Osita Chidoka: Governors can’t control PDP — their job is to manage crisis

Osita Chidoka, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, says governors have no control over the affairs of the party.

He said governors can only help in the management of crisis and resolving issues in the party.

On October 30, the opposition party held its national convention at Eagle Square in Abuja.

Prior to the exercise, a leadership crisis had rocked the party, putting the convention and the party’s fortunes in jeopardy.

Speaking on the role the governors played in calming the storm, Chidoka said there is no better group to salvage the party from the crisis than the governors. 

The former aviation minister spoke on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Monday.

He said although governors are saddled with the “burden of managing controversy” in the PDP, the power to oversee party affairs belongs to the national working committee (NWC).

“The governors are members of the party and its highest elected leaders. The burden of managing the controversy that normally comes with human interaction, of managing the tension in the party falls on the PDP governors,” he said.

“There is no better group of people to go to than the governors when looking at the mechanism of democracy such as consensus, zoning, and others.

“Will the governors control the party post-election? That is where the issue comes in. The immediate answer would be a no. That will not work because the governors, some of them are second term governors, some are looking for nomination into the senate, to run for president or whatever, some are seeking reelection. 

“And the NWC will make sure there is a level playing field for everybody contesting against governors.

“So, as much as the governors are critical in managing the tension in PDP, the national working committee now represents all shades of opinions in the PDP. 

“That means a certain balancing act has to continue to happen to keep all interest groups accommodated in the party.”