The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission is now under the firm control of the All Progressives Congress.
Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus
It cited the piecemeal release of results of the March 19 rerun election in Rivers State by the commission, which it alleged was done to satisfy the ruling party, as an example.
The Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, made this allegation in an interview with reporters in Abuja on Wednesday.
He alleged that the electoral body was taking instructions from the ruling party on what to do with the outcome of the Rivers rerun which he claimed his party won convincingly.
Before the suspension of announcement of the results, the commission had released the results in nine state constituencies and one federal constituency.
But in the results made available on Tuesday in Port Harcourt and signed by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Aniedi Ikoiwak, the PDP maintained its lead by winning three federal constituencies while it shared two state constituency seats with its main rival, the APC.
Secondus, who also appraised the conduct of elections by INEC since the assumption of office by the Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, expressed concern that all the elections conducted by the electoral body since then were inconclusive.
He cited the Kogi, Bayelsa and the recent Rivers states’ rerun elections as examples.
Secondus said, “Now in Rivers, because the PDP won all the elections despite the intimidation by the military, the results are being released piecemeal because the APC has failed woefully in all the constituencies.
“It is apparent that the commission has become a department in the APC. The commission is being controlled by the APC. The commission has lost its independence and we have empirical evidence on this.”
Secondus further alleged that the commission had yet to fix a date for fresh election in the state in the areas that were cancelled because it “was waiting for instruction from the APC.”
He said, “They haven’t fixed a date for rerun because of the APC. INEC is now being supervised by the leadership of the APC and the Buhari administration.
“They are no longer independent and we are losing confidence in INEC. In the Federal Capital Territory, election date was announced but suddenly, because they knew the APC was going to lose, they postponed the election after we had spent money and time.
“All these show that INEC is now a parastatal of the APC. The danger is that this current leadership that will conduct the general elections in 2019 has been compromised.
“The forthcoming Edo and Ondo states’ governorship elections are in danger. With what happened in Rivers, Nigeria is in danger.
“There may be no election in 2019 with the way INEC is conducting itself as a parastatal of the APC.”
The commission has however dismissed the PDP allegation, saying it would not be forced to announce result of inconclusive elections.
The Deputy Director, Voter Education and Publicity at the commission, Mr. Nick Dazang, who spoke with our correspondent, also denied the allegation that the electoral body was being controlled by the APC.
He said elections were stopped in Rivers because of many reasons.
He said, “As of the time of the suspension of further action by the commission, the exercise was at different stages.
“For example, the elections had been concluded in some constituencies with the declaration of results and return of winners by the respective Returning Officers; results declared and/or returns made under duress or by unauthorised persons; collation had been concluded but no declaration or return made; voting had been concluded and collation was ongoing but yet to be concluded; voting concluded but collation yet to commence; and /or no voting at all or voting commenced but was disrupted before conclusion.”
He said these were the reasons why the election was stopped. Dazang called on the PDP, which he described as a formidable opposition, to stop peddling unfounded rumour.
The Rivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC said it has come to its notice that the Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, who was just released from EFCC detention over 23 choice vehicles he received from dubious quarters, has blamed his incarceration on a Minister from his home state, Rivers State.
Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus
In a release by the APC Spokeman, Senibo Chris Finebone said the only Minister from Prince Secondus’ home state is Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, CON, Minister for Transportation and leader of the APC in Rivers State.
“If by any turbulence of the mind occasioned by physical and psychological pressure of detention Prince Secondus meant that Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi has a hand his travails, the APC would like the PDP Deputy National Chairman to provide explanation on his charge to Rivers people, nay Nigerians” the statement explained
The APC asked Prince Secondus a number of questions: “Is Prince Secondus the only Nigerian being questioned by the EFCC at the moment? Has Olisa Metuh, his compatriot and fellow traveller, Abba Moro and others blamed Ministers or politicians from their home states for their travails so far? Did the PDP buy the 23 cars from his friend Omokore? Did Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi ask him to collect the cars that he would pay but later reneged? Is Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi the EFCC boss? Where lies the connection?”
The statement further reads: “The APC finds it laughable that Prince Secondus could not remember to do what most criminals do when they are caught in the act – blame Satan for tempting them and owning up to their crimes. He had all the days in detention to rehearse what might sound like a credible story for us poor Nigerians rather than pointing at an innocent man working so hard every other day to deliver on the onerous tasks of the Nigerian transportation sector.
