INTERVIEW: Edo PDP Protracted Crisis, State Party Secretary Finally Opens Up

Chief Hilary Otsu is the Secretary of the crisis-bedevilled Edo State chapter of Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

He spoke with Business Day’s Churchill Okoro on several issues why the crisis in the party has become protracted, why some leaders of the party who were indeed originators of the crisis are leaving for other parties and the role of the state governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki in bringing the once vibrant and solid state chapter almost to its knees, even as they prepare for the 2024 gubernatorial elections.

Read excerpts from the interview published by Truth Live News with Chief Otsu’s permission.

Q. The PDP in Edo State was unshakeable for years, but with how things are, it seems th: e party is falling apart in Edo State. What is the genesis of the problem confronting the party’s state chapter?  

Ans: Churchill, nice to talk to you again. Yes PDP has been unshakable in Edo State since 1999. What you see today is not just a falling apart but

a failing attempt to emasculate the political class in Edo State through a scripted conspiracy by political masqueraders. They intended to systematically eliminate the legacy members and structure of the Party, and hand it to gangs of insensitive apolitical jobbers.  

It all began when HE Governor Obaseki was disqualified and pushed out of the party that brought him to prominence, the APC. He sought refuge in the PDP to quickly arrest the embarrassing fallout of his disqualification. Immediately, these apolitical jobbers in the PDP and APC swung into action. They encouraged him to join the PDP and, in his own words, “sold the PDP structure” to him. With this, the Governor developed the entitlement and ownership mentality with which he has been operating. He didn’t realise that these people sold him a dummy as they neither had the party nor followership structure to sell. However, the Governor set up his government without regard for the real stakeholders he met in the Party.  

This is sacrilege, a total disregard for the structure that gave him succour. So as his second tenure kicked off, he began to agitate for the dissolution of the existing party structure from the State to the Ward levels, so that he could have a firm grip on the structure, and exercise his pronouncement as the leader of the Party. Churchill, please note that leadership doesn’t work by pronouncement. Naturally, the legacy structures quickly engaged in defensive mechanisms and took political steps.  

Some members did not even wait to see if he could progress in that regard, so they immediately went to a Federal High Court to obtain an order restraining any authority from dissolving any Edo PDP exco at any level. This order is in perpetuity; if the NWC even tries to do it, it won’t stand. During several interactions with the Governor, he never ceased expressing his desire for dissolution, to which we always responded emphatically with negative reactions. There is a memo where I stated a few options for a mutually beneficial working relationship between the State Government and the Party structure. 

 I also emphasized that several State Working Committee members were personally willing to take Cabinet positions and relinquish their Party offices so that he could fill their positions with his choices. He insisted that the Party structure, as it were, could not work and must be dissolved and reconstituted. Many of us, including the State Chairman, were surprised at his position, considering the legal implications and the fact that tempers were now rising. As his first year ended, rapprochement, which we tried to bring about, continued evading us. By the start of 2022, I am sure you realized that the centre certainly couldn’t hold and the Congresses/Primaries exposed the extent of the disconnect between the State Government and the Party. The State Government organised parallel congresses and primaries to muscle Edo INEC. Eventually, we ended up in court, Ayu and his cohorts sacrificed the Party guidelines and constitution on the altar of corruption, and the rest is history.  

Q: Have there been suggestions or resolutions to address the disputes within the party? If yes, how far with the situation?  

Ans: Yes, I stated this earlier. I said there were memos from the Party and a harmonization committee was also set up, Chaired by Chief Osaro Idah and myself as Secretary, with Barr. Anselm Ojezua, Mrs Sorae and a couple of others as members. Also, a committee of four PDP governors was convened in Abuja. I am sure you heard the titbits that came out of that nocturnal meeting, the concessions reached and the eventual reneging by the Governor. All efforts and deliberations have been in vain. 

Q: Today, people are resigning from the party. Even key members who held the fort no longer show interest in the party’s affairs in Edo State. Why is this so? 

Ans: In the words of one prominent Governorship aspirant who has left the Party, the Governor has openly demonstrated his desire to impose a stranger to succeed him, if the opportunity presents itself. Owing to the refusal of the Governor to reach a compromise and incorporate the legacy PDP members into his government structure, most of those resigning do not believe they can exist in a Party where the Government is disconnected from the Party and does not consider party members when opportunities arise. Instead, most MDAs are headed by “technocrats” from other states and consultants whose consultation is shrouded in mystery. I spoke with several members leaving the Party, and the story is the same. Nobody feels any sense of belonging anymore. 

