The ongoing tussle at the national level between the Ahmed Makarfi and the Ali Modu Sheriff factions of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has continued to spread to the states. The scenario in Ondo State ahead of the gubernatorial polls where two rival factions are contending for the party’s ticket is now playing out in Delta State where two factions have emerged, one led by Kingsley Esiso of the Makarfi faction and the other by Austin Ogbaburhon of Sheriff faction. John Oghojafor, The New Diplomat’s South-South Bureau Chief, reports
The recent inauguration of what could be termed a parallel executive by the Modu Sheriff’s faction in Delta State notwithstanding, the Ahmed Makarfi faction led by Mr. Kingsley Esiso, has insisted that it remains the only exco in the state. A former State PDP Deputy Chairman, Chief Austin Ogbaburhon, emerged the state chairman of the Sheriff faction in the state. The Esiso-led PDP exco, however, maintains that there is nothing like a parallel exco in the state, adding that there is only one state chairman of the party and that is Esiso.
Speaking with The New Diplomat in a telephone chat recently, the State Organizing Secretary of the Makarfi faction, Mr. Sunny Onoriode, said it is impossible to place something on nothing and expect it to stand, adding that the so-called group being paraded by the Sheriff faction cannot be referred to as a parallel exco lacks constitutional foundation as it did not go through the due process of congress.
Said he: “There is no other congress that took place in Delta State, it was only one. And almost all the actors that claim to be on the other side today are just looking for relevance because they were all part of those that elected this exco.
“I do not see them as a faction, they are just a group of persons inside the PDP that are looking for relevance. There are areas in the country where congresses did not hold. In the case of Delta State, there was a successful congress, monitored by INEC, conducted by a panel put in place by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and the outcome of that congress is what you have today as the exco in Delta State.
“So, what would be the reason for anybody that has a reasoning faculty to want to say that there is a faction. Can you get something out of nothing?”
It would be recalled that the PDP at the national level has been embroiled in a leadership tussle between Makarfi and Sheriff over who is the recognized national chairman. The dispute which has been a subject of lingering litigation, has also been subjected to different judicial judgments by courts of coordinate jurisdictions. However, a few months ago, with the intervention of the members of the board of trustees of the party, including some well-respected elders, the two factional chairmen agreed in principle to reconcile and harmonize their differences in the interest of the party.
While the modalities for the reconciliation are still being worked out at the national level, there appears to be unease at the Delta State chapter of the party which, five months ago, held a state congress that led to the election of the present exco chaired by Esiso. There are pockets of aggrieved members of the party who felt that the governor, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, used his position to impose Esiso on the people.
However, when it was thought that the ongoing reconciliation would usher in a ceasefire of sort, Sheriff, recently inaugurated his faction’s executive in the state. A former State Deputy chairman of the party and also, former House of Representatives member, Mr. Austin Ogbaburhon, emerged as the chairman, a development which signalled more controversy and more disagreements at the state level.
The inauguration recently of the executive which took place at Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area, home of the incumbent governor, Okowa, who is loyal to the Makarfi faction, witnessed the influx of some aggrieved members of the party who identified with the Sheriff faction. Sheriff himself was represented at the inauguration by the group’s Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, who is also from Agbor.
Okowa’s Pragmatic Response…
A source close to Governor Okowa told The New Diplomat that “the governor is not comfortable with the development and had summoned the state chairman, Esiso to find a way to stem the ongoing defection to the Sheriff executive As a way forward, the source disclosed, the Kingsley Esiso-led exco decided to embark on a tour of all the 25 local government councils in the state to sensitize and encourage them to remain steadfast and committed to the current leadership of the party in the state.
The tour which commenced with a visit to Patani, Bomadi, Uvwie and Warri South councils, has progressed with a visit to Koko in Warri North Local Government Area as at the time of this report.
Although, the state chairman, Esiso while addressing members of the party at the Uvwie secretariat during the visit, stopped short of referring to the inauguration of the parallel exco by the Sheriff faction, a very reliable source which craved for anonymity, told The New Diplomat that the “whole essence of the visit is to sensitize the members and discouraged them from defecting to the Sheriff’s faction led by Ogbaburhon.” And the tours is yielding results for the Esiso led exco as many PDP faithfulls have resolved to remain with Esiso in the mainstream of the state politics.
