Why I Won't Reply Wike, Says Secondus

he National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday said that he would not reply the Rivers State governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, who called him a liar, stating that it was the cross that he would carry as a leader.

The Rivers State governor, Wike had on Saturday publicly called Secondus a liar in Abuja during the 60th birthday celebration of former governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke.

He said: “If he (Secondus) had shown leadership in Cross River, our party would not have had the problem we have today.

“The National Chairman said we need good leadership in the country, but if you don’t show good leadership, the party cannot produce good leaders. That is the truth of the matter.

“We talk about character. What is leadership? Leadership is about character, boldness, selflessness and audacity.

“As a leader, you must have character. Not to speak white in the morning and you speak black in the evening. Is that leadership? What are we telling our youths? We are talking about the future of this country.”

But in a response to the attack on Secondus, the Special Assistant to the PDP National Chairman, Mr. Ike Abonyi, said in a statement yesterday that the media office of the National Chairman of the PDP had been inundated with calls and inquiries on the outburst of the Rivers State governor, stating categorically that Secondus is not a liar.

"Our response is that no amount of provocation will make the national chairman take issues with any leader of the party talk less a state governor," it said, adding: “To do that is to remove the toga of a leader of the party. The impact of such response from the national chairman on the party will be worse than silence.”

It stated further: “The National Chairman considers whatever negative outburst against him from any quarter as one of the punches a leader must receive and endure to get stronger especially when the truth is unhidden that Secondus is not a liar."