Rather than explore ways of endearing themselves back to the hearts of Nigerians, officials of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) are engaged in fratricidal war. OYEDAPO OYEWOLE reports.
It once prided itself as the largest party in Africa. In fact, at some point, it boastfully told whoever cared to listen that it was set to rule the country for sixty years. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) had good reasons to be haughty. After the 1999 general elections – the election that ushered in the Fourth Republic – the party did not only win the presidential election convincingly, it also won a majority of the states, performing poorly only in the South-West geo-political zone out of the six geo-political zones in the country. The party went on to rule the country for sixteen unbroken years until it met its waterloo in 2015
Since then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was defeated in 2015, the centre appears tattered within the party. An attempt by the party to return to power at the national level in 2019 met a brick wall as the incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari, roundly defeated Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the party candidate in the election. It also lost more states to the new bride, the All Progressives Congress (APC). PDP sank deeper into crisis. A few months ago, it lost three sitting governors, those of Ebonyi, Cross River and Zamfara states, aside from hordes of senators, House of Representatives and House of Assembly members, further reducing its influence in the polity. As though that wasn’t enough trouble for the party to contend with, some party stalwarts recently cited its National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, as being divisive in the running of party affairs as well as lacking the managerial ability to pilot its affairs. They called for his resignation.
But just as it appears Prince Secondus may weather the storm with his rapprochement to aggrieved party members and shuttle diplomacy to top shots of the party, a shocker came from Rivers State High Court as Justice O. Gbasam of the Degema Judicial Division vacation court, sitting in Port Harcourt, on Monday 23rd August 2021 granted an order restraining him from parading himself as the National Chairman pending the determination of a substantive suit.
This was sequel to the consideration of an ex parte application in suit No: PHC/2183/CS/2021 filed by Ibeabuchi Ernest Alex, Dennis Nna Amadi, Emmanuel Stephen and Umezirike Onucha against Uche Secondus (1st defendant) and the PDP (2nd defendant).
The judge, after reading the affidavit in support of the motion ex parte as well as the written address, and after hearing the submission of H.A. Bello, counsel to applicants, granted the interim injunction.
The order read in part, “that an order restraining the 1st defendant from parading himself as a member of the 2nd defendant or the National Chairman of the defendant or performing the functions of National Chairman of the 2nd defendant or calling, attending or presiding over any meeting of the 2nd defendant or any committee of the 2nd defendant at the ward, local government or state level, or calling for any ward, local government or state congress of the 2nd defendant or setting up committees for such congresses or participating in any activity of the 2nd defendant whatsoever whilst on suspension as a member of the 2nd defendant pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”
Justice Gbasam also granted the petitioners leave to serve by substituted means the Originating Summons, Motion on Notice, all orders made by the court and all subsequent processes on the respondent by pasting same on his gate at No.1 William Jumbo Street, Old GRA, Port Harcourt.
The judge further granted leave to serve by substituted means orders made by the court on the respondents by publishing the same in the Nation Newspaper. The court also ordered that the PDP be served by substituted means.
The court action followed the decision to suspend Mr Secondus by his ward executive in Rivers State, a decision that was rectified by members of his local government area executive and subsequently by the state executive. This development is said to be akin to the events leading to the eventual removal of the then National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on 12th November 2019. It will be recalled that Oshiomhole was equally suspended from the APC after 18 local government chairmen of his party in his native state of Edo passed a vote of no confidence in him. He was accused of trying to disintegrate the party in the state.
An Abuja High Court was to rule in March 2020 that Oshiomhole’s suspension was legal and ordered Mr Oshiomhole to stop parading himself as APC National Chairman. The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja upheld the decision of the lower court, insisting that Mr Oshiomhole’s suspension was valid. Oshiomhole was in the process of having the decision upturned at the Apex Court when the National Executive Committee, which he led, was unceremoniously removed via a presidential fiat.
Reacting to the latest development, a member of the party pointed out that: “(the) PDP is not APC and Secondus is not Oshiomhole. Secondly, that APC borrowed the PDP constitution to create its own but lacks the administrative experiences PDP has developed and learnt over the past 24 years of its existence to manage itself adequately.
“Those that orchestrated this evil and cowardly act in a court that does not respect the judgements delivered by the Supreme Courts of our land have forgotten that several PDP chairmen had been suspended or removed inordinately and unceremoniously by the then leaders of the party which led to the insertion of Chapter 10 Clause (3) Page102 of our constitution in 2017, which states clearly as follows: ‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution relating to discipline, no executive committee shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the National Executive Committee, President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Ambassadors, Special Advisers or members of the Legislative Houses” *. Going by this position, then means the court of law was misguided in taking the decision it took. But just how did Mr Secondus got himself enmeshed in this crisis?
