PDP Crisis: Kashamu suggests political Solutions
POSITION PAPER ON HOW TO RESOLVE PDP LEADERSHIP CRISIS
By
SENATOR BURUJI KASHAMU
INTRODUCTION
When the leadership crisis rocking our party broke out in May 2016, I made my position known on the way out of the crisis that had engulfed our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I appealed to my superior elders and leaders that if we want the progress of the party, all illegalities must stop. The point was (and still is): we cannot use illegality to solve the problem of the party. I suggested that we needed to call a NEC meeting where we could right the wrongs in order to preempt mischievous elements or the opposition who could use some disloyal members of the party in the nearest future, to question the outcome of the National Convention.
I averred that we may be building the party on a foundation of illegality by appointing a National Caretaker Committee who will conduct the affairs of the party that will lead to another convention from where new officers of the Party who will subsequently conduct the National Convention in which the presidential candidate would be elected. That trend is dysfunctional, dangerous and ominous. To build our party on a solid and sure foundation, we must get rid of illegality and impunity.
THE ISSUE
Today, the realities that stare us in the face affirm my position, making it more compelling. I say this because of the contradictory pronouncements coming from the various divisions of the Federal High Court. It is clear that the courts may not be able to resolve the issues in a manner that will ultimately work out for the greater good of our party. After obtaining and carefully studying the Bench ruling delivered by the Hon. Justice O.E. Abang of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Thursday the 28th of July, 2016, I am constrained to prepare this new position paper. The Lagos and Abuja Divisions of the court say one thing and the Port Harcourt Division says another thing. After due consideration and consultations from various quarters and stakeholders, I am of the opinion that it is incumbent on the elders, leaders, members of the National Assembly, members of the Board of Trustees and all leaders of the party to seek peaceful resolution of the issues in order to put an end to the protracted crisis rocking our party. It is worthy to note that immediately the news of the court ruling broke, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State mandated me and Senator Ibrahim Mantu to wade into the situation and open discussions with Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. We met with him and yet found that he was a man of peace who wants the progress of the party. We asked what he wanted and the way forward for the party. He said he was not interested in becoming the National Chairman of the party. He said that thrice and also assured us that he was not interested in contesting for the position at the rescheduled convention. He said he was willing to meet and work with other well-meaning leaders of the party to return it (the party) to the people.
He drew our attention to the last reconciliation meeting that was held at the Taraba State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja. Senator Sheriff said he attended that meeting because of the discussions Senator Mantu and I had with him. One of the first suggestions he made at that meeting was that he and Senator Makarfi should sacrifice their positions and step down from office and then jointly appoint members of the National Convention Planning Committee that will be responsible for organizing a national convention. Senator Sheriff suggested that he should be allowed to nominate ten (10) of the members and also nominate a serving Governor as chairman of the committee. Senator Makarfi was also expected to nominate the other ten (10) members of the committee. Leaders present at the meeting included Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Governor Nyesom Wike and Governor Seriake Dickson; the BoT Chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin; DSP Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State and Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State as well as other well-meaning leaders of the party. The meeting resolved that the Governors who attended should meet with Senator Ahmed Makarfi and the other governors who were not at the meeting to brief them and get their buy-in to ensure the implementation of the resolutions made at the meeting. The meeting, which began at 11p.m. on that fateful night, lasted until 5a.m. the next day. I recall that at about 3a.m. when Sheriff wanted to leave because no clear agreements were being reached, I implored the leaders not to let him leave without resolving the issues. After we left at 5a.m., the governors stayed back to review deliberations at the meeting. They had an enlarged meeting with Senator Makarfi where it seems the agreements reached at the meeting with Sheriff were shot down. I had barely slept for two hours after we left the meeting when Governor Dickson called me to invite me to another meeting in respect of the same matter. I took all the steps he asked me to take and went back to meet him and Governor Mimiko at about 1p.m where I met him, Governor Mimiko and Senator Sheriff. Senator Sheriff was lamenting that he heard that a meeting had been called by the Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre. He then appealed to Governors Mimiko and Dickson to intervene to ensure that the meeting was not held without due consideration for all agreements reached at the meeting held the previous day at the Taraba State Governor’s Lodge. We agreed that Governor Mimiko should attend the meeting and let it know our efforts at reconciling the two leaders and how the conclusions of the meeting could be implemented. For me, I believed that was the end of the crisis. But I recall Senator Sheriff’s remarks that if the agreements reached at the previous day’s meeting were not implemented; he will continue to fight until justice is done. On my part, I concluded that it was good for me to also attend the meeting and, if need be, shed more light on the reconciliation process.
