HOW WIKE, SECONDUS, ODILI RUN PDP
Hawk Presidential Ticket Rivers Govt House Now ‘Political Shrine’ Their Influence A Headache – Party Chieftain
The political temperature is high, especially in the North, because that is where the leading opposition party zoned its presidential ticket to. This development has opened a new chapter on the survival of the party.
The zoning of the ticket to that region implies that all the political bigwigs of northern extraction, comprising the North-West, NorthEast and North-Central, would slug it out.
Party leaders say the zoning of the ticket to the North was premised on the zoning arrangement that was jettisoned in 2015, to pave the way for then President Jonathan to re-contest, a development that led to the party’s defeat at the general polls.
Insiders say the zoning of the ticket to the North this time around, is meant to appease the northern region and help the party regain its lost grounds by reclaiming power, especially at the federal level.
But with the issue of zoning settled, some power brokers from the southern part of the country are said to be making moves to determine who becomes the party’s presidential flag-bearer from the North.
Sources within the party said that after Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State allegedly led a team of other PDP governors who played key roles that led to the emergence of Prince Uche Secondus as the party’s national chairman at the December 9, 2017 national convention, he is again working with some of his colleagues to field a former governor from the North as their presidential candidate.
If this happens, it would be contrary to the PDP’s recent decision that the party’s ticket should be open for all interested party stalwarts. The new power bloc Governor Wike and his political benefactor, ex-governor Peter Odili and Secondus, have become “powerful forces” in the PDP that they now allegedly pay the piper and call the tune.
Specifically, political pundits say Wike’s influence stems from his tremendous contributions to the party, being a governor from an oil-rich state.
Wike’s influence in the PDP became glaring when the party lost power in 2015. That time, the then national chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, was forced to throw in the towel for leading the party to defeat, while his deputy, Prince Uche Secondus, took over in acting capacity.
Sequel to the loss of power at the centre, the PDP governors, including Wike, became the major financiers of the party.
Wike and Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, on separate occasions, admitted playing roles that brought Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to Wadata Plaza, Abuja, the national secretariat of the party, as national chairman despite the furore that characterised the process.
One of the significant incidents that showed how powerful Governor Wike is, was when the PDP as a family abandoned Abuja for Port Harcourt, where two national conventions of the party were held on May 21 and August 17, in 2016, though the outcomes were unsavoury.
It was also alleged that Wike played an important role that led to the defeat of Sheriff at the Supreme Court.
But considering the intrigues playing out in relation to the search for a presidential candidate for the party, a former member of its National Working Committee (NWC) during the reign of Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu as national chairman and later Prince Uche Secondus as acting chairman, Bashir Maidugu, a lawyer, expressed fears that those in position to make the choice might rubbish the process of selecting the best candidate.
“I refrained from commenting on politicking in the PDP since the December 9 national convention, which produced the new executive. I have no confidence in the new
executive and I have no hope that they will go anywhere.
“Technically, I have stepped aside for now; I am just watching the developments. They will reduce the PDP to a small party. The present executive is a crop of antidemocratic forces.
“These are people I know very well; these are people I worked with, before. I know their mentality, I know their attitude. They only act when money speaks,” he said.
Similarly, a chieftain of the All Progressives Party (APC) who dumped the PDP barely three years ago and lives in Port Harcourt, Chief Jackson Lekan Ojo, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the governors, led by Wike, would exert optimum influence in the choice of a presidential flag-bearer for the party.
He explained that all the delegates to the primaries that would produce the flag-bearer would come from various states of the federation where governors wield powers, and as such, would be manipulated to vote a particular candidate.
“I don’t really see Odili as a powerful force in the PDP these days. Secondus, on the other hand, is now powerful because of his position as the national chairman of the party. But Wike remains a very powerful force. He has the resources; he is a political strategist with a lot of political connections. He wields influence because he has made tremendous contributions to ensure the survival of the party.
“Remember that he used his resources, strategies and contacts for Secondus to become the national chairman of the party. But he actually learnt the ropes and his political tricks from Odili,’’ he said.
On who the governors might support, Ojo said Senator Ahmed Makarfi would be the man to beat. He, however, added that Makarfi did not have the requisite national clout to give whoever the ruling APC would field a big fight.
He also revealed that some PDP leaders were in talks with Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State and former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Both Tambuwal and Kwankwaso are members of the APC, but there are suggestions that they might defect.
However, the likelihood of Tambuwal leaving the APC is very narrow as there are indications that he might prefer to seek for a second term as governor of Sokoto State instead of gambling.
On the other hand, Kwankwaso is being touted as a strong contender in the event that he defects. This is in view of the milestone he recorded ahead of 2015, when be secured the second highest votes in the APC primaries.