“The Rivers State APC wishes to tell Prince Secondus to go in search of his clothing where he had his bath and refrain forthwith from dragging the name of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi and the APC into the conundrum of corruption he created for himself. Prince Secondus should, for once, adorn the garb of courage and stew in his own juice without attempting to obfuscate Nigerians who already know better.
“We encourage Prince Uche Secondus to do all he can to extricate himself from the claws of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption moving train so that he can help to patch up the PDP severely torn umbrella – something that is getting bleaker and bleaker by the day.”
A former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Uche Secondus, on Thursday admitted that detained businessman, Mr. Jide Omokore, gave him some cars.
Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus
He, however, said the cars, which he received over 10 years, were mere gifts.
But the former national chairman of the main opposition party didn’t mention the number of the cars which he received from the oil magnate.
Secondus, who was released on bail by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday evening, spoke with journalists at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.
He said he willingly honoured an invitation extended to him by the commission on February 23 “to clarify issues related to an ongoing investigation.”
He described his ordeal in the hands of the commission as political persecution.
During his interrogation, Secondus said he was confronted with allegations that he received some cars from Omokore, who he said had been his friend for over 20 years.
He said, “They (the commission) confronted me with allegations of receiving some cars from Mr. Jide Omokore, who has been my friend for over 20 years.
“I admitted to them that Mr. Jide Omokore has given me car gifts on several occasions in the last 10 years for my personal use.
“I want to state categorically that what I received from my friend, Jide Omokore, were cars and buses supplied by a well-known car company, Skymit Motors, apparently from a credit facility Mr. Omokore has with the company.
“I don’t have any knowledge of the so-called transaction the investigators are alleging he has with the NNPC.”
Secondus, who didn’t take questions during the short briefing, said it was disheartening that the facts of the matter under investigation had been grossly misrepresented in the media, an action he said could have been induced by a serving minister.
He described his eight days in the custody of the commission as a “clear case of a witch-hunt and pure political persecution,’’ which he claimed had ‘‘become the stock in trade of the APC-led government.”
Meanwhile, a former Minister of Defence and ex-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Dr. Haliru Bello, has applied for the permission of a Federal High Court in Abuja to travel abroad for medical treatment.
The EFCC, on January 5, 2016, arraigned Bello; his son, Abba; and a firm, BAM Project and Properties Limited, before the court on four counts of money laundering involving the sum of N300m allegedly meant for security.
The prosecution, led by Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), says BAM Project and Properties belongs to Abba.
The EFCC alleged that instead of using the N300m to provide “safe houses”, the purpose for which the money was released to them by the Office of the National Security Adviser in March, 2015, the accused allegedly expended it on PDP’s presidential campaign.
Bello’s passport and that of his son had been seized by the court as part of the bail conditions imposed by the trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in his ruling on January 7.
The ex-minister’s lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), informed the judge on Thursday that he had filed an application, seeking an order of the court tentatively releasing his client’s passport to enable him to travel abroad on health grounds.
Bello had appeared for his arraignment on January 5 in a wheelchair.
His lawyer said, while arguing the defendant’s bail application, that the ex-minister was then on admission in the hospital recovering from surgery.
Though he is no longer wheeled to the court in the last few court sessions, he now attends his trial using a walking stick.
The judge, on Thursday, fixed March 23 for hearing of Bello’s application and for the continuation of the cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness, Rouqayyat Ibrahim.
Ibrahim had, in her evidence-in-chief during the previous court proceedings on February 16, revealed fresh evidence of additional N300m, which the accused allegedly received in fraudulent manner from the ONSA, then under Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the immediate past Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus.
It was learnt on Wednesday that he was arrested by operatives of the commission in Abuja on Tuesday.
Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus
Investigations by one of our correspondents showed that Secondus was picked up as a result of the statements made by the Chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited, Mr. Jide Omokore.
Omokore was arrested by the commission last week over the investigation into fuel subsidy payments when Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke was the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
It was, gathered that Omokore, an ally of Alison-Madueke, mentioned Secondus name during his interrogation over the fuel subsidy payments and other oil deals.
An operative of the EFCC, who confided in The PUNCH,said Secondus was being grilled over 23 cars worth N302m he and other persons collected from Omokore. The cars consisted of Mercedes G63 and Range Rover Autobiography.
It was also learnt that the names of some prominent members of the party, including a former national chairman during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan featured during the interrogation.