Now, there is a new development because of the Bench ruling of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, delivered on Thursday the 28th of July 2016. No matter how discomfiting the ruling might be to some of us, we cannot wish it away. To gloss over it would be tantamount to playing the ostrich; a luxury we cannot afford to indulge in at this crucial time.
THE WAY FORWARD
My intervention is not about anybody or group of persons. This has nothing to do with taking sides with Senator Modu Sheriff or Senator Makarfi; both leaders have contributed to the well-being of our party. I am a passionate believer in the PDP and I cherish all our leaders. I cherish my leaders and colleagues in the National Assembly. I cherish members of the BoT. I cherish our governors. I cherish Senator Sheriff and I also cherish Senator Makarfi. From my interactions with members of the Senator Sheriff-led National Working Committee (NWC) and the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, I do know that they all love the party. I have seen the amount of work that the Senator Makarfi-led Committee has done. We knew how the party was before Senator Sheriff came and turned it into the proverbial beautiful bride, using his private jet to transverse the length and breadth of this country, all for party affairs. Sometimes he visited as many as three states a day, spending his own money for the party. According to information available to me, only Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State contributed N50million to aid Senator Sheriff in running the party.
It is in the light of the above that I wish to appeal to party leaders and elders, my colleagues at the National Assembly, the Governors, BoT members and the founding members of the party to come together and put an end to the leadership crisis because I am convinced that we all want the progress of the party.
In the extant Bench ruling, the court exposed the depth of the incongruities that the party has sunk into because of the two subsisting orders of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court dated 12th and 20th of May, 2016, which the judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court was said to have neutralized. It was because of the two subsisting orders which restrain the PDP from electing anyone into the offices of the National Chairman, National Secretary and National Auditor pending the determination of the suit and the one that restrained the party from “foisting a fait accompli on the court” that made the Federal High Court, Abuja, to reject the appointment of a counsel to represent the PDP by the National Caretaker Committee. The court held that the National Caretaker Committee drew its strength from the National Convention that was held on the 21st of May, 2016 where Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and others were not only removed but also replaced in clear violation of the orders of the court! The court found that it was immaterial whether election was held or not, stressing that, “a decision of court of competent jurisdiction, no matter how seemingly unattractive, unsupportable or palpably, null and void remains good law and binding, enforceable until set aside by a superior court of competent jurisdiction.”
On the argument that the judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court has neutralized the orders of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, the Abuja Division of the court held that no court has the jurisdiction to vary the order or judgment of another court of coordinate jurisdiction; and that any such subsequent order/judgment that purports to do so is a nullity. It should also be noted that it was based on the two orders from the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court that the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court issued an interlocutory injunction against the lawyers appointed by the Caretaker Committee on the 30th of June, 2016.
Let us be realistic: without prejudice for any of the parties involved in what is at issue, the sacking of the Senator Sheriff-led National Working Committee (NWC) and replacing it with the Caretaker Committee is a subsisting problem that must be addressed. Perhaps, an advisory committee without a Chairman and Secretary could have been set up at the convention instead of sacking and replacing them. Whether we agree or not, the ruling of the 28th of July, 2016 clearly stated that the convention that led to the emergence of the Caretaker Committee was illegally convened having regard to the aforementioned subsisting orders of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court and it was for this reason that the court declared that the PDP could not have pretended that the orders do not exist, especially when they were made on notice. The court stated that since these orders have not been set aside by the appellate courts, the PDP could not have lawfully held the convention that produced the caretaker committee, adding that a committee that is unlawfully and illegally appointed cannot lawfully take decisions on behalf of the party. This is a potential landmine that must be carefully defused.
