and his company, Daar Holding and Investment Limited, were charged with money laundering amounting to N2.1bn. The Federal Government claimed the money was budgeted for procurement of weapons for the Nigerian military to fight the Boko Haram militants, but was allegedly diverted by Dasuki Sambo, the then National Security Advisor to Dokpesi’s Daar Holding and Investment Limited for the Nigerian presidential election of 2015 in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Expectedly, Dokpesi has been consulting with the relevant stakeholders towards the realization of his ambition. How far he can go in this adventure is what remains to be seen in the weeks ahead. No doubt, it will take a great deal of effort for him to convince the party faithful that he can be trusted with such a position of responsibility, especially with his alleged role while the PDP crisis lasted. His alleged involvement in the Dasukigate is also another limiting factor that would determine his fate in the coming convention.