“For now, they are still in the pipeline. But the calculation is between a former governor and a serving governor. Tambuwal is a good friend of Wike, but if he decides to return to the PDP, he will have a challenge winning in the SouthWest.
“The South-West backed him to become a Speaker of the House of Representatives, but he later played northern politics and refused to support Femi Gbajabiamila; instead he supported Yakubu Dogara to succeed him. Expectedly, the South-West will not forgive him,’’ he said. Other contenders Governor Ayodele Fayose has declared to run for the ticket, even though it has been zoned to the North. Others who have indicated interest are former governors of Jigawa and Kano states, Sule Lamido and Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. Another contender is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who returned to the party recently.
Others eying the ticket are a secondterm governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, ex- Senate President David Mark and a former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa. Why Makarfi is having upper hand Makarfi had, on January 30, 2017, said on a television programme in Lagos that he would consider contesting the presidential election in 2019 if the party deemed him fit.
A foundation member of the party from the North confided in our correspondent that “Makarfi has presidential ambition and he will be the best person for the ticket.”
He added, “He has no corruption case against him. He performed well as governor, senator and chairman of the PDP National Caretaker Committee. He is humble, resilient and has a listening ear. So, most of the governors are behind him.”
He, however, declined to identify the governors behind him.
Makarfi is said to have performed well during his reign as governor, especially on security, ethnic and religious violence.
The ex-governor also saved the PDP from collapse and stabilised it during its crisis with Senator Modu Sheriff. It was learnt that for now, Makarfi is the top contender unless there is a last minute change of decision by the powers that be in the party.
He was made chairman of the PDP National Caretaker Committee at a convention in Port Harcourt, where Sheriff was sacked as the party’s boss. Sources in the PDP say “he is qualified to take the ticket.”
But the national publicity secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan did not respond to a call and text message sent to his phone for comments. Northern elders’ gambit The emergence of a multiplicity of presidential hopeful from the three geo-political zones in the North, Daily Trust on Sunday learnt, is threatening the united front of various organs of the party.
A meeting of Secondus with PDP governors in Asaba recently resolved that no organ of the party should align with a particular aspirant, in order to collectively search for the best presidential material that would give the APC a good fight.
But our correspondent gathered from reliable sources from the party that the various organs of the party - Bard of Trustees (BoT), National Executive Committee (NEC), National Assembly Caucus and the National Working Committee (NWC) - have failed to adhere to the resolution.
Last week, some party bigwigs under the guise of Northern Elders Forum held a meeting in Abuja, where they resolved to unite the North and raise a committee to search and present a consensus presidential candidate from the region. Majority of leaders and elders at the meeting were members of the PDP BoT, who were said to have met at the instance of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Insiders say the ex-VP, who returned to the PDP a few months ago, apparently to seek the party’s ticket, was behind the meeting to solicit support for his presidential bid, though he was absent at the meeting.
But a call and text message sent to Atiku’s media manager, Paul Ibe, to get their own side of the story, was not responded to.
The meeting was attended by former Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu; former PDP acting national chairman, Bello Haliru Mohammed; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar N’Abba; former governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada; former vice chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Ango Abdullahi; Prof Auwal Yadudu; former Minister of Water Resources and ex-deputy governor of Sokoto State, Mukhtar Shehu Shagari; Solomon Ewuga; Zannan Mubi and Senator Paul
Wike’s influence in the PDP became glaring when the party lost power in 2015. That time, the then national chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, was forced to throw in the towel for leading the party to a defeat, while his deputy, Prince Uche Secondus, took over in acting capacity
Wampana.
Others were former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Jeremiah Useni; former governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna; Senator Ibrahim Ida; former governorship aspirant in Adamawa State, Umar Ardo; and Alhaji Tanko Yakassai.
The elders and key actors in the politics of northern Nigeria, in a communiqué at the end of their meeting, resolved to raise a committee to search for and present a consensus presidential candidate for 2019.
A PDP stalwart from the North confided in our correspondent that some northern elders were in a dilemma about who to field as presidential candidate in the PDP, especially as 95per cent of them at the meeting were from the PDP.
“The resolution of the meeting is a difficult one to implement because we have so many sons of the North that are eminently qualified to be president and most of them are in the race for the PDP ticket.
“I think the meeting would have been PDP northern elders meeting, not northern elders meeting. I also believe some elders are in a dilemma because of personal interest.
“But if we must grow our democracy, we must refrain from money politics,” he said.
Efforts by our correspondent to get the BoT chairman of the party, Senator Walid Jibrin to speak on his members’ involvement in the meeting did not yield a positive result as he neither picked his calls nor responded to a text message sent to his phone.
