Despite its misfortunes at the national level, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu is flourishing. But the torrent of defectors pouring into the party is as oddly familiar as it is disturbing for genuine party members.
At a function of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Michael Okpara square in Enugu State sometime ago, the former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, had praised former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his “spirit of tolerance and accommodation”. He had stated that Ugwuanyi could not “hurt a fly” with his style of politics
He, however, quickly added that there was a need for him (Ugwuanyi) to set boundaries in politics, stressing that he (Ekweremadu) would love to learn from him when he (Ugwuanyi) had succeeded in his style of politics.
This was the period when Ugwuanyi, who went by the sobriquet “gburugburu”, was a toast in the hearts of many politicians and people of the state. He became a slogan in the mouths of politicians and the people because he had succeeded in promoting peace in the polity by tolerating everyone, irrespective of party.
He had built a strong PDP. They called him a peaceful man. Unlike other politicians who would bring the weight of their influence to advantage in settling issues, Ugwuanyi was always ready to make sacrifices for peace among politicians, including those from the opposition parties.
The gates of the Enugu State government house and his office were thrown open to everybody. His phone number was public knowledge, and he personally picked his calls and responded to text messages. At public events, he warmly exchanged pleasantries with anyone who cared to do so and ensured that whatever was in his pocket did not return with him to the office. These he did to build friendship and promote political harmony in the state.
It was, however, not until the kick-off of politicking for the 2023 general elections that it dawned on him that his political formula may not have been properly structured. Little did he know that all those who wanted a relationship with him did so for their political benefits.
Without consultations with him, the majority of them leveraged their relationship and friendship to purchase forms for the various offices in the elections and would line up in his office for his endorsement.
For the governorship alone, no fewer than 18 aspirants paid and obtained forms, a development that had never happened before in the history of the party. Other positions had no fewer than 10 aspirants each.
Overwhelmed with the challenge of whom to choose against the other, Ugwuanyi had asked all those who picked forms to present themselves to the delegates at the party primaries, insisting that members would decide their fate. This was a directive that broke the camel’s back and set a crisis in the party. That was because each aspirant wanted an endorsement from him as the governor of the State.
While some of those who could not make the primaries left to pick forms in other political parties, many others who stayed behind decided to work against the party and their candidates including Ugwuanyi at the elections proper; a development that accounted for the woeful performance of the PDP at the last general elections in the state. Infact, Ugwuanyi, who was a sitting governor and senatorial candidate in the election, was voted against even by members of his party.
Ugwuanyi’s style may be different from that of his successor and current governor, Mr Peter Mbah. But ahead of the 2027 general elections, similar gatherings in the PDP bearing the fangs of the 2023 episode have begun in earnest in the state.
Mbah had been business-minded. He had drawn a line between politics and governance and never gave his time to the mudslinging of the practice.
Currently, the governor is loosening up. He could now attend events and be entertained by praise singers. He also extends gestures with them when he wishes. The doors of the PDP have been opened to many of those who left the party, including elected officials from other opposition political parties, to find their way back to the party. This is a source of worry for those who have remained with the party.
The reasoning of the returnees to the PDP is that Governor Mbah and his party are doing well. Their reasoning is that his style of governance has weakened opposition in the State. They now see Mbah as the best thing that could happen to Enugu State. Suddenly, it is lost on those struggling to join the PDP in the state that they gave Mbah the fight of his life during the elections in 2023. They no longer realised that they had accused him of certificate forgery and that the result of the election that brought him into office was delayed for two days because of alleged manipulations, leading to certain people keeping vigil at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure nothing happened to the outcome.
The way it is, Mbah’s governance style is turning the opposition into support in Enugu State. In the last couple of months, he had won several elected members of the Labour Party (LP) into the PDP. An Enugu State where the Labour Party (LP) won a majority of the seats at the conclusion of the 2023 general elections has now restored dominance to the PDP.
