allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Can Nwobodo Committee Redeem PDP in S/East? (Page 1 of 2)

Soon after Prince Vincent Ogbulafor emerged the national chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he inaugurated an Action committee whose main target is returning all the states that comprise the South-East geo-political zone back to PDP. In this expose by CHUKS OHUEGBE, he x-rays the problems and prospects of the committee chaired by Senator Jim Nwobodo will encounter.

In the formative years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-East geo-political zone, two names featured prominently. They are Second Republic Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme and former governor of old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo. While Dr. Ekwueme was engaged with ensuring that the party was natinonally accepted, Senator Nwobodo was saddled with the responsibility of delivering the five states that comprised the South-East geo-political zone.

By the time the elections were concluded in April 1999, Senator Nwobodo succeeded in delivering all the five states of Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi and Imo states to PDP.

The only opposition party in the zone then was the then All Peoples Party (APP). Realistically, the party posed little or no threat to PDP. This scenario changed soon after. Intra-party crises engulfed almost all the states in the zone. It was the period former President Olusegun Obasanjo was beginning to experiment with his politics of exclusion.

In the run-up to the 2003 general elections, it was obvious that the South-East bloc of the PDP was on the verge of implosion. Though the party still won in the five states, the victories were not very convincing. The registration of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a political party provided requisite opposition platform most of the disgruntled elements in PDP yearned for. It was no surprise therefore, that Appeal Court sitting in Enugu upturned the election of Dr. Chris Ngige of the PDP in Anambra State to the APGA flagbearer, Mr. Peter Obi.

What Went Wrong?

The post 1999 South-East geo-political scenario, especially as it concerns the political figures that populated PDP was awesome. Whoever that was somebody politically, was a card-carrying member of the party. From Second Republic vice-president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo, late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Professor A.B.C Nwosu, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyamwu, late Evan Enweren etc, the list was endless.

The first shot that the South-East bloc in PDP would have it rough was the emergence of Dr. Alex Ekwueme as a potential presidential flagbearer of the party in 1999. Without mincing words, Ekwueme was not only eminently qualified for the office, but had committed his energy and resources to the founding and nurturing of the party. Moreover, the position was zoned to the geo-political South by the party to produce a presidential flagbearer without making any distinction.

The aftermath of the emergence of Obasanjo as the party's flagbearer, after the February 13, 1999, Jos convention, marked the commencement of the melting down of the Igbo political class. Throughout his eight years presidency, there was a deliberate plan at enthroning political mediocres from the zone. This is in spite of the fact that the zone boasts of some of the brightest and best.

As a way of unsettling the political leadership of the zone, Obasanjo ensured that during his eight years in office, the South-East zone produced a record five Senate presidents. All the states in the zone had their turns. Late Chief Evan Enwerem (Imo), late Dr. Chimba Okadigbo (Anambra), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim (Ebonyi), Senator Adolphus Wabara (Abia) and Senator Kenechukwu Nnamani (Enugu). With a political leadership that was programmed to fail, it was almost impossible to put up any resistance to the powers that be at the centre.

With the absence of a defined political leader, further actions were taken to either whittle down the influence of few existing politicians that had clout or extinguish them completely. In Enugu State, the then governor, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani masterminded everything within his reach to break the political backbone of his mentor, Chief Jim Nwobodo. The highpoint of which was the politically motivated closure of the Savannah Bank where Nwobodo is believed to own substantial shares.

In Ebonyi State, the then governor, Dr. Sam Egwu engaged in a war of attrition with the then president of the Senate and a fellow Ebonyi leading light, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. In Abia State, the Chief Ojo Maduekwe faction of PDP that operated from Abuja with the full backing of Obasanjo did not give the then governor Orji Uzor Kalu any respite. Because of their proximity to the seat of power, they shot down almost every federal project that would have been sited in Abia State.

The Anambra scenario was lamentable. Political nobodies were overnight elevated to become political godfathers. This was the era, the Ubas held sway, and elevated political banditary to a dizzying height. Perhaps, Imo State was the only state in the South-East zone that experienced relative peace during the Obasanjo years.

The destruction of the Igbo political leaders was not only deliberate but also calculated to smear its integrity. Former Senate president, late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo was hounded out of office for giving anticipatory approval to a contract. The fate that befell Senator Adolphus Wabara, another former Senate president was worse. He was disgraced out of office over an alleged N55 million bribe-for-budget allocation with the then minister of Education, Professor Febian Osuji.

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