Since its candidate lost in the April governorship election in Plateau State, the Labour Party has been swimming in troubled waters. Correspondent YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU takes a look at how the party found itself on the brink of extinction.
When matters come to exuding sportsmanship, especially in electoral matters, the Labour Party (LP), Plateau State, should be counted out. Reason: The party has vowed not to give up until it is all over.
The party and its governorship candidate, Mrs Pauline Tallen, lost the April 2011 governorship polls in the state. And, at the election tribunal to which they took their case they also lost. Not done now, they have proceeded to the Appeal Tribunal sitting in Jos, the state capital, all in search of ‘justice.’
Indeed, it was not a bad story for the LP at the polls; it secured a senatorial seat being occupied by Senator Joshua Chibi Dariye at the upper chamber. The party also won four seats in the Plateau State House of Assembly. It is now bracing up for the proposed local government elections in the state.
The circumstances driving the party down the hill may not just be attributed to the party; rather, it is the pattern of party politics in the state and it has become a defining feature of the state’s political behaviour.
There are more than 50 registered political parties in Nigeria, but not more than 10 are known in the state. Of the 10 on the Plateau, only four have strong presence – the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the LP and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
The reason for the absence of most of the political parties is not far to seek. Plateau people have the culture and history of sticking to one political party and when they get the party of their choice, it will be impossible for another party to penetrate the state.
When Plateau people decided to be in opposition party in the First Republic, they did comfortably such that it was difficult for the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) to uproot the opposition from the state for about six years until the military struck and dismantled all democratic structures through the 1994 coup.
From 1999, Plateau people adopted the PDP as their party and they have stuck to it since then. In 2003, the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), and Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) made fruitless efforts to penetrate the state. Today, PDP holds sway.
However, the LP came in full swing in 2009 with the aim of sending the ruling party packing from the state. Their presence alone was ‘intimidating’ and they gave the ruling party and others a lot of concern.
As at the last quarter of 2010, when the state was set for the 2011 general elections, the LP had become a real force to give other parties sleepless nights. It has taken over 70 per cent of voters and topmost politicians in Plateau State.
The party enjoyed the support of all former governors of the state – Chief Solomon Lar, Sir Fidelis Tapgun, Chief Michael Botmang and Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye. Others are heavy-weight politicians like former Minister of Sport, Chief Damishi Sango, former Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Nasiru Mantu, former Minister of State for Information and Communication, Alhaji Salisu Ibrahim Nakande; former Ambassador Bagudu Hirse, Yakubu Deshi, Emmanuel Magnin and Senator Venmark Dangin.
Apart from this retinue of high-flying politicians from the state, 17 of the 24 members of the state House of Assembly had joined the fold of the LP, leaving only seven members for the PDP.
All the influential politicians have thousands of followers behind them and they had the former deputy to Governor Jang, Tallen, as their governorship candidate for the 2011 elections.
But that seemed a slap on the face of Jang. Everyone was watching to see how the governor who has his deputy as the leader of his opposition would behave.
The Jang-led PDP was left with his commissioners and local government chairmen as his political allies, but Jang was sure that the electorate at the grassroots who are direct beneficiaries of his government policies would vote him come rain, come sun.
Of course, there is hardly any local government in the state that had not benefitted from capital projects of Jang within the first four years of his reign.
If crowds at rallies were the barometer for predicting electoral victory, then the LP candidate was ahead. But political analysts predicted that the party and its governorship candidate would not be a match for Jang.
They were right. After the votes were counted, Tallen’s votes were about half of those scored by Jang. The PDP candidate got over 800, 000 votes, while Tallen got over 400, 000 votes. The LP and its candidate cried foul and rushed to the election tribunal to seek justice.
When the tribunal was through with its work, it affirmed Jang’s victory. Not done, Tallen pushed for an appeal at the Appeal Court sitting in Jos where the matter is still undergoing further judicial scrutiny.
Recent political developments after the April 2011 polls have shown that the once flourishing LP has started experiencing depletion in size. Most of the top politicians have since sneaked back into the PDP where the came from.
Former Governor Fidelis Tapgun who was a foundation father of LP sneaked out of the party as soon as Tallen emerged its flag bearer. Mr. Damishi Sango toed the same path as Tapgun. As a matter of fact, the LP broke into four political groups; some went back to PDP, Sango led some into ANPP, Chris Giwa held on to his ACN.
The damage the internal crises have done to the Tallen election was such that the party lost its original followers and that resulted in the pattern of votes cast.
As a matter of fact, all the leaders and followers of the LP were PDP members and when they knew they had lost their attempt to remove Jang, they simply devised strategies to return to PDP.
Most of the followers of LP who are skeptical of the party’s chance of getting victory at the appeal tribunal have abandoned the party. It was widely rumoured that the only Senator of the LP in the national assembly would soon dump the party and return to PDP, the platform on which he once governed the state for eight years.
Many analysts believe that the LP in Plateau State, is now in intensive care unit of the state’s political theatre.
Continued here:
Trouble hits Labour Party on the Plateau