The source in the commission said Secondus ought to have been arrested long ago, but was left because he was piloting the affairs of the PDP.
The source added, “He is being interrogated over 23 exotic cars worth N302m he and some other people allegedly collected from Omokore. The cars included Mercedes G63 and Range Rover Autobiography.
“We ought to have arrested Secondus long ago, but we waited for him to hand over to the new chairman (Ali Modu Sheriff). If we had arrested him earlier, they would have said it was political.
“He’s involved in oil deals with the former minister of petroleum resources. His case has nothing to do with the arms deal.
“Also, a former chairman of the party, (not Haliru Bello Mohammed), is also involved. Mohammed’s case is the arms deal. Secondus is with us and he’s cooperating with investigators.”
When one of our correspondents visited the head office of the EFCC, on Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, was seen leaving the office.
Metuh told one of our correspondents that Secondus was arrested for receiving buses from Omokore during the build-up to the last elections.
Metuh, when asked what he came to do at the commission, said, “We came to see Secondus, who is here at the EFCC. During the elections, Omokore was said to have donated buses to the party. The EFCC claims that the buses were not paid for.”
When asked if Secondus would be charged to court, Metuh said, “You will have to ask the EFCC.”
Omokore is also said to be an ally of Jonathan.
His firm was one of the companies that allegedly received multi-billion dollar public assets without due process by the Jonathan administration in 2011.
The company, which was established in 2010, was said not to have produced any oil as of the time it was curiously awarded controlling stakes in two lucrative oil blocks – OML 30 and 34 – for just over $50m each.
The deal, which was reportedly signed by Diezani, gave Atlantic Energy Limited a controlling 55 per cent stake in the oil blocks.
Ironically, Shell, which owned the remaining 45 per cent stake, was said to have fetched $1.3bn for a single field after an open and competitive bidding process.
The company was also accused of lifting crude oil, but only remitting a fraction of its worth to the government.
When contacted, the spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said, “The man (Secondus) is in our custody.”
But the PDP on Wednesday lamented what it described as oppressive and unfair treatment against its key leaders by the Federal Government.
The party, in a statement by its National Legal Adviser, Mr. Victor Kwom, alleged that the arrest and detention of Secondus by the EFCC was part of “the grand script by the All Progerssives Congress-led Federal Government to decimate the opposition.”
Kwom said, “We are also aware that plans have been perfected by the Federal Government to arrest and detain the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and other leaders of the party on imaginary charges.
“Indeed, intelligence available to the party shows that the Federal Government, using its various agencies, is bent on destroying any opposition to the ruling party as all indications show that the government is more interested in humiliating the PDP than fighting corruption.
“We state that this war on the PDP and its leaders has indeed gone too far. It has now become a mockery of democratic practice.”
Meanwhile, there were indications on Wednesday that the Publisher of ThisDay Newspaper, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, had returned the balance N200m out of the N550m he reportedly collected from the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).
Obaigbena had, a few weeks ago, returned N350m.
A source in the EFCC on Wednesday said the publisher had paid the outstanding N200m.
The source added, “He had paid the remaining N200m. You will recall that he paid N350m out of the N550m he collected from the former NSA.”
When contacted, Uwujaren said he was not aware if the money had been returned.
The Special Task Force of the EFCC, investigating the issue of arms procurement under the Jonathan administration, had quizzed Obaigbena on January 29, 2016 for allegedly receiving N670m from Dasuki.
Out of the N670m, he was reported to have given N120m to some members of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria.
Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, on Saturday in Yenagoa, threw his weight behind the embattled Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, saying he (Secondus) remains the party’s national chairman.
Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson
He, therefore, condemned the decision by former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak, to forcefully declare himself as chairman of the party.
According to the Governor, contrary to the reports in the media, there are no three chairmen in PDP but only one in the person of acting national chairman and that is Uche Secondus.
Dickson in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, clarified the position of PDP Governors Forum, saying Secondus was still the Deputy National Chairman of the party.
He added that in the absence of a substantive national chairman, he (Secondus) remained in acting capacity until a new chairman emerges.
The governor denied reports of any division in PDP Governors Forum or change in the current leadership of the party.
He said there were modalities for the emergence of chairman of the party as stated in its constitution and therefore there could not have been any reason to have three chairmen running the party at the same time.
Dickson was categorical that at no time did the forum nominate anyone as chairman, insisting that Uche Secondus as Deputy National Chairman, going by the law and the party’s constitution, was still in acting capacity until a new chairman emerges.