The LP at the inception of the administration controlled 14 seats out of the 23 seats at the State Assembly. It won seven out of the eight House of Representatives’ seats while it controlled two out of the three senatorial seats.
Currently, PDP has taken control with 20 seats at the House of Assembly, five out of the eight House of Representatives seats, and is still pushing for more. The governorship candidate of the LP, Chijioke Edeoga, during the 2023 elections, has returned to the PDP among other chieftains.
Aside from those who have joined the PDP, the last few weeks have also become a beehive of activities for politicians, leaders and elites from Enugu North senatorial zone, as they have engaged their people with proof of the impact their administration has made on the area. During one of the dialogue series held on Friday, May 9 with the theme, “Dr Peter Mbah administration – The journey so far” in which they narrowed their focus on education, politics and security, they had concluded that he had done well so far, adding that their zone had “benefitted more than any other zone in the state, in spite of the governor not coming from their district.”
Although it is believed that the support and accolades Mbah is enjoying so far, if sustained would significantly boost his chances to retain his office in 2027 and reduce the spate of opposition around him, some pundits, however, think that it should be well handled to avoid returning the party to the path of perfidy and attracting clog in the wheel of Mbah’s politics.
They stated that the newfound political romance has not gone beyond singing his praises and waiting to be serviced by his office till the next general elections, adding to the burden of the governor.
A chieftain of the PDP in the state, Getrude Eze, told The Guardian that as much as he was happy that the party had taken full grip of the state, he did not think that those who left it “in search of greener pastures should be received with open hands”. He stated that the party may implode again if care is not taken.
“This applies to those who stayed in the PDP to work against it during the 2023 general elections. If divine providence had not intervened and Mbah followed through with his cases and all the troubles, name callings that came with it, I don’t think there would be a PDP for any one of them to return to.
“When they said that Governor Mbah’s achievements are the driving force, you begin to ask yourself whether they were not the same people who criticised him for the policies and actions he took in carrying out demolition exercises, expanding the tax net, among other adjustments here and there. The truth is that some of these postures are borne out of the desires of 2027.
“Some of them holding offices presently may not return if there is no strong party like the PDP backing them. They have suddenly forgotten that many of us who remained in this party and supported this government from day one should also aspire to higher positions,” he stated.
Eze continued: “That is why I laughed when a former two-term senator under the PDP left the party for the APC, only to be suspended less than one year in his new party. Today, he is going about singing the praises of Mbah and telling people how he lost his way inside Enugu State on his way from the airport due to the transformational works the governor is doing. These are lip services being paid to curry favour. But I know such should be the case when people try other parties and fail”
Agreeing with Eze on the need for caution, a lecturer at the Department of Public Administration, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Akwa, Anambra State, Dr Great Orji, further observed that the “current development might trigger a stiff contest for seats in the coming elections”.
He added: “Looking at the makeup of those occupying offices and returning to the PDP from the LP, you will agree that they are all first timers who would want to continue in office in 2027.
“Now that the political platform which gave them the opportunity is in tatters, and they are desirous to retain their seats, it is only by embracing the PDP that they can survive.
“So, if that is the case, they will fight with everything in their power to gain nominations of the party, failing which, they will seek alternative platforms to satisfy the purpose. If that becomes the case, the PDP will return to the trenches. So, I think it is something that should begin early in the day with the governor asserting full control to dictate the tune at the right time.”
Orji noted that Governor Mbah did well when he shut his doors to any kind of politicking in the early stages of his administration, explaining that “it afforded him opportunity to draw a direction for the development of the state”, stressing that, “he could not have done much if he had not adopted that style in view of what is happening in the state at the moment.
When he received some members of the LP who defected to the PDP recently, State Chairman of the party, Dr Martin Chukwunwike, assured them of equal playing ground for the old and new members. He stated that his leadership would do all in their power “to ensure peace in the party and accommodate all interests for a stronger PDP in Enugu State”. He stated that the goal was to return the PDP as “the party to beat in the state”.
Time would, however, tell how far he would go in realising this as the party looks forward to 2027 politics.