2023: Will Secondus get to the finish line?

Secondus, a Rivers State-born politician, has suffered many challenges as the PDP helmsman despite his contributions to opposition politics in the country.

The storm in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not yet over as the fate of the party’s national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, who is to complete his tenure of four years in December, hangs in the balance.

Like the proverbial cat with nine lives, Secondus has weathered many storms since assumption of office in December 2017.

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It is, however, very cumbersome to draw a conclusion on whether he would successfully lead members of the current National Working Committee (NWC) to the end of their tenure, in view of the existing threats to remove him.

Secondus, a Rivers State-born politician, has suffered many challenges as the PDP helmsman despite his contributions to opposition politics in the country.

Some party chieftains have accused him of poor management of the party’s affairs, inability to tackle internal crisis in some state chapters and zones, failure to win the 2019 presidential election for the party, failure to arrest the gale of defections rocking the party, constitutional breaches, among others.

His tenure of four years will elapse in December 2021 when another national convention would be conducted for a new leadership to emerge. But Daily Trust gathered that some party stalwarts are plotting his removal before then.

A credible source revealed that some founding fathers of the party, former national officers, former governors, among others, who are part of the plot to show Secondus the exit route, were planning to constitute a committee to that effect.

One difficult question that lacks a definite answer within and outside the party circle remains: Will Secondus survive these many battles?

Pundits say the magnitude of plots against Secondus were meant to either oust him or halt his second term bid at the expiration of his first tenure despite the fact that the National Executive Committee (NEC) recently passed a vote of confidence on him.

The N10bn allegation

The most recent allegation against Secondus was made by a chieftain of the party, Kazeem Afegbua, who claimed that he had misappropriated N10 billion belonging to the party.

Afegbua petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to probe the Secondus-led NWC.

He alleged that the misappropriated fund was raised from the sale of expression of interest and nomination forms for presidential, governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and state Houses of Assembly elections in 2019.

But reacting to the allegation, the national publicity secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, dispelled the claims. He argued that the party only realised N4.6 billion from the sale of nomination forms in 2019, and not N10 billion as alleged by Afegbua.

He added that the PDP had submitted its audited account for the year to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as required by law.

Consequently, Secondus instituted N1 billion libel suit against Afegbua.

A credible source in the party told one of our correspondents that “the current N10 billion crisis is perceived to be a plot by a governor in the South-South to oust Secondus.’’

Billions in three years

Similarly, Secondus was accused of financial impropriety in a leaked memo by the party’s audit department. In the memo, the department revealed how the NWC misappropriated billions of naira generated in the last three years.

The national auditor, Adamu Mustapha, also alleged that his department was denied access to all the party’s financial transactions since 2017.

But days later, Mustapha addressed a press conference and denied accusing Secondus of any wrongdoing.  He, however, admitted sending a routine memo to the NWC meeting, which was the source of the accusations.

“The memo was misrepresented in the media to achieve a sinister purpose against the party,’’ he said.

Inability to manage crisis

Another allegation is that Secondus has not managed the crises in the various state chapters and zones of the party well. The consequence of this, critics argue, is the mass exodus of bigwigs to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in recent times.

Secondus versus Wike

Some key actors in the political circle have reached a consensus that Secondus’ many battles stemmed from an alleged frosty relationship with his governor, Nyesom Wike  who, many believe, worked for his emergence as the party’s national chairman.

A source claimed that Governor Wike was on a revenge mission against Secondus for allegedly failing to support his anointed candidate during the 2018 PDP presidential primary poll in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, ahead of the 2019 general elections.

There were hints that Wike supported Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, who lost the ticket to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Secondus was said to have pitched tent with Atiku, who he allegedly felt had more political clout, wider reach and pedigree. But this, insiders said, did not go down well with Wike, who felt cheated.

It was gathered that some governors elected on the platform of the PDP were scheming to remove Secondus and stop him from coming back for a second term.

But the publicity secretary of the Rivers State chapter of the party, Sydney Gbara, dispelled the claims. He said neither Wike nor the state chapter of the party was behind the recent N10bn allegation and probe.

“We have a very good relationship with Secondus. How can we fight somebody sponsored from the state to occupy such an exalted position? Those saying we are behind the allegation of N10bn embezzlement are acting on the figment of their imagination,’’ he said.

Governor Wike had in June 2020 accused the Secondus-led NWC of being tax collectors and berated them for allegedly sowing seed of discord among PDP governors and jeopardising the party’s prospects of reclaiming power in 2023.

Wike said it was regrettable that instead of capitalising on the alleged inefficiency and maladministration that has characterised APC’s five years in power, the PDP NWC was deepening cracks in the party.

He accused the leadership of the NWC of merely being interested in retaining the current structure of the party to remain in power and not to win the 2023 elections.

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said Wike had gradually whittled down the political influence of Secondus in both his local government area and the state.

“During the last chairmanship and councillorship screening in the state, all the candidates that are loyal to Secondus were screened out,’’ he claimed.

However, a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and former Minister of Police Affairs, Adamu Maina Waziri, said the controversy was unnecessary and only generated to cause disharmony in the party’s rank and file.

“Similar controversy was generated that ousted the leadership of the ruling party; and as you can see, up to this moment, the party hasn’t put its house together to have a leadership in line with the provisions of its constitution.

“Now, the same script is being played in PDP by the social media and the press. Let me say that there is no alternative to democratically elected government in Nigeria; and there can never be a democratically elected government in the country without a political platform, which ordinarily is called a political party.

“So there is the need for caution so that the two main political parties in Nigeria are not destabilised. This will add to the serious issues facing governance in this country.

“As far as I am concerned, there is nothing in the public space that can stampede the PDP to cause a change of its leadership when this same leadership has just some five or six months to go.

“You know his tenure is going to end by December 2021, but forces in the party want to replace him with someone who will not tamper with their political ambitions,’’ he said.

Observers said Secondus must work hard to finish the remaining seven months of his tenure as chairman of the PDP. But it is left to be seen whether he would survive all the political arrows or get forced out of office unceremoniously.

By Saawua Terzungwe, Hamisu Kabir Matazu (Abuja) & Victor Edozie (Port Harcourt)