He said, “There can’t be a vacuum and as servants of the law, we must be seen at all times to be people who are duty bound to uphold the law and to do the right things at all times in the eyes of the law.”
ABUJA — The crisis rocking the national leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has taken a new twist as governors elected on the platform of the party have asked the Acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, to handover the leadership to the National Secretary, Prof Adewale Oladipo.
Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus
The governors also disowned former Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, who stormed the secretariat with his supporters and made himself national chairman.
Acting under the aegis of PDP Governors’ Forum, PDPGF, the governors said the national secretary would oversee the affairs of the party for now in line with its constitution.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the PDPGF meeting, late Wednesday night in Abuja, the governors frowned at the refusal of the acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, to honour the judgment of an FCT High Court which last December ordered him to vacate office for any other person from the North-East zone.
Reading the communiqué, Chairman of the forum and governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, said: “We take cognizance of the judgment by the court in Abuja which ordered the acting chairman to vacate office for any other person from the North-East zone of Nigeria.
“Our party’s constitution has enough provisions for that and the necessary process has been put in motion. In recognizance of the judgment the court gave, we call on the national secretary to take over the leadership of the party immediately and that is in line with the provisions of the PDP constitution.
“The decision of the governors came barely some hours after the former Political Adviser to past President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, stormed the secretariat with his supporters and made himself the national chairman of the party.
PDP govs disown Gulak
The governors also lampooned Gulak for daring to unilaterally declare himself the new chairman of the party without recourse to the appropriate organs of the party.
Mimiko said: “The invasion of the party headquarters by Ahmed Ali Gulak, who reportedly assumed the chairmanship of Peoples Democratic Party is regrettable and condemnable.”
In a communique issued at the end of its meeting, yesterday, in Abuja, the governors in very strong terms, described the action as unfortunate, regrettable, adding that the governors will meet soon to get a new national chairman.
It said: “The invasion of the party headquarters today by Ahmed Ali Gulak who reportedly assumed the chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is regrettable and condemnable.
“We take cognizance of the judgment by the court in Abuja which ordered the acting chairman to vacate office for any other person from the North-East zone of Nigeria. Our party constitution has enough provisions for that and the necessary process has been put in motion.”
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has sacked the acting National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, from office.
Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus
Justice Huseini Baba-Yusuf Tuesday ruled in favour of a former political adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, who sued Mr. Secondus and the PDP, alleging that he (Secondus) was holding office illegally.
Mr. Gulak said the office of national chairman was originally zoned to the North-east part of the country and could, therefore, not be occupied by Mr. Secondus, who is from the South-South.
Justice Baba-Yusuf Yusuf agreed with Mr. Gulak and directed Mr. Secondus to vacate office and hand over the leadership of the party to either Mr. Gulak or someone capable from the North East within 14 days.
In his prayers, Mr. Gulak said based on the constitution of the party and its zoning principle, he should be the rightful occupant of the office of acting national chairman of the PDP.
The former Chairman of the party, Ahmadu Muazu, who is from Bauchi state resigned his position after the party lost the 2015 presidential election.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the PDP, Olisa Metuh said the party’s National Working Committee would discuss the judgment at its meeting on Wednesday.
“We would come out with a position after the meeting,” he said.
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has clarified that his absence at the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Conference held in Abuja on Thursday should not be misinterpreted to mean that he is at loggerheads with Prince Uche Secondus-led National Working Committee.
Fayose said he is solidly behind the NWC in its strides to reposition the party and return its winning streak that makes the party the darling to all Nigerians.
The governor was conspicuously absent at the conference attended by party bigwigs like Governors Idris Wada of Kogi, Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, Ibrahim Dankwabo of Gombe State, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, acting BOT Chairman, Alhaji Haliru Mohammed, Chief Ojo Madekwe, ex-PDP governors, serving senators and other party top-notchers.
Fayose , who gave the clarification in Afao Ekiti during a chat with journalists, said he has been taking time to attend to many issues over his 55th birthday slated for Sunday, November 15, which he said prevented him from attending the conference.
“I am observing prayers here in Afao Ekiti. This weekend is my 55th birthday. I have been receiving several guests and I have a lot of people to meet and preparations to make.
“So, whatever the PDP leaders do at that level, I support them. I think the party even acknowledged the fact that there were things I have done here that had been of tremendous benefits to the party. So, my presence there to me means nothing. That is the way I feel”, Fayose clarified.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday said it had succeeded in strengthening the opposition in the new dispensation through visionary and articulate leadership provided by the current National Working Committee (NWC) under the acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.
