As preparations towards the 2023 general elections in Nigeria are currently in top gear, there is reportedly anxiety among leaders of the two leading political parties in the country, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), over how their presidential flag-bearers for the polls ought to emerge.
Indeed, there are clear indications that the two parties would be bedeviled by renewed crises in the days ahead over their respective consensus arrangements.
While some chieftains of both parties have been rooting for the selection of the presidential candidates through consensus based on the agreement of a few leaders, which is allowed by the Electoral Act, a host of others see the option as undemocratic and another way of imposing the choice of a few members on others.
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Though many of the stakeholders are particularly concerned about the presidential aspect, the various states are not left out, as there are equally attempts by the outgoing governors to determine their successors via consensus.
This is particularly the case in Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom states. In Akwa Ibom, PDP stalwarts are yet to buy into Governor Emmanuel Udom’s choice of Pastor Umoh Eno as his preferred successor. This was even as efforts by Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State to broker a consensus agreement among governorship aspirants in the state chapter of the APC suffered setback within the week as the Izzi clan of Ebonyi North failed to shortlist two aspirants as demanded by the governor.
The present situation in Ebonyi is very similar to what is occurring among PDP presidential aspirants, where the zoning arrangements have generated crisis among the party stalwarts.
Accordingly, serious suspicion and misgivings have set in among the leading presidential aspirants and have put proponents of consensus arrangement on the defensive.
Indication to this effect emerged as prominent leaders of the party from the southern part of the country have expressed doubts about the real motives of the supporters of the consensus.
Former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) and a former banker, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, had last month initiated talks about the consensus arrangement in the PDP and have been moving round the country to woo members of the party to support the idea.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi told the facilitators of the consensus arrangement during their visit to Enugu State within the week that without adhering to the principles of equity, fairness and justice, the consensus arrangement would be a woeful failure. Similarly, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has vehemently kicked against the consensus arrangement.
Gov. Wike, who spoke during his recent visit to Cross River State to seek the support of party faithful for his presidential ambition, said: “Some people are moving for consensus. I am not part of that. If you want to run an election, come and run an election. When they came to me, I told them I am not a party to this one. What I don’t like in my life is deceiving people. What I will not do, I will not do. What I will do, I will do.
“If you can’t run again, say it out. Don’t hide under what you call consensus and come to me. Get on and run for the election. To be President of Nigeria is not by ‘dash’; you will sweat it out.”
It is reported that the fact that all the three aspirants who initiated the consensus talks in the PDP hail from the northern part of the country, was a key source of suspicion and rancour among the party high-ranking members.
It’s noteworthy that the new Electoral Act stipulates that for any consensus arrangement to be valid, all aspirants of the party involved must agree to it.
This implies that the leadership of the various prominent political parties in Nigeria must at the moment form a formidable coalition among their members as they prepare towards their respective primary elections.
They need to deploy a means to ensure that there is a tangible agreement among the overall aspirants as regards the consensus proposal, in accordance with the Electoral Act guidelines.
The time to do this is apparently short, hence all concerned must act very fast towards averting a more severe crisis that might lead the parties to a doomed state.