It will be recalled that his emergence in December 2017 as National Chairman was the outcome of the serious political game plan, strategy, intrigues and horse-trading among prominent and relevant party stakeholders spearheaded by Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike. The heat created by Mr Wike and his counterpart in Ekiti, Ayodele Fayose forced several chairmanship aspirants to withdraw from the race. One of the aspirants, Olabode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, expressed displeasure over what he described as failure of the party and its leaders to uphold the arrangement, which micro zoned the chairmanship to the Southwest. He also accused Governor Wike of insulting the South-West by saying the zone had not contributed much to the PDP to warrant its insistence on occupying the national chairmanship position.
Five other aspirants from the zone toed the line of Mr George by pulling out of the race as well. Although not stated, many believed that these aspirants might have been aggrieved by what they perceived as unfair treatment of the zone and decided to pull out and also to boost the chances of former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran who is also from the zone.
Secondus received strong backing from the then 11 governors elected on the platform of the party, as they stood in solidarity with him throughout the exercise. Governors Wike and his Ekiti State counterpart Fayose actively mobilised support openly for the new party chair.
The result as announced at the end of the convention showed that Secondus, who had acted as National Chairman of the party shortly after PDP was ousted from power in 2015, polled 2000 votes to beat his closest rival former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, who got 230 votes. Chief Dokpesi scored 66 votes while Prof. Adedoja got no vote. The relationship was convivial at this time.
However, sources have traced the cold war between Wike and his political godson to December 2020 when NWC members met with Wike in Port Harcourt during which he told the party executives that all of them would be sacked by January 2021. Secondus and the NWC members reportedly worked round the clock to foil the plot. What then followed were relentless efforts aimed at ensuring the realisation of Governor Wike’s desire.
It was gathered that efforts by some church and party leaders to reconcile the two sides failed to yield any meaningful result, with Wike making no pretence of having lost confidence in Prince Secondus leadership of the party.
Although some party leaders have been hatching plans for an early national convention of the party, most leaders, including members of the NEC and the Board of Trustees, opted for the National Convention of the party to be held in December.
A source in the NWC said: “At a time the PDP should be consolidating for 2023, there is a plot to remove all party executives before December when our National Convention ought to elect new leaders for the party. Those behind the sack of the National Chairman and the NWC have the full backing of Governor Wike who has some differences with Secondus.
“It is a carryover from the 2018 presidential primaries when Secondus refused to do the bidding of Wike. Governor Aminu Tambuwal, who was Wike’s favourite, lost out to ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar. “Even some elders of the party and church leaders have tried to broker peace between Wike and Secondus but the governor insisted that the NWC must go. He does not want to wait till December when party executives will be democratically elected.
‘It is, however, going to be a fight-to-the-finish because PDP leaders in the North and South East are solidly behind Secondus and his team, whose tenure expires in December. It is not the first time that the governor will demand the exit of the NWC. Last December when Secondus led NWC members to him, he told all of us that we would be removed by January 2021.
Another source claimed that Rivers State politics may have ‘complicated’ the problem between Wike and Secondus. According to the source: “There are signs that there may be no power shift in Rivers State in 2023. Wike has been accused of planning to retain the governorship ticket in the upland axis and Secondus believes the ticket should go to the riverine axis.
“Since 1999, the upland has been producing the governor in the state. The calculation of the APC is to cede its ticket to the riverine axis. It is also clear that Wike is not favourably disposed to Secondus as his successor. And Secondus will certainly not hawk the presidential or vice-presidential ticket to Wike. He wants a level playing field.”
In obvious deference to the anti-Secondus elements within its fold, the PDP had on 10 August 2021 fixed its National Convention for October to elect new members of the National Working Committee. The Chairman of the patty Governors Forum, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, disclosed this to journalists after a meeting of the leaders of the party in Abuja.
The meeting, which lasted for several hours at the national secretariat of the party, was attended by PDP governors, members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and members of the National Assembly. Some former governors, former ministers and other senior members of the party were also in attendance.
It was convened to resolve the leadership crisis which had engulfed the party in the last few weeks, which had led to calls for the resignation of Prince Secondus. The Secondus-led NWC members were elected in December 2017 for a four-year term expected to lapse later in the year.
The BoT and PDP Governors Forum had previously met separately to intervene in the crisis, especially after the resignation of seven members of the NWC last recently.
Mr Tambuwal said the party NEC was also mandated to meet at a date yet to be scheduled to constitute a committee to zone national elective offices and party positions. In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the leaders asked all the parties in the crisis to sheath their swords in the interest of the party.
