The National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (South-south), Chief Dan Osi Orbih, has said that the selective application of the constitutional provisions of the PDP, as it affects membership positions and everything concerning the party, is the root cause of the crisis in the party.
Orbih who spoke exclusively with Sunday Sun in Abuja, narrated how leaders and key players in the party have taken advantage of the situation to kill the party.
Orbih highlighted the issues confronting the party and gave a way forward to put an end to the menace surrounding the party.
“First major issue confronting the party – leaders and key players don’t want to uphold the constitution of the party in whatever they do. And that is a major problem.
“The constitution of the party is the Bible, just like the Bible is to Christians and the Koran to Moslems. For every member of the party, the constitution will replace that role.
“We must abide by the provision of the constitution. The much I know is that when you have a national chairman, the party constitution provides for two deputy national chairmen and if in the event of the chairman vacating his position, the deputy national chairman from that side of the country takes over.
“But for some strange reasons, very prominent leaders and key players, including some in the Governors Forum, were vehemently opposed for the constitution to be upheld. I remember vividly when the chairman before Ayu, Secondus, left the office.
“The then Deputy Chairman, South, Chief Akinwumi, from Ogun State, took over. But when it came to that of Ayu and Damagum, some people, for some strange reasons, did not allow that particular provision of the constitution to prevail.
“Ab initio, he went through a lot of challenges. So, you must understand where he is coming from. That was why when you asked this question, I said he is in a better position to tell you why he is not providing a very vibrant opposition, which in quote, in your question, and what are his challenges. He is in a better position to answer that. But I have thrown some lights to the beginning of the crisis that he inherited at the time he took over office and I have told you that part of the problems we have in our party is the selective application of the constitutional provisions as it affects membership positions and everything concerning the party.
“Until we start interpreting the constitution… Even at the time Obaseki joined the PDP, constitutionally, he was not even qualified to contest the primaries of the PDP.
“But Secondus said he gave him a waiver. Even at the time he joined the party, we had concluded the process of people showing interest – expression of interest, fixing screening and all that were concluded.
“They waved aside the provisions and they brought him in and today, the disaster in Edo State is traceable to the actions of those who sold out to allow him emerge as the candidate and later governor of Edo State under the PDP. It is painful each time one looks back about those things that played out and where we are today as a party in the state from a very dominant, vibrant party, to a situation where we have lost everything.
“People are quick to say yes, PDP was strong; yes, the party under the chairmanship of Orbih was very vibrant in its opposition; yes, PDP had two senators before Obaseki came in to join us; we had two senators, we had majority of the members in the House of Reps, but they will quickly now add that you did not have a governor.
“But to those who see our getting the governorship by hook or crook as more important than the process and the constitutional provisions that should give us a candidate, the big question I will throw back at them is, where are we today? We’ve lost everything. We lost the governorship, we lost the two senators we used to have – we don’t have one now, we lost the entire House of Reps election except one that went through a rerun process where all the resources, both human and financial resources, were thrown in to say it will be bad to say we now have nine over zero. That was how we could only have one out of the nine House of Reps seats. So, for me, you don’t tell us that oh, yes the party was strong, but you did not have the governor. Where are we today? We have no governor, we lost National Assembly, we lost Senate, we lost House of Reps and the party is battered and in a very terrible state.”
Orbih, a former chairman of the PDP in Edo State, said that nothing stops the PDP from being a robust and vibrant opposition in the country, but that the party can only achieve the role if it begins in earnest to adhere to the constitution of the party.