Olisah Metuh
The party said it achieved the rare feat of producing the Deputy Senate President even as an opposition party, through knowledge, capacity, visionary memory as well the team spirit being promoted by the present leadership.
It said the new PDP now has a stronger voice in the affairs of the country, speaks with one voice and commands the trust and regard of party members.
Speaking on the performance of the present leadership of the party and NWC under Secondus, the PDP spokesman said the party had transformed into a different PDP.
While receiving one of the youth groups of the party, PDP Rebirth Forum, which came to express support for the leadership, Secondus said no one can dispute the fact that the party is the true democratic asset that the nation has.
He assured them that party would implement the report of the Senator Ike Ekwerenmadu-led post-election committee to the latter, adding that every member would have the opportunity of realising his or her dreams and aspirations under the new PDP.
Speaking at the opening of a one-day training workshop in Abuja facilitated by the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said as a result of more purposeful leadership, the party has witnessed more cohesion and was now working more closely, offering a stronger voice in the affairs of the country.
“In this short time that Secondus has piloted the affairs of the party, he has made tremendous progress, especially with the strengthening of its position in the National Assembly. For the first time, the opposition party produced one of the principal officers of the National Assembly. It has never happened in any known democracy in the world.
“I challenge anyone to tell me anywhere in the world where an opposition party with fewer members will end up producing a Deputy Senate President or one of the principal officers of the Senate. This happened in Nigeria because of the knowledge, capacity, vision as well as team leadership which Secondus and the NWC have provided,” he said.
Metuh explained that as part of the rebuilding efforts of the party, the publicity officials are being enjoined to always emphasise on promoting the truth in all their communication with the people.
According to him, it is only when they promote truth that the people will begin to have more trust and believe in the position of the party, adding that the new posture of the PDP will help to differentiate the party from others and establish it as body with great integrity.
“We insist that our publicity units in the states must always emphasise on truth and ensure that they base their statements on facts. You should stick to the truth no matters and how they affect your party. In the past few years, we have seen the difference between our party and the other ones. While they would rush to the media with their positions not minding the source or truth of what they are bringing up, we in the PDP have insisted on the truth, we insist that our officers must do their duty and apply a lot of integrity to ensure that the public trusts whatever information that comes out from the PDP.”
He advised the state publicity secretaries to make sure they relate well with members of the media and ensure they help to provide checks and balances in the affairs of governance in their respective states.
The PDP spokesman said contrary to the derogatory meaning given to it by detractors, the slogan ‘share the money’, it actually represents the party’s policy of transfer of public enterprise to the private sector operators and empowerment of ordinary Nigerians.
“The PDP has been viewed by people from different angles. To some, the party represents, ‘ share the money’, to others, the PDP has in the past conducted its affairs in a manner as to portray it as upholding impunity.
“To some others, they think that PDP accommodates corruption or corrupt practices, but one thing that is very straight forward is the fact that the PDP represents all national interests and it stands for the peaceful coexistence of this country,” he stated.
Earlier, the Country Director of IRI, Mr. Sentell Bernes, said the purpose of the training was to assist the party to improve on its public communication.
He noted that the group had been working with the PDP since 1999 and has contributed to the work of the party post-election review report in order to strengthen the party external communication and ability to mobilise support for election.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said that the party has recovered from the disappointing loss it suffered by losing power at the centre in the last Presidential election.
Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus
At its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Thursday, at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, the PDP said it has already moved from pain, despair, soul- searching and have started the process of rebuilding confidence for a brighter future for the party.
The Ag. National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, who presided over the meeting said, “Our party has witnessed challenging times after our disappointing loss in the last elections. We moved from pain, despair, soul- searching and now by the grace of the Almighty God, we have started the process of rebuilding confidence in ourselves for a brighter future for the party.”
According to him, the first step pursuant to soul searching was the resignation of Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and Chief Tony Anenih as National Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Trustees respectively.
Secondus called the attention of Nigerians to what the party described as selective implementation of the ongoing anti-corruption fight, saying members of the party were being singled out for prosecution.
“It would be morally repugnant to target PDP members while seemingly protecting APC members. All we are calling for is an equal and fair treatment of all Nigerians under the law.