The communiqué reads as follows:
1. The PDP stakeholders held a meeting on Tuesday 10th August 2021, at Wadata Plaza, Abuja on the recent developments in the PDP.
2. There were extensive consultations with all major stakeholders in the party including governors, members of the Board of Trustees, former presiding officers and current principal officers and leaders of the National Assembly, former governors, former ministers, and indeed other leaders of the party to bring all tendencies within the party together given the urgent task facing the party as the only viable vehicle to checkmate the abysmally poor governance of the APC led Federal Government.
3. The meeting deliberated extensively on the issues thrown up and resolved as follows:
a. That the constitution, traditions and practices of the party should be strictly adhered to in finding solutions to any problems.
b. That all parties should sheath their sword in the greater interest of the PDP and the need to RESCUE Nigeria from the avoidable National malaise and drift occasioned by the APC administration.
c. That all processes leading to an early National Convention in October be immediately activated by relevant party organs, especially National Executive Committee (NEC).
d. That the party should redouble efforts to provide credible alternative leadership for Nigeria as it remains the only hope for the Nigerian people for good governance.
e. The meeting requested the NEC to immediately constitute a Zoning Committee for party offices and another committee for National Elective Offices.
f. The meeting expressed appreciation to party elders for their commitment and wisdom in handling party affairs.
However, as part of the efforts to resolve the crisis and retain his position beyond 2021, the embattled Prince Secondus met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State where he held a private meeting with the former Nigeria leader. It was believed that Chief Obasanjo, despite his widely announced withdrawal from partisan politics, still parades a huge influence in the party.
But Governor Wike insists on regime change within the party. Wike was quoted to have said that the present NWC of the party led by Secondus cannot lead the party to victory in the 2023 general elections, hence the quest for its replacement. The governor maintains that the internal rumbling that was recently witnessed in the party was as a result of the failure of the NWC to carry out its responsibility as an opposition political party effectively.
Speaking on private television in Port Harcourt recently, Wike stated that the PDP remains the only credible alternative party that Nigerians are expecting to take over power in 2023, given the woeful performance of the ruling APC.
“If you go to the public and ask Nigerians if PDP is ready to take over power in 2023, if you take referendum, you will know that Nigerians are even waiting for PDP. But the fear of Nigerians is whether PDP is ready to take over political power. So, people are concerned about it. It is ripe for PDP to take over, but you must be prepared to take over.
“And we said with what we have now, it will be difficult to take over power in 2023 if there are no amendments. Leadership is the problem. The point is this, the current NWC, as it is today, cannot lead the party to victory. Nobody has said they have not done well, one way or the other, but we are talking about the challenges ahead.
“That is why we are pushing for the party to have other people to lead the party and to give it a different strength altogether. If you know APC, you know that you need a robust, determined leadership of the party (PDP) to make sure you match them word by word, action by action.”
Wike said anyone who loves the PDP and means well for the party will adhere to the resolutions reached after the intervention of the governors, BoT and elders to douse the brewing crisis in the party. The governor dismissed insinuation that he is nurturing a presidential ambition, hence his opposition to the current NWC. He stated that his primary preoccupation is to see how the PDP could be better positioned to win the 2023 general elections.
Meanwhile, following the unceremonious exit of Secondus, the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the party, Elder Yemi Akinwunmi, took over the affairs of the party on Tuesday 24th August and suspended the NWC meeting of the party indefinitely. Elder Akinwunmi cited Section 35 (b) of the PDP Constitution to support his action.
While describing himself as the authentic National Chairman of the party, Akinwonmi said providence has bestowed on him the leadership of the former ruling party.
Speaking at Wadata Plaza, the PDP’s National Secretary in Abuja, Akinwonmi, however, declared that there is no victor, no vanquish. He appealed to members of the party to team up with him as he takes over the party’s leadership mantle.
“I am a man of peace, not a man of crisis. PDP has a good succession order. There is an order here. The chairman is followed by the Deputy National Chairman one (South), followed by the Deputy National Chairman two (North).”
He also rubbished an earlier meeting presided over by PDP’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Sulaiman Nazif. He described the meeting held by Nazif as null and void, stressing that he would soon convene the party’s NWC meeting.
But reacting to his suspension, Secondus, through his Special Assistant, Media, Ike Abonyi, said his media office was inundated with calls from media houses on a press statement sent to newsrooms by one Kelvin Ebiri, Special Assistant, Media to the Rivers State governor, announcing that “court restrains Secondus from parading himself as National Chairman, Member of PDP “If Secondus and the party are taken to court they will defend themselves.
“PDP and Secondus are not afraid of court; this party is a child of history, owned by Nigerians, bigger than any individual or group including desperadoes.
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