2023 Presidency: Is Uche Secondus Really PDP’s Only Problem?
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, seems to be sinking deeper into crisis daily. It also appears not to be providing a virile opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
The recent crisis of confidence in the PDP, which had the party’s National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, battling for survival, is perceived by many Nigerians to be only about control and power.
When seven members of the PDP’s National Executive Committee resigned from their offices recently, they all cited “bad treatment” by Uche Secondus as the reason for their action; thereby, amplifying the call for his resignation made by some aggrieved members of the party’s National Working Committee.
How It All Began
Trouble started for Secondus in April when a former Edo State Commissioner for Information, and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kazeem Afegbua alleged that the National Working Committee of the party led by the embattled Chairman had mismanaged N10bn party funds.
He demanded the sacking of the party’s leadership and wrote a petition against it to the EFCC and the ICPC to investigate the party’s finances.
But, in what has turned out to be regrettable decisions, the PDP announced Afegbua’s expulsion in a letter signed by the party’s chairman in Edo State, Tony Aziegbemi.
Also Secondus sued Afegbua in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory for alleged libelous publications against his person.
Missed Opportunity
Most importantly, at the peak of the Kazeem Afegbua vs Uche Secondus fight, the PDP missed a crucial opportunity to mobilise its standing committee on reconciliation headed by former Senate President Bukola Saraki to go on overdrive to close the ranks, diffuse the tension and assure party faithfuls that the PDP is united.
Capitalising on this failure, two sitting governors and scores of lawmakers at the Federal and State legislatures dumped the PDP for the APC citing divisions within the opposition party.
Whether or not the political defections came from a selfish motive is a different matter, the key concern is that the opposition is somehow weakened as a result.
To the moles in the PDP, the loss of Cross River and Zamfara States to the APC became an opportunity to deal a final blow to the opposition by agitating for the appointment of a Caretaker Committee to run the affairs of the Party until when a national convention would be organised.
Nonetheless, not all PDP members think rocking the boat of Uche Secondus’ leadership would augur well for the party.
“We shouldn’t get into the same trap that the APC has gotten themselves into by trying to form a Caretaker Committee. Are we satisfied with Secondus’ performance? Not exactly, because we thought that we should have led a more virile opposition than what we have seen. But, at this critical point, I do not support that we should be rocking the boat when it’s just four months to the end of his tenure on December 9th,” a top source in the PDP said.
Weak Opposition
While the PDP is in crisis in all directions, and the party is now seen in several circles as a lame platform which cannot take Nigerians out of the current hardships into the promised land by 2023, the APC can be said to have only one goal; which is, retaining power, maintaining and expanding it in more States.
Because the PDP is battling so deep an internal wrangling, it no longer knows how to make itself to be a desirable option in the sight of many Nigerians ahead of the next general election.
Lamenting the situation, an ex-member of the PDP presidential campaign council, Hon. Ken Okolugbo, said: “People are dissatisfied. We are going into 2023 against a government that has totally failed. The APC has failed in all its ramifications. People cannot even purchase foodstuff in the market. We have never had it this bad.
“However, when you’re going into a government that has failed, but your people are decamping to the failed party, then you ask yourself ‘What is exactly going on?’
“We cannot even form a shadow government to keep the APC on its toes. By this time, we should all be garnering a lot of goodwill to get the APC government out in 2023.
“So, that is where the dissatisfaction comes from. Only a few PDP members vociferous on the national scene. The Secondus-led NWC has not been effective in opposition, and we must tell ourselves the bitter truth.”
Way Forward
Last Thursday, the Board of Trustees of the PDP, which is the conscience of the party, met and took some major steps to wade into the crisis.
Also, the PDP Governors’ Forum has promised to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the affairs of the Party and forge a way forward.
While some political analysts consider these moves too late in the day, others say it is better late than never.
According to a chieftain of the PDP, Chief Eddy Olafeso, “This moment calls for calm, restraint and understanding. All of us need to understand that politics is beyond us, and it is about the survival of this country that is tottering on the brinks of total collapse.
“We should appreciate the fact that managing a political party is a herculean task. And so, Secondus has done well. By the time he took over leadership we had only 11 governors. Later, under his watch, we had 17 but some have left.
“Our party constitution is clear on how to resolve internal misunderstanding and miscommunication.”
Conclusion
To many observers, the solution to the crisis in PDP is for opposition politicians to think beyond self and consider the ordinary citizens that are looking up to the party as an alternative that can usher in a better Nigeria come 2023.
