3rd June, 2013
Nigerians were jolted last Thursday when the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, said President Goodluck Jonathan and governors currently serving their first term in office under the platform of the party should be given automatic ticket in the 2015 elections.
Anenih, who advocated this at a family dinner organised for PDP chiefs, hinged his proposition on President’s Jonathan’s “achievement in the power sector and others.” But what really has the president achieved? Indeed, the man, popularly known as Mr. Fix it, is at it again, taking dangerous calculating steps.
Though Nigerians were taken aback, this did not come as a surprise to those who are conversant with the Edo State-born politician’s past and who know him so well. The man is notorious, not just for making baseless and inflammatory statements, but also for election rigging. Small wonder he bears the ignominious epithet, Mr. Fix it. And anybody who underestimates him does so at his own peril.
But what beats Nigerians is the fact that Anenih is not just forcing the president and PDP governors on the other members of the party, he is also depriving other people who want to aspire for political offices the right to do so.
Anenih’s recent utterance is not just a fall-out of the rift between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and the latter’s perceived political aspiration, he is also seeking political relevance in this current dispensation.
Since Governor Adam’s Oshiomhole’s victory at the last governorship elections in Edo State has demystified him, the former Minister of Transport is only trying to ingratiate himself with the president and other party leaders. For him, the end justifies the means.
No matter the reason for Anenih’s proposition, the truth is this is ill-timed. It will not only further divide the already fractured PDP, it will heat the polity the more. Rather than advocate for automatic tickets based on some spurious achievements, Anenih and other PDP leaders should focus on good governance and service delivery. Doing otherwise is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.