“Government should prevent the slide of our dear country into a police state by controlling some of the brazen acts of the security agencies against state institutions as exemplified in the invasion of the Akwa Ibom Government House by some officers of the DSS.
“In the same vein, we call on the federal government to come out straight with Nigerians on the state of our economy, which is gradually sliding into recession.
“It appears that the lack of an economic direction and remedial actions from the government is having a debilitating effect on the economy. Jobs are being lost and small businesses are closing shops as a result of the lack of constructive economic engagement from the APC government,” the party chairman added.
Also speaking at the event, Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, said the PDP liberalised the democratic space in the 16 years it held power at the centre.
The Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus has said that members of the National Working Committee (NWC) would not resign as being canvassed by some members of the Party.
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Secondus said there was no reason for any of the remaining NWC members to resign as their stay in office is tenured.
He also debunked insinuations that the former Chairman of the Party, Adamu Muazu was forced to resign from the position.
“You know that is not right, it is unconstitutional, because the chairman did that voluntarily, and the BoT Chairman also did that voluntarily. Some of the others have tenures, at the end of our tenure if we are re-elected, fine, if not that is the right thing to do.”
“There is no reason for us to resign because we have worked hard” he said.
On the coincidence of the resignation of both the national chairman and BoT Chairman, he said: “Sometimes it happens that way. Nobody forced them to go.”
Explaining the purpose of his visit to the Villa, he said: “I just came here to interact with our leader, Mr. President.”
Asked on what is now expected from the party, he said: “Sitting back to reorganize and then re-invent our party, and to assure our teeming supporters and members that the party is intact without any problem.”
It would be recalled that the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Muazu and Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party, Chief Tony Anenih had resigned yesterday.
Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, in this interview, spoke on several issues including the PDP presidential campaign, the political violence in Rivers State, especially the Okrika crisis, and the deployment of military during elections. Chuks Okocha presents the excerpts
How has the PDP presidential campaign been so far? We have made a lot of progress going round the country and received warm reception. In the next phase of our campaign we are going to emphasis on townhall meetings, meeting face to face with the people and get to know what is going on. That has been going on in virtually all the states of the federation. Some of our governorship candidates have carried the campaigns to the market, mechanic workshops and so on. We are dealing with the people directly. So the campaign is on and strong.
If you have to reflect on the campaigns so far, are there things you wish you would have done differently?
Not at all. The only regret was the actions of some misguided youths who threw stones when we visited some of the states in the north. I believe they were not civilized enough. Those were the issues. However, APC and its leadership are putting together their propaganda. In fact, in their propaganda machine is to misinform Nigeria by attacking Mr. President, part of which was arranging the youths in part of the northern states to throw stones as if the president was not liked by Nigerians. They want to create impression both inside and outside the country that they are more popular than the PDP. But they are not. The fact of the matter is that if you do a comparative analysis you will see that a party that has been on the ground for over 16 years, has the structures across all the wards and the polling units in the country.
This is what is their major headache; how to dislodge us that is why they resorted to actions of throwing stones, blackmail and propaganda to turn the people against us.
But I can assure you that those things are not working because we know their tricks. Part of it is to imagine meetings that never held, and make up what they discussed in meetings that never held as well as monies that were never distributed. I am quite sure you are aware of the text messages people received about the distribution of $20bn. Also, Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State accused the leadership of the church in Nigeria that they received N6bn from the presidency. The onus is on Amaechi to name the person who received the money or the bank where the money was paid into. But let me tell you this is aimed at causing division in the body of Christ and Amaechi is a satanic agent to cause problem in Christendom.
Those are part of the misinformation to the public and this is evil. I regard it as a satanic verse by the APC. It is going to cause crisis because when it heigthens everybody will know the consequences of politicians being so bitter. You can reflect your mind to what happened in 1965 and 1966. It was the same situation of politicians accusing themselves. It is particularly painful that a party that is barely less than one year, which came about as a result of some small parties coming together, now think that by propaganda they can take over government. It doesn’t work that way rather it will create confusion in the country and they are already in the mission of misinforming Nigerians as seen in text messages, emails and all sorts of things from the internet, against the President and Nigeria. Their target now is that if they don’t win the election then the world will believe that they were rigged. And of cause you know that when Buhari lost election in 2011, he said he will make the country ungovernable. Thereafter, the majority of the states in the Northeast were taken over by Boko Haram. He never made any contribution on the ways and means to bring peace to the North. So those are the things we want to reveal that APC plan is to come up with all these stories to misinform Nigerians in order to cause instability. This was the trend in 1965-66 and APC is beating the drum for crisis, bloodshed and threats. Amaechi and the national chairman of the APC, John Oyegun, said they will form a parallel government if they don’t win and they are carrying it out in the misinformation and propaganda but this has to stop because the country has reached a level where people need to know the truth and the lies being disseminated by the APC leadership.