Q. We all know that a divided house cannot stand. With the resignations of members from the party, can the umbrella party withstand the opposition party in the forthcoming governorship election?

Ans: Of course, it is difficult for a divided house to stand. Many watchers have been expecting the Governor to convene a meeting of a few political leaders to look into the issue of reconciliation. It must be noted that no serious effort has been made in this regard, and like I always say to so-called mediators, the Governor holds the key. He is empowered to summon any and everyone as he chooses. But he says he does not want to meet with leaders of the Party. No political structure exists without leadership cadres. Issues flow from the top to the bottom and not the reverse.  

The Governor has chosen the reverse and see what we have today. To answer the question, NO, we cannot withstand opposition next year if we remain like this. The Presidential election results clearly show this. So you can see that as he is stagnating PDP, the APC and Labour Parties are gaining momentum. 

Q. From observations, the PDP looks passive these days in Edo State. Has the party lost its steam? Is there still power to give to the people? Is PDP gradually drifting to extinction in Edo State? 

Ans: An emphatic NO. PDP isn’t going into extinction. With all that has transpired, you can see that the primary party structures from Ward to State are intact. The commitment of the core legacy members, under the leadership of Chief Dan Orbih, is unwavering. A few people may have succumbed to pressures and jumped ship, but 90% of the structure is intact, and the State Working Committee is intact despite the isolation and marginalization by the State Government. The State Deputy Chairman is strongly committed to preserving the SWC and most members except the State Chairman. All this is because we are faithful and believe in the leadership and the sanctity of our party constitution.  

For example, I have never received any patronage from the State Government before, but the burden of administering the State Secretariat has been borne by me since 2020. No contribution from the government except payment of salaries to the permanent staff. But does that four-storey building run on water and air? No.  

There is a recurrent expense to care for bills, consumables, imprest, obligations, etc. These are all funded from my personal expenses. Do you know that we had to renovate that secretariat when we got into office? We got to a point when we ran out of money, we went to take a loan from Chief Dan Orbih, which we haven’t finished repaying till this day. Show me any other PDP-controlled State where such is the case.  

Q. Governors of the party recently met to look at ways to resolve the differences within the party. Has any mechanism been put in place to ensure the party regains its stand in Edo State? 

Ans: What I keep hearing is the endless agitation for the dissolution of the execos by the Governor, at that meeting. But, I understand he was reminded that in just three years, his entry into the party has sadly liquidated the goodwill and fortunes of the party and any dissolution, albeit illegal, will exacerbate the ugly crisis. We could lose Edo State to APC in 2024. His position is that he can no longer work with us. You may ask, has he ever worked with us? 

Q. The local government election is in a few months, and some aggrieved members of the PDP think that they were not consulted before candidates were selected. What is your take on this?

Ans: The process of selecting PDP candidates is fraught with illegalities and unconstitutional acts. As the State Secretary of the Party, I was unaware that nomination forms were to be sold, much less party primaries. I only saw a notice purportedly signed by the Organising Secretary, asking aspirants to buy nomination forms and pay into an account with the name of an NGO. It still baffles me how people go to equity with soiled hands. Someone sits and concocts such an illegal and criminal act, and you expect God-fearing people to sit and watch? Well, I know you are aware of the matter in court, to stop the illegally nominated candidates from participating in the election.  

That’s it. To your question, I have heard uncountable stories of dictatorial selection or substitution of candidates by the State Chairman and others. From the start, the process was designed to exclude all legacy PDP members, because after selling forms and collecting admin costs for over two weeks, the Chairman announced that all aspirants who didn’t win their units and wards were not qualified to buy forms. Seriously? 

 Changing the rules in the middle of the game? Based on this, an “in-house” selection was made after the purported primaries, and that’s why you hear news of protests and complaints of substitution of names by the Chairman, from Esan South East to Orhionmwon, from Ovia to Etsako West, Oredo to Uhunmwode and so on.  

In 2023, are we still discussing the imposition of candidates in Edo PDP? It’s simply preposterous