While fielding questions from newsmen about a month ago in Effurun, Delta State, Dr. Ojougboh who himself participated in the congress that produced the Esiso-led exco in May 2016, stressed that the Sheriff faction was gradually building up followership, adding that several leaders, elders, and youths of the party were already identifying with the group.
“As I’m sitting down here now, I’ve gotten more than a thousand phone calls from leaders, elders and youths of Delta State saying that they are with me. Sheriff was sitting down at home, some people went to bring him as chairman. Sheriff is an agent of change. God does not make mistake. God touched the hearts of those who brought him to PDP so that he can say ‘No’ to impunity. Let me tell you before Sheriff became the chairman, any time the governors ganged up to say ‘we don’t want this chairman’, they push him away. But this chairman has come to stay,” Ojougboh said.
What Is Cairo Ojougboh Really Up To?
Ojougboh is a one-time chairman of the PDP South-South. He claims to be the Deputy National Chairman of the party on the platform of Sheriff and it is on that platform he came to Delta State to inaugurate what he called the Delta State PDP exco which has Ogbaburhon as state chairman. But the question being asked is whether his deputy chairmanship of the party passed through the due process of the party national congress.
Reacting to this question, the State Organizing Secretary who spoke on behalf of the exco, stated thus: “In a process, he (Ojougboh) participated in, he voted from the ward to the end. He was the South-South chairman as at when this exco was formed. Thereafter, he conducted the congress in Port Harcourt and a new exco emerged at the zonal level. So, at what time did he contest for the deputy chairman of the PDP that he is claiming to be? This game is guided by the constitution.
Ogbaburhon Insists Sheriff’s Faction Exco Is On Ground
In a telephone chat with the Sheriff factional chairman in the state, Ogbaburhon, he restated the oneness of the PDP as a party in Delta State, adding that in spite of the existing factions, the party will come out more united. Ogbaburhon also claimed that his exco is very much on the ground in the State, stressing that the Urhobo are particularly happy about his coming on board as the state chairman of the party.
“I know in Delta State we are very much on the ground; especially with me coming in as the chairman. It is well applauded by the Urhobos who now say that it is now they know they have an Urhobo as a chairman. But I would always say that PDP is one. Despite the fact that we two factions in the party, we are one, we are not fighting ourselves. All we are doing is to make sure that the party comes together,” Ogbaburhon said.
As to whether the Sheriff faction inaugurated the state exco with a view to using it as a tool to negotiate in the ongoing reconciliation process, Ogbaburhon replied that it is for the national exco to decide, but added that as a person he would prefer that the chairmanship position of the party in the state goes to his faction.
He gave assurance that the ongoing reconciliation between the two factions at the national level would be successful, adding, “they have agreed to resolve, they are only working out the modalities for reconciliation and probably some harmonization. So, very soon they will come up with a paper to see that the party comes together as one again.”
Ogbaburhon, during the inauguration at Agbor, had explained that he was sworn in as the authentic chairman of the PDP in the state, adding that what the Sheriff faction was doing was within the ambit of the party’s constitution. It would be recalled that the former National Publicity Secretary of the Sheriff’s faction, had explained that its decision to inaugurate a parallel exco in Delta State was necessitated by long-standing issues in the state, noting that it is one of the issues that will be resolved during the reconciliation exercise.
I’m The Authentic Delta State PDP Chairman – Esiso
While acknowledging the ongoing reconciliation process at the national level, the Esiso-led Delta State PDP executive has claimed it is the authentic state exco of the party. Chief Esiso was reported to have declared: “I remain the authentic state chairman of the party”, adding, “there was no congress in Delta State that brought in the Austin Ogbaburhon-led exco” which he described as a charade.
Uncertainty of Outcome of Reconciliation
From the claims and counter-claims by the two groups of the PDP in Delta State, it is obvious that it is the outcome of the reconciliation process that will determine the authenticity of the state exco. Would the result be in favour of the Esiso faction which emerged from a state congress in May or in favour of the Ogbaburhon-led faction inaugurated in Agbor recently without a congress? Or, would the reconciliation be resolved by way of harmonization of offices? Only the outcome of the exercise will tell.
