The conflict arising from the leadership tussle in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno State has incapacitated it to near non-existence in the state’s political scene.

The party, since 2017, has been sharply split into two factions – one led by Usman Mahdi Badeiri, and the other by Zanna Gaddama – each tugging hard for the control of the party, claiming to be its legal and, therefore, legitimate chairman. The two disputants are presently before the Supreme Court.

With each faction not by any inkling prepared to concede leadership to the other, until the judgement of the apex court, the virtually non-existent opposition party seems in the hypnotic grip of someone somewhere who may have vowed to ensure that it is a problem to itself for as much, and for as long, as he wants it to be, for whatever political reasons. This observation is confirmed by the contenders as they both are alleging that ‘some people’ were instigating them against each other in a grand machination to disorganise the party in the state and render it unable to win any election.

The party was reportedly making very impressive outings in electoral contests, especially between 1999 and 2011, until the alleged defection of its erstwhile national chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, back to it before the 2015 general elections. The crisis in the party was allegedly sown when Sheriff, a former ANPP strongman, reportedly joined the party with his stalwarts before the 2015 general elections. He reportedly sought to secure the control of the party to enable him to hold the ace in the party.

He, allegedly, immediately demanded to produce the leaders of the party and determine who should contest what seat from the party in the general elections. He, reportedly, most especially wanted to determine who should be the party’s flag bearer in the state’s 2015 gubernatorial election. His hosts, the henchmen he met in the party, however, refused to have any of that. The dispute eventually went before the Supreme Court.
When, subsequently, the apex court judged in favour of Gambo Lawan, who was not a Sheriff man, he allegedly led his men to dormancy within the party – remaining in it but not supporting Gambo Lawan in the 2015 gubernatorial election. Consequently, PDP was defeated in the election. APC’s Kashim Shettima won a second tenure. Subsequently, the political fortunes of the party began to suffer a decline. Party diehards, henchmen and powers behind it reposed their hope for renascence in leadership change at a state congress.

On November 11, 2017, two years after the 2015 elections, the party held its state congress in Maiduguri when Usman Mahdi Badeiri was said to have won. The Sabo Garba-led team of the party’s electoral officers sent by the then national chairman of the party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi to conduct the congress, allegedly declared the election inconclusive. That congress most pronouncedly slit the party into the two disputing factions to this day; with the group led by Zanna Gaddama alleging gross irregularities in the congress that produced Badeiri. The aggrieved Gaddama flank, allegedly backed by Wadata Plaza, swore never to have Badeiri as chairman.

Ten days after the November congress, it organised another congress in Gombe which produced Gaddama as state chairman and Baba Ahmed as state secretary. “When the Sabo Garba team declared the November election inconclusive, we went to Abuja (national headquarters, Wadata Plaza) to complain, but we were not given any listening ear,” Umar Sanda, spokesman for the Badeiri faction recalled, adding, “and they rushed to Gombe to organise the congress that produced the Gaddama-led executive council.” He also alleged that, “There was an evil machination to ensure that the party never wins any election in the state henceforth.” Consequently, the Badeiri faction filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Maiduguri against the election of Gaddama and his other officers.

The court subsequently declared the Badeiri-led officers as the leaders of the party. The 2019 election was then fast approaching Consequently, Zanna Gaddama, within two weeks after the Federal High Court judgment, headed to the Court of Appeal, Jos to get the nod to organise the participation of the party in the general elections in Borno State. “The Appeal Court could not rule on the case because it was too late before the general elections,” Umar Sanda recalled, saying, “and it advised us to go to the Supreme Court.
“We filed a case at the Supreme Court, which had its first sitting on the case in October 2019 and called for evidence from each side to back its claim for the leadership. “The case is still before the Supreme Court,” he recalled.

Each of the factions argues that “giving what is due to whom it is due” is the best way to resolve the quandary, resuscitate the party and restore its political fortunes in the state. However, for each, “giving what is due to whom it is due” means recognising it as the legal and legitimate leader. “Neither the national nor the northeast zonal headquarters of the party called us to resolve the problem,” factional chairman Usman Badeiri, said angrily, stressing that, “It is evident that the national and zonal headquarters in Abuja and Bauchi hate Borno PDP.”
He is standing firm on his claim for the party leadership “Until the Supreme Court rules against my leadership, I am still the legal and legitimate chairman of Borno PDP,” Badeiri stated, and advised the Gaddama faction to recognise him as such so that the other posts could be shared between the two factions amicably.

“The Supreme Court is the final arbiter,” factional chairman Zanna Gaddama said, maintaining that “until the court rules against my leadership, I am still the chairman; so, let’s please wait for the court’s judgment.” Gaddama said: “Wallahi I was not interested in being the party chairman; I was only dragged into this leadership by people who believed we had to come in to right the wrongs in the party. “In fact, the 4-year tenure is expiring in 2021.” He alleged that “People are instigating them (Badeiri faction) to destabilise the party to a state that it cannot win any election.” They both wait for the Supreme Court to end the quandary.

culled from,Daiy trust