However, Chapter 2, Section 8 of the PDP constitution states, “A person who desires to rejoin the party after leaving it shall (a) apply to his ward secretary for re-admission; and (b) unless given waiver by the National Working Committee (NWC), be placed on probation for a period of not less than one year.”
Section 9 states, “Subject to the provision of Section 8(b), a member on probation shall have the right to attend all meetings of the party, but shall not be entitled to vote at such meetings, nor shall he be eligible to contest for elective office on the platform of the party.”
It was not clear whether Atiku had asked for waiver, but some analysts have predicted that the Wazirin Adamawa would definitely navigate his way ahead of the party’s presidential primary.
Barely two weeks of his return to the party, Atiku was allowed to make a speech at the December 9, 2017 convention held at the Eagle Square, Abuja, but was not allowed to vote because he didn’t meet the requirement for voting.
On the other hand, the National Executive Committee (NEC), which is the second highest decision-making organ of the party responsible for approving waivers for returnees and new entrants, has not met since then.
Party leaders like Walid Jibrin, Makarfi and Secondus have confirmed that the party wants to get back all it lost in the past, including prominent political figures who left for various reasons.
Other sources said the party was reaching out to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, who is a first term governor on the platform of the ruling APC.
It was also gathered that former governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and many others were being approached to return to the party. Power play at the Brick House At the moment, the Brick House, which is the Rivers State Government House, has allegedly turned into a ‘sacred place’ where politicians who seek positions go to receive anointing.
Some political bigwigs in the PDP across the country have visited the Brick House to seek the endorsement of Governor Wike to run for various political offices, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered. Those who visited Brick House were Chief Bode George, Chief Jimi Agbaje, Chief Raymond Dokpesi and many others who were contesting the chairmanship of the party and other positions.
Sule Lamido has also visited to seek anointing from Wike to contest the 2019 presidential polls on the platform of the party, it was gathered.
During the visit, Lamido informed Wike of his intention to vie for the position of the president and declared that he had the capacity to revive the fortunes of the country.
Governor Wike used the opportunity of the visit to lampoon the APC, saying it was a party of strangers with no knowledge of the intricacies of development. He said the APC thrived in politics of mischief wherein it engaged in high level intimidation, corruption and dirty political schemes to compel defection of PDP members to its fold.
“If you decamp to the APC, you are no longer corrupt. The APC is a party of daylight deceit. I am happy that one of those who left to bring a messiah has realised that the so-called messiah they brought is no longer the messiah Nigerians expected. The PDP is the only hope for Nigeria,” the governor said.
He noted that though the PDP made mistakes in the past, the party is the only platform with the commitment and patriotism to take the country out of the current socio-economic, security and other challenges bedevilling it.
He described Lamido as a committed and consistent PDP member who is courageous and has the capacity to confront the APC. He further urged all presidential aspirants to accept the verdict of the party at the end of the primaries.
Lamido, in his response, said he was presenting himself to take over in 2019 because the nation deserved to move forward.
He said if given the opportunity to lead Nigeria, he has the capacity to unite Nigeria and set it on the path of growth.
“I want to run because I feel I can do it. I have the pedigree. We stand to fight for democracy and the restoration of Nigeria,” he said.
He promised to work with other PDP leaders to transform Nigeria for the good of the people, adding that the APC is a party of “hate and deceit”; hence it should be sacked in 2019.
Wike, Secondus, Odili’s political journey
The three men have been political associates for a long time. Dr Odili was said to have played a key role in nurturing both Secondus and Wike politically.
Wike, Secondus and Amaechi were political sons of Dr Odili. In 1999 when Odili was elected governor of Rivers, Wike was ‘compensated’ with the position of chairman of Obio Akpor Local Government Area. Amaechi was elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly, where he was made Speaker, while Secondus was made the state chairman of the PDP.
But Odili’s united political family started crashing in 2007 when Amaechi was “denied” the PDP governorship ticket.
Amaechi and Odili parted ways, but the former later aligned with Wike, who stood by him throughout the period he pursued his case in court.
Amaechi and Wike later fell out over irreconcilable political differences. While the battle between Wike and Amaechi lasted, the former maintained his loyalty to Odili.
The relationship between Odili and Wike has been like that of father and son, with the former playing fatherly role for Wike to excel in governance and his political career.
Sources in Port Harcourt say Wike always goes to Odili for advice on political issues and matters concerning governance in the state.
As the October 7 deadline for party primaries nationwide approaches, it is left to be seen who the leading opposition party would field as presidential candidate for the much-touted 2019 polls.
But Wike remains a very powerful force. He has the resources; he is a political strategist with a lot of political connections. He wields influence because he has made tremendous contributions to ensure the survival of the party