But the governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, said those who stoned the president in Bauchi were PDP members, how do you reconcile that with your position on the stoning in some northern states?
The governor and the minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have their own problems. But the statement I made was that some part of the North, not all. Not only Bauchi alone. What happened in Bauchi is unfortunate but I think that the two or three major office holders theer are trying to blame each other. But obviously what I saw, because I was there that day, it is not a question of PDP. Our people were at the stadium, we went to the Emir’s palace to pay courtesy call, so we came out of the Emir’s palace… It couldn’t have been. But as it were, there is blame game between them, indicating that they are not united. But that is left for them to sort out. But generally, we believe and I believe that they were sponsored by the APC.
You went round the country for your campaigns, is PDP ready for the election?
PDP is 100 per cent ready for the elections. As you are aware we have contested this general election from 1999 to 2011. So we are more on the ground than any other political party in this country. We are ready and we went to each state of the federation. We didn’t invite a state to go to another state like some other parties did. We wanted to see things on the ground for ourselves and the people came out to welcome us and we campaigned. Ours is not to bring zones to one state and do media gymnastic, but we were meeting with our people directly for our elections. We have won elections in the past so we know the styles of winning elections. We were ready for elections even on Feburary 14. But before that date, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, called all the political parties to a meeting. I represented our party at the meeting and 16 political parties accused Jega directly that INEC was not ready for the election. It wasn’t just about the issue of insecurity. On page 11 of his memo, Jega said if INEC has a little time they will perfect their preparations. And as you can see from that time he had that meeting with us, some millions of PVC has been distributed and people have received them. But we were ready then and we are ready now for the election.
What is the position of the PDP on the use of military for the elections?
Honestly speaking, issues of security should be handled by the experts, they are professionals. But I believe that it is not the first time the country would deploy military to safeguard, and not to conduct elections. If you see what happened in Ekiti State, the military was put at strategic positions in case there were uprising or thuggery. And that is what it is supposed to be. Today the world is at the palm of the internet, you will recall that the capital of France, Paris was bombed and the leaders of European Union (EU) and other world leaders flew into Paris to give solidarity to the French government. On that particular day, the French government deployed 10,000 soldiers to safeguard the city of Paris. The soldiers were not walking with the leaders of Europe, but they were In strategic places to keep the city safe. It is not new, it has been done before, soldiers are not involved in elections, neither are the police. But they are kept in strategic places to safeguard the nation. Whoever is afraid of the security, whether army and police, and wants to have their own private army conduct the elections, are the ones that want to throw this country into crisis and destabilise the nation. Don’t forget that the United States had predicted that there will not be a country in 2015, but God forbid. The PDP will support the government to make sure that they protect lives and property. Remember what happened in the First Republic, the infamous wild wild west. No one was ready then but we have moved further and we are advanced now. In Ekiti State, the APC alleged that Army was used in Ekiti, Army was never used to rig. Moreover, the report from the election monitors shows that the election was free and transparent, soldiers were never found at polling booths rather they were strategically positioned for the unforeseen.
But the recent audio tape involving the Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose and some military personnel seems to have informed the fears of the APC?
Whatever they cooked up as video was not on the day of election. And we believe and Fani-Kayode has said that it was concorted by the APC. However, we also showed what happened in Osun State, where people were taken to a safe place and they were thumb printing for the APC. Such thing never happened in Ekiti State. So you can see the difference.
PDP has also been accused of trying to use military to suppress the opposition because it is afraid of the popularity of APC?
Mr. President as Commander-in-Chief, is a different person from the previous leaders. You can’t say so of others. Jonathan is such a quiet man that will not want it hurt a fly. This is part of what I said earlier, about the imaginations being cooked up by the APC. But there is no truth in it. As a commander-in-chief, Mr. President has never given order to the military to harass not only the APC but any other political party. In fact you can see the case when we conducted election in Osun State, they won. If he is that type of president he would have used the army to get the victory. The same thing happened in Edo State, where the APC won. But the APC is a propaganda freak such that in every issue there must be propaganda in order to malign and blackmail the PDP. The allegation is not correct at all.
