PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus and Yobe Stae Governor and Chairman, Caretaker/ National Convention Planning Committee of APC. Mai Mala Buni
By Our Reporter
The two leading political parties in Nigeria, the ruling All Progressives Congress APC and major opposition, Peoples Democratic Party PDP are currently swimming in a pool controversy ahead of the 2023 general elections.
So neck-deep in crisis are the two parties that party members are scheming to outdo one another.
For the Peoples Democratic Party, the chairman, Uche Secondus, is battling to retain his position as opposition to his chairmanship mounts,
NATIONAL WAVES reliably learnt that the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and other party chieftains opposed to Secondus were bent on removing him before the National Executive Committee meeting of the party, which would hold before the end of 2021.
Gathered that the plot to remove Secondus had been surreptitiously underway until recently when it was made public and it was part of moves to thwart his re-election at the party’s national convention, which would hold in November.
Secondus will not go down without a fight, as he had secretly warmed himself into the heart of the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, who ostensibly had started mobilising support for him.
Gathered that Secondus is eager to convene the NEC meeting, where members of the convention/election committee would be chosen, he may succeed in planting his loyalists in the committee thus paving the way for his re-election, a move that the Wike’s camp has vowed to checkmate.
It would be recalled that a crisis had hit the PDP National Working Committee following the resignation of seven members.
It was gathered that the anti-Secondus forces thought the mass resignation would force the chairman out of the office or lead to the setting up of a caretaker committee to replace the NWC before the national convention where new national officers would emerge.
A reliable source informed this newspaper that, “The crisis is about the control of the party ahead of the 2023 elections. Wike and others, who are opposed to Secondus strongly believe that if he is allowed to convene and preside over the NEC meeting, where the national convention/election committee members will be chosen, he will ensure that his supporters are members, thus his re-emergence as the national chairman will be easy. They believe that Secondus should not preside over his re-election.”
.Moves by the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom to reconcile Secondus and Wike failed. Ortom had hosted Wike and Secondus in what was widely believed to be a move to reconcile the duo.
Though the outcome of the meeting was not made public, it was reported that Ortom reconciled Wike and Secondus.
.After the resignation of the seven members of the NWC, Tambuwal had to cut short his visit to Ghana to attend an emergency session with some of his colleagues in Abuja.
As Tambuwal moves to save the embattled chairman heightened, the Chairman of the party Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jubin, summoned an emergency meeting of the board which would be held today.
It was learnt that Tambuwal, who started reaching out to his colleagues on Tuesday night was being supported by Senator Seriake Dickson ,who was coordinating members of the party in the National Assembly.
A top party member who crave for anonymity squealed that those who resigned are not members of the NWC,
“In all honesty, no member of the National Working Committee has resigned yet, yes there are threats but no one has resigned.
“The seven deputies who resigned yesterday were members of the National Executive Committee not the NWC.
“However, their decision also makes the party look bad. We know an individual who is hell bent on causing chaos in the party because of a personal ambition. But he will soon realise that the PDP is bigger than any individual. We have survived the worst. I know Tambuwal and Dickson are mobilising support for Secondus.” He said.
Secondus, while commenting on the move to sack him, alleged that an unnamed party leader was behind his travails.
Secondus said this in a statement titled “Who is after Secondus and Why is somebody in love with a caretaker?” signed by his Media Adviser, Ike Abonyi, in Abuja.
He alleged that the disquiet within the PDP barely four months to the national convention of the party was because “somebody is rooting for a caretaker committee to run the affairs of the party.”
The statement further read, “The media office of the National Chairman is privy to an intelligence that the strong party chieftain bent on hijacking the party structure for destruction is still on the loose with the main agenda of denting the image of Prince Uche Secondus the National Chairman.
“Reports reaching this office show clearly that this character is deploying all devious means to try and diminish the person and character of the National Chairman with a view to having his way of ultimately hijacking the structure for his disproportionately large ambition.”
Secondus assured all stakeholders in the party that steps were being taken to ensure that the image of the party was not injured.
Those in the know stated that Secondus was referring to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar as being the party leader who wants him out but Atiku has denied having a link to Secondus’ travail.
Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, described those spreading such rumours as mischief makers.
He said, “Why will a former Vice-President be behind the plot to sack the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus? What will be his interest?
“Someone who has commenced the process of having conversations with stakeholders of the party on reconciliation; a man who has encouraged processes aimed at ensuring peace and stability in the party.
“The trip he made to Port Harcourt, he had a similar one to Delta. And he has more in the offing. Why will he promote peace and stability in the party and be behind moves to sack Secondus? It’s ridiculous for anyone to talk about this.
“Atiku understands the constitution of the PDP and what the party stated about tenure for party leadership.
“So, he cannot be working against something that he understands and promotes. That is not how democrats behave.Whoever is saying this, should know it is ‘beer parlour’ talk and unnecessary mischief.”
While the crisis rocking the PDP is yet to be resolved, the ruling party, the APC is also having its share of crisis.
The party is faced with the challenge posed by the Supreme Court judgment on the Ondo State governorship election.
Some senior party members have argued that a part of the judgment calls to question the continued stay in office of Mai Mala Buni, a serving governor, as Chairman of the Caretaker/ National Convention Planning Committee of the party.
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN) had argued that the party should halt further activities and effect changes in leadership, a view countered by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami and APC lead counsel in the Ondo case, Niyi Akintola (SAN). They maintained that the party leadership has no reason to nurse any fear because no law has been breached.”
It would be recalled that after a meeting attended by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the APC state governors and other stakeholders on Friday night, the party leaders started considering the removal of Buni as caretaker committee chairman and other governors, who are members of the panel.
Apart from Buni, who is the Governor of Yobe State, other governors, who are members of the committee, are Sani Bello of Niger State, who is representing the North-Central and his Osun State counterpart, Isiaka Oyetola, who represents the South-West.
Contrary views held by APC party chieftains on the Supreme Court judgment in Ondo State affected the ward congress held recently by the APC. The congress were characterised by protests, boycotts and the formation of parallel executives in some states.
NATIONAL WAVES Investigation revealed that the affected states include: Kwara, Ekiti, Kano, Lagos, Imo, Oyo, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, and Enugu.
However, states such as Edo, Katsina, Jigawa, Niger, Ogun, and others elected their ward leaders through a consensus arrangement as recommended by the national secretariat of the party.