This startling reality was the thrust of my earlier position paper in which I stated that illegalities and impunity must be dealt with and put aside, but it seems nobody took me seriously. It should also be noted that while it is true that the judgment delivered by the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court was not set aside by last Thursday’s ruling, the judge said he could have set it aside if an application to that effect was before him. The court held that, “Where a judgment delivered by a court is a nullity, the same court or a judge of coordinate jurisdiction with the Judge that gave the judgment has jurisdiction to set same aside. This is a settled principle of law that requires no restatement. See the case of Onagoruwa Vs. IGP PT 193 OF NWLR PT. 638. See also the recent decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Adeyemo Bero Vs. L.S.D.P.C (2013) 8 NWLR PT. 1356 P. 304-309.” In essence, the ruling strikes at the heart of the judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court. Either way, the various orders and judgments can only be validated by the appellate courts. Whichever side wins or loses on appeal, it will have grave consequences for the party. So, why don’t we honestly and pragmatically address the issues and resolve them? For how long are we going to be engaged in legal tussles? There is no need fighting unnecessarily over issues that can be amicably resolved. Let’s not be unnecessarily obstinate. I call on my leaders and colleagues in the National Assembly, our governors and leaders to do all within their powers, as custodians of the law, to ensure that we avoid all potential landmines and reposition our party. Going to Port Harcourt for another national Convention on the 17th of August, 2016, without addressing the issues that have stuck out like a sore thumb might turn out to be an exercise in futility. I appeal to all our leaders to wade into the crisis and resolve the issues. If we gloss over the issues and facts and go ahead to hold the proposed convention without resolving them, the perception of PDP as a lawless organization will sink deeper and ultimately public opinion will be against us.
CONCLUSION
An air of palpable confusion pervades our party and the land, with one division of the court saying Senator Makarfi’s appointment is right while another division of the same court says Senator Sheriff is the authentic National Chairman of our party. We cannot continue like this. Already, the nomination processes in Edo and Ondo states are being endangered by the current crisis. It is incumbent on all well-meaning leaders and elders of the party to court Senators Sheriff and Makarfi and look for a political solution to this crisis and resolve it, once and for all. Nothing is too much to give, if we truly love the party.
Even though the court did not make any order with respect to the proposed August 17th National Convention, the reality is that it is endangered because the Abuja court held that the Caretaker Committee cannot lawfully act on behalf of the PDP. Apart from the resources that might be wasted by individuals and stakeholders, going ahead with the National Convention will be contemptuous of valid court orders and rulings, and all those found to have involved themselves in such an action could be cited for contempt. Besides, it should be noted that there are people who exploit crisis situation such as this. They wait on the sidelines to analyze situations and then go to court when you least expected to procure orders and judgments that they use to exploit the system. We need to guard against falling into the trap of such characters. Let us put an end to the culture of impunity and put these shady characters out of job. Thus, it is crucial for us to find a political solution to leadership crisis, unite our people and resolve the issues so that the various court cases can be withdrawn. An assortment of court orders, rulings and judgments will only deepen the crisis and make it intractable.
Finally, “Let me be clear”, like the former Mayor of Los Angeles, California, Antonio Villaraigosa said, “no one is above the law. Not a politician, not a priest, not a criminal, not a police officer. We are all accountable for our actions.” Let us do the right thing so that when we are called to account for our actions, we will be found on the right side of history and the law.
Senator Buruji Kashamu
Ogun East Senatorial District (01/08/2016)
