Can Secondus Return PDP to Power?

During the campaign, the new national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Uche Secondus promised to bring back the glorious days to the party. Segun James assesses his capacity to deliver on his promise

Against a backdrop of widespread dissatisfaction and political volatility in the party, Mr. Uche Secondus emerged as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the former largest party in Africa. Secondus was not new to the post. He was the acting chairman after the crisis that rocked the party following the loss of the 2015 general election which consumed the then national chairman, Mr. Adamu Muazu.

Gone are the days when the PDP was the lone ‘Iroko’ tree in the political forest of Nigeria. That tree withered, but luckily, there seems to be a rejuvenation following the resolution of the crisis that rocked the party for two years and the subsequent successful national elective convention held last December which produed Mr. Uche Secondus as the chairman of the party. The tree is now sprouting new leaves and flowers; but for how long?

Today, the PDP has got a second chance to reinvent itself, go for the kill in the 2019 general election and wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) which against all odds, dislodged the PDP from government after 16 years in office.

The loss in the 2015 election triggered a crisis in the party. So fierce was it that it consumed the national chairman of the party. Two chairmen emerged thereafter, a situation that forced many members to flee.

However, the emergence of Secondus now provides a welcome opportunity for the party to take stock, know where it is coming from, realise where it is and determine its future and the challenges facing it at this most critical period.

Critical among the problems that face Secondus is the question of reconciliation first within the party and among the critical sector in the political and economic spectrum.

Secondus realized this hence when he emerged as the chairman he declared his commitment to full reconciliation and inclusion of all aggrieved members in his efforts to re-position the party, saying his visit to party elder, Chief Bode George was indicative of that fact. George was one of the aspirants who contested against him for the position. He withdrew from the race a day before the election.

The chairman said he remained committed to the implementation of his three Rs policy of Rebuild, Reposition and Regain power. “Power belongs to God. It is Almighty God who put us here and we have to be fair and just,” he said. This showed that he is a man who has what it takes to lead the party back to power. Others are not so sure.

That Secondus wanted to hit the ground running soon emerged when he berated the APC for running a broken government since taking over the reins of governance in 2015.

He said: “The APC and their government are broken. They are running a broken government. We need to rescue our nation from their hands to rebuild our country once more. Nigerians can no longer be fooled by false propaganda. They will hear the truth and the truth will save the country, not false propaganda.

“We will never be distracted by the ruling party and their kind of false propaganda. Nigerians know the truth now that all they have been saying in the last two years are mere lies; to revenge and to intimidate Nigerians.

“Our first assignment will be to bring all and sundry together, that is reconciliation. We reassure leaders of our party especially those who contested this election that this party belongs to all of us. We have already started work and by the grace of God, it will be productive.

“PDP is the only platform that does not belong to any group or big man. This is a party that provides for the big, the small and the less privileged. The era of impunity is over.

“We will make sure that there is no more imposition. We will make sure that the era of impunity has come and gone and we want to warn our leaders and ourselves that with this take over today, impunity has come and gone.

“The old order is gone. We will operate in the new order. In the next couple of days, the NWC will decide when we will have our retreat. And after the retreat, we will come out with policies and direction and by the grace of God; we will hit the ground running.”

Today, Uche Secondus is the man of the moment. The 62-year-old politician from Rivers State, South-south of Nigeria now leads the biggest opposition party in Nigeria.

Secondus has been in politics for 39 years. He became a member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1978 during the Second Republic as the youth leader in Rivers. He later became the state publicity secretary of the National Republican Convention, (NRC) from 1993 to 1998.

Secondus became the acting national chairman of the PDP in 2015 after the resignation of the then chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, following the party’s defeat in that year’s presidential election. Before then, he was the party’s deputy national chairman.

As a businessman, the PDP leader like most of his fellow party men, has had brushes with the country’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC), since Muhammadu Buhari became president. He was detained by the EFCC in 2016 for “illegally” receiving on behalf of the PDP 23 luxury vehicles valued at N310 million from the controversial businessman, Jide Omokore.

The court later declared his arrest as being unlawful and awarded N10 million damages against the EFCC.

During the May 2016 botched Port Harcourt convention, Secondus wanted to contest for the deputy national chairman of the PDP. But he changed his mind that year and went after the party’s top job.

“The truth is that by last year I was gunning for the deputy,” he admitted in a THISDAY interview. “The arrangement was such that somebody from the South-west would emerge as the chairman. That time, we had two and a half years to the general election. But now, we don’t have time, therefore we need an experienced person who will start working from the first day,” he argued.

He reiterated this mission in his victory speech. “By my understanding, the mandate you have given us today is clear and unambiguous. It is to return our party to power comes 2019. As herculean as this mandate seems, I know it is achievable. Let me assure you great members and leaders of our party that by the grace of God and with all hands on deck, the brief tenancy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Aso Rock Villa expires on May 28, 2019. By this, we serve them a quit notice,” he said

Secondus was born on the 22nd of March, 1955. He is a businessman turned politician. He was acting chairman of the committee from 2015 to 2016. He was the second chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, a position he held for two terms.

Secondus was born and raised in Andoni. He completed his elementary and secondary education in Rivers State. He further attended the London Chambers of Commerce Institute where he obtained a certificate in commerce.

While state party chair, he earned the sobriquet “Total Chairman”, and headed an influential group in the National Executive Committee known as G.84.

In 2007, he was the South-South Coordinator for the PDP National Campaign Council that organized the campaigns for the party during that year’s general elections. In 2008, at the party convention, he gained further promotion as National Organizing Secretary, the office he held till 2012.

On 1 September 2013, he was elected Deputy National Chairman of the party. He also served as acting National Chairman of the party, following the resignation of Adamu Mu’azu in 2015. On 10 December 2017 at the Eagles square, Secondus was elected as the PDP National Working Committee chairman after a keenly contested election.

Today, the PDP has got a second chance to reinvent itself, go for the kill in the 2019 general election and wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) which against all odds, dislodged the PDP from government after 16 years in office.