Monday, March 10, 2008

Nigerian Party Picks New Leader



The governing People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria has elected Vincent Ogbulafor as its new leader at a convention in the capital, Abuja.

Mr Ogbulafor is the party's former general secretary and is considered a compromise candidate, able to unite different factions of the party.

His election is seen as a setback for ex-leader Olusegun Obasanjo who was backing his own candidate.

The PDP won heavily in disputed 2007 polls and dominates national politics.


This article addresses the recent election of Vincent Ogbulafor to serve as the People's Democratic Party's leader in Nigeria. Ogbulafor is the former general secretary; he is viewed as a "compromise candidate" because he connects the different groups of the party. This "compromise" shows that the leaders of the dominant party in Nigeria are seeking to do what would be best for the nation which would be to put aside differences and find a common ground. The election of Ogbulafor was seen as a test of former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo's influence on the activities of the nation and its political parties. Obasanjo was backing one of his "allies," Sam Egwu, for this position, but Mr. Edwu was not selected. Many people in the People's Democratic Party are seeking to lower Obasanjo's influence on the goings-on in Nigeria. This shows that many of them are trying to move ahead, rather than staying in the same place they were the entire time Obasanjo was president. Alex Last believes that there was "a lot of backroom dealing before the result was announced" because of the corrupt nature of many of Nigerian leaders.

GRADE THIS POST

No comments: