PDP: Secondus In The Eye Of The Storm, As Mass Exodus Further Rocks PDP |The Source

…..His Chairmanship Position Under Threat

By Akinwale Kasali

The past few weeks have been turbulent for the major opposition Party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. It has witnessed  defection from its fold to the ruling Party, All Progressives Congress, APC.

Though, the South-West PDP has described the defection of Senator Iyiola Omisore and 2019 Presidential Campaign Director of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel to the APC,as funny and laughable.

The party said, “that will be the first time politicians in Nigeria will be decamping from APC to APC.”

“To us in the South-West PDP, APC can keep celebrating defections from the party back to the party. The party can even tell Nigerians tomorrow that President Muhammadu Buhari has defected to the APC, that won’t still change the fact that its government from federal to States have failed woefully.

“It is on record that Otunba Gbenga Daniel openly declared and worked for the APC in the 2019 governorship election in Ogun State. He did that less than 72 hours after the PDP lost the presidential election in which he was the campaign Director-General.

“Since 2019, his main men have been holding key appointments in the APC government of Governor Dapo Abiodun.

“As for Senator Omisore, even a five-year-old baby knows that he has been in APC since 2018 and he openly campaigned for APC during the 2019 general elections.

“He was even appointed as Sub-Chairman of Finance Committee for the inauguration of President Buhari for a second term.

“So, which defection are they talking about again? Is its a second wave of defection or revalidation of defection?

“It appears that either the APC is so desperate to continue with the deceit about its existence and acceptability in the minds of Nigerians or some people are looking for money or appointment against integrity, hence this news of defection from APC to APC.”

But, the gale of defection that has rocked the PDP has once again questioned the clout, political prowess and sagacity of the Party’s National Chairman, Uche Secondus.

The alignment and realignment among the PDP Stalwarts that jump ship to the APC is certainly because of personal interest ahead of 2023.

It would be recalled that Governor Nyesom Wike, who was once an ally of Secondus, had questioned his influence and called for the dissolving of the Party’s National Working Committee following the defection of Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi to the APC.

Within the space of One Year, bigwigs in the PDP have jumped ship to the APC.

Few months ago, the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee received some PDP bigwigs who jumped ship into its fold.

PDP Chieftain and strong voices like former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; former National Chairman of the PDP and Senator Barnabas Gemade have dumped PDP for APC.

Others are; National Assembly Chief Whip, Jimoh Ibrahim, former Head of Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi, Sen Isa Hamma Misau, Alhaji Salisu Takai, Senator Elisha Abbo from Adamawa State, and many others.

Majority of the defectors attributed their decisions to alleged poor handling of issues and injustice in the PDP, a claim that was rebuffed by the opposition Party leadership.

With the political twists and turns, the polity is twitching while the main political actors in the APC have been relentlessly meeting and wooing bigwigs in the PDP.

For Femi Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Aviation and Campaign Director of former President Goodluck  Jonathan during the 2015 Election, has been dilly- dallying over his position.

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State had announced the defection of the controversial and strong voice in the PDP to APC, but h has been economical with the truth about his romance with the APC.

If the said speculation comes to reality, it basically means that the PDP is hesding for the woods.

Lieutenant-General Azubuike Ihejirika, former Chief of Army Staff under former President Jonathan administration has also announced entry into the APC, alongside many House of Representatives members.

This has showed the perceived incompetence of Secondus to lead the PDP aright, however, triggering a move to sack him as the Party’s National Chairman.

Secondus can be described like the proverbial Cat with Nine Lives, having survived series of sack moves since the party lost the 2019 general elections, and after Governor Umahi defection.

In an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, the Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, had debunked calls for the sack  Secondus, stressing that  the NWC have reposed confidence in him.

No doubt, Secondus is jittery and sad over the turnout of events in this past weeks, as the mass exodus continue to stare at him in the face.

The PDP had been planning to wrestle power from the APC afree its 16 years of Democratic interruption came to an abrupt end in 2015. They are gunning to take back power in 2023.

The PDP top echelon, our correspondent gathered, is jittery and worried over the mass exodus of its leaders to the ruling party.

In saving the face of the Party and creating a formidable force ahead of 2023, the PDP recently inaugurated a National Reconciliation Committee headed by former Senate President,  Bukola Abubakar Saraki, to initiate peace and return the party to its “lost grounds”.

The committee has been meeting with key party stalwarts across the country, including former President Jonathan, in the wave of his speculated romance with the APC.

On the other hand, the PDP 2019 Election Review Committee headed by the Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, is meeting with party stakeholders to unravel what led to the party’s defeat at the 2019 polls.

The Bala-led committee has met with a former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and many others.

Political analysts of the opinion that the Reconciliation Committee set up by the PDP may and may not achieve its purpose, as the PDP is presently believe to be on life support, following major Stalwarts that left the Party.

It will be recalled that before Gbenga Daniel jumped ship to the APC, the South-West PDP led by Governor Oluwaseyi Makinde paid him a courtesy visit to strategize on moving the Party forward ahead of the 2023 Election.

Also, it discussed and admonished every warring members in the PDP fold to sheath their swords and bury their hatchets. Weeks after the meeting, Daniel announced his Defection.

This puts the reconciliation process in a fix.

However, the Onus falls on the PDP leadership and the remaining top notch Stalwarts in its fold to brainstorm on how to weather the storm and clear the hurdles before it and reclaim power in 2023. Perhaps?