..the fall of Secondus
Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in unison yesterday buried the ghost of intra-party bickering to okay a new 21-member National Working Committee led by a former President of the Senate from Benue State, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, as the national chairman in the buildup to 2023.
For Senator Ayu, who emerged as a consensus candidate for the party’s apex seat, it was a dream come true, courtesy of a high-wire cross-country horse-trading allegedly spearheaded and bank-rolled by Governor Samuel Ortom assisted by his immediate predecessor, Senator Gabriel Suswam, former Senate President David Mark, Senator Tunde Ogbeha, among others.
The new set of leaders were elected at the party’s national convention which began on Saturday and lasted till the early morning of Sunday.
Hundreds of party delegates who participated in the election of the new national officers at the Eagle Square in Abuja expressed relief that all plans to hold a peaceful national convention scaled through.
“Very significantly is for me to have the privilege as the Chief Returning Officer of the 2021 PDP National Convention Election Chairman to announce and declare His Excellency, Senator (Dr) Iyorchia Ayu as duly elected and returned National Chairman of our great party,” said Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State while announcing the results of the elections.
Yesterday’s event, according to political watchers, was a major score for first-term Adamawa governor who they said used the convention to showcase his sagacity and consolidate his rising profile as a consummate politician to watch.
Shortly after he was announced as the new chairman, Senator Ayu walked down to the podium in company with some governors in the party to give a brief remark saying,
“I want to sincerely appreciate the PDP family. Today is simply a thank you address. When we started this party 23 – 24 years ago, we never in any way imagined that the journey will get us to this stage – a stage where we ruled for 16 years, we went into rough times but for anybody who will bother to see, PDP is back.
“And it is back to rescue Nigeria from the terrible mess we have been in the last six years. I want to appreciate all of you who have taken time as delegates, as observers, as supporters, as members of the media, as members of the security services, who have made this event such a wonderful event.”
A cross-section of delegates told The Daily Spokesman that the outcome of the convention was primed to prove to Nigerians that the party has reinvented offer itself as the alternative yo the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Following the crisis that rocked the Uche Secondus-led National Working Committee of the party, the PDP had announced a special convention to elect a set of new national officers.
This decision by the party, however, did not go well with an embittered Secondus – the suspended PDP National Chairman – who believed that the conduct of the convention world abruptly end his tenure that was due to lapse in December.
He ran to the court ahead the planned convention to file an application at the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State to stop the PDP from proceeding with the convention as planned, as part of the processes in the ongoing litigation over his suspension from the party.
What played out as a battle of wits between Secondus and his desperate co-travellers fell flat on Friday even as Secondus was caught on the floor praying the Court of Appeal to grant his prayers.
He lost the bid to stop the convention from taking place as the ruling delivered by the appellate court on Thursday cleared the coast for the party to go on with the exercise. He has reportedly vowed to challenge the ruling.
This newspaper learnt yesterday that Secondus finally lost the sympathy of a motley crowd of loyalists who felt he was being used to destabilize the party after allegedly gaining his largesse till date from the party since its inception in 1999.
Secondus on canvas
There are unconfirmed accounts that till date, Uche Secondus is the greatest beneficiary of the party having held lucrative and sensitive positions from Rivers State where he hails from and the party’s Wadata national secretariat in Abuja.
He reputed to have singlehandedly made governors, ministers, senators, reps members, presidential appointees, even state appointees such as commissioners and councillors in the heydays of the PDP-led Federal Government.
This newspaper further gathered that an unnamed cerebral South-South who paved the way for him to become the national resolved to remove him over alleged disloyalty and under-hand dealings. This allegation could not however be independently verified at press time except past reports of his brush with the anti-graft agency, the EFCC which prosecuted him over alleged custody and sale of some brand new vehicles. But his image as a dogged party chieftain, according to his image handlers, will continue to loom large in the coming months.
Meanwhile, below is the list of the newly-elected national officials of the party:
- National Chairman – Iyorchia Ayu
- Deputy National Chairman (North) – Umar Damagum (Contested)
- Deputy National Chairman (South) – Taofeek Arapaja (Contested)
- National Secretary – Samuel Anyanwu (Unopposed)
- National Treasurer – Ahmed Mohammed (Unopposed)
- National Organising Secretary – Umar Bature (Unopposed)
- National Financial Secretary – Daniel Woyegikuro (Unopposed)
- National Women’s Leader – Professor Stella Effah-Attoe (Unopposed)
- National Youth Leader – Muhammed Suleiman (Contested)
- National Legal Adviser – Kamaldeen Ajibade (Unopposed)
- National Publicity Secretary – Debo Ologunagba (Unopposed)
- National Auditor – Okechuckwu Daniel (Unopposed)
- Deputy National Secretary – Setoji Kosheodo (Unopposed)
- Deputy National Treasurer – Ndubisi David (Unopposed)
- Deputy National Publicity Secretary – Ibrahim Abdullahi (Unopposed)
- Deputy National Organising Secretary – Ighoyota Amori (Unopposed)
- Deputy National Financial Secretary – Adamu Kamale (Unopposed)
- Deputy National Women’s Leader – Hajara Wanka (Unopposed)
- Deputy National Youth Leader – Timothy Osadolor (Unopposed)
- Deputy National Legal Adviser – Okechukwu Osuoha (Unopposed)
- Deputy National Auditor – Abdulrahman Mohammed (Unopposed)