There is this notion that if the PDP had put its house in order by not allowing its governors to defect, the leadership was not arrogant, and not allowing the former President Olusegun Obasanjo to leave, there wouldn’t have been this crisis and tension now. How do you react to this?
Obviously, human enterprise is the most difficult. When a child is grown to an age to marry and he feels he is independent, he goes out to marry. He separates himself from his original family. So most of the governors felt they could do it on their own. There is no way you can control them. There were a lot of peace talks and meetings. It happens that if any man feels he can do it on his own, he goes and that is what we find today. It is HEALTHY for the democracy in Nigeria but we should play by the rules of the game. So PDP is intact, there is no problem. For those who left there was no way to stop them. It was not deliberately done on our part. In the case of Obasanjo, I believe that he can best be described by his children Iyabo and Gbenga. So I will not make any further comments. He is their father. So if you can have that kind of father you will know the kind of trouble that PDP has gone through.
You are from Rivers State, what is your take on the spate of crises in the state viz -a-vis the last one that happened in Okrika?
The crisis in Rivers State is Amaechi. He shut down the court and locked the gate. He also shut down the State Assembly and locked the gate. He is now the sole administrator and maximum leader and the people are resisting it. Salaries are not paid as at when due, monies are taken away from the state to sponsor Buhari; our jet now is owned by Buhari. where in this world will you see that such people will be happy? So all the news of crisis is being generated by Ameachi because he has lost the state, he is sustaining himself on the pages of newspapers. All his projects have failed. He has collected so much money on monorail and it has failed. No people-oriented project is going on in Rivers State in the last two to five years. We are not playing politics with the development of the people. Take for instance if there is infighting in the National Assembly and the President goes there to be a partaker. The governor of Rivers State, who is the architect of the crisis in the state, moved from the Government House to the House of Assembly and was supervising and giving direction on the beating of people. He supervised the beating of a guy whose head was so bruised. Is that a governor that is free from crisis? We need journalists to do their investigative journalism. So Amaechi is the architect of the crisis. Nigerians should tell him to stop, he is now planning to release persons waiting trial, who were caught in criminal activities to use them for election. He is planning to release them. Is that a governor who wants peace? In the Okrika matter it was APC against APC. Amaechi is orchestrating it as if it is PDP and even bringing the name of the wife of the President. Amaechi has insulted the intelligence of the Rivers people. He is now permanently based in Lagos. He is no longer the governor. In fact the government in Rivers State has collapsed because Amaechi is no longer governing. What is important to him now as director general is how APC will win. He has left the governance of the state, because when the doors of the legislature are closed and the judiciary which is the third arm of government is shut down, where then is the government? Have you ever seen in this country where a governor will put a budget in a day and one hour after, the budget is approved? Is that not a shame to democracy and the man will come to the media and say he is democratic. The media knows the fact but it is not reporting.
What will you do to stop this?
All we are doing is praying for the safety of the state and asking the security to take charge. We don’t have private army so it is God and security. Journalist should also go and investigate, we are not hiding anything.
What is your reaction to reports that the National Working Committee (NWC) of your party is polarized on the issue of the president?
It is not correct. It is false and propaganda by the APC. My first statement in this interview is that the APC leadership has package a propaganda of misinformation to the public. And what you just said now is part of it.
Will your party be able to win Rivers State against the background of the post primary disagreements?
All those issues have been settled. We are coasting to victory. We are at a comfortable cruising level and Amaechi himself knows that Rivers has been taken away from his hand. The PDP will win back that state and of course he left the party and he can’t get the mandate of the people overnight to take them to APC. They have been with PDP for the last 16 years so it is not easy to just change the people.
There is an evolving concern over the campaigns particularly in the North. There are reports that some of your candidates and governors are afraid of campaigning for your presidential candidate for fear that it would affect their own chances. How is the party addressing this?
I don’t think it is correct. Those are part of the propaganda that APC is sending out. That is falsehood. We were in Jigawa, Kebbi and our governors there came out openly, canvassed for votes and campaigned. What else do you want to know? They all came out and campaigned openly for the president. It is the APC that is misinforming the people. Our members are intact. Sometime ago they said Sule Lamido had decamped. Amaechi visited him to do gymnastic, but, of course, Lamido came out and said he was remaining in the party. He has since met with the President and he is the zonal coordinator of the presidential campaign.
