… Insists party’s interest beyond personal agenda
A support group of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) known as PDP Frontliners, has endorsed the demand by the party’s youth wing, asking the national chairman of the party, Uche Secondus to resign from office.
After a careful consideration, the group under the leadership of Alhaji Hussein (President) affirmed that the embattled chairman “must go” stressing that “the significance of a national political party like the PDP far surpasses any individual’s agenda to perpetuate himself in office.”
Addressing reporters in Kaduna, agrrieved members of the Frontliners expressed outrage that “in spite of a below average performance in the face of limited challenges, Mr. Secondus is much eager to remain in office rather than allow vibrant changes that would prepare the party for electoral victory in 2023”.
The members which included Mr. Moses Abidemi (Secretary) and Mr. Dan Okafor (Publicity Secretary) expressed amazement that “rather than stem the membership hemorrhage leaching the PDP in favour of the ruling APC, Mr. Secondus choses to preside over a situation of growing anarchy that may hinder PDP’s reconciliation process and rob the party of great chances in 2023.
“Instead of being allowed to sit pretty over an imagined fiefdom, Secondus who ought to have gone a long time, must go now.
“He has never proven to have any capacity for being a political war general and his laissez-faire style of leadership during preparations for the 2023 general elections can only culminate into really atrocious results.
“We appreciate his past contributions towards building PDP but in the face of current realities, Mr. Secondus needs to rethink his insistence about continued leadership of PDP; he should also consider public repudiation of alleged moves to lobby some party leaders for an extension of his tenure,” they stated.
According to its President, Alhaji Hussein Mohammed, the PDP Frontliners is a group of concerned party supporters “who are determined to see a vibrant, tactical and visionary leadership in PDP towards putting an end to the pain, miseries and colossal disappointment that APC foisted on Nigeria in spite of massive propaganda and utopian promises made in 2015.
“We feel particularly pained that except for occasional press statements from the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Secondus’ leadership has not taken real advantages of the ruling APC’ s glaring errors and inadequacies towards enabling PDP to gain traction in the consciousness of ordinary citizens; the man is evidently not a war-time general, his leadership is too cold and aloof to the prospects of vigorous politicking that we need for the 2023 elections.
“Even as we speak, notwithstanding the exit of several federal legislators, governors and even a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, more groups are contemplating leaving PDP if the relatively unimpactful Secondus leadership continues for the next one month; one of these is Engineer Buba Galadima, a fearless patriot who was among the true architects of change in Nigeria today but his likes are completely relegated in the party as Secondus continues to operate as an Executive National Chairman.
Speaking further he said “as if we have all forgotten how his governor, H.E. Nyesom Wike kept campaigning for him and assuring everyone across the north and south four years ago, that Mr. Secondus is a loyal person who would commit everything to the success of the party; the same governor is now being made to look bad for seeing the need to infuse much-needed timely vibrancy into PDP.
“We appreciate PDP leaders like Gov Wike whose outstanding quality includes having zero tolerance for failure, even if you are his strong ally.
“Indeed, democracy is also about thriving articulation of ideas, vibrant opposition and giving hope to Nigerians about rescuing our dear nation from nepotism, stagnancy, insecurity amidst glaring lies and vicious propaganda of the ruling party but no honest party member dare applaud the Secondus leadership for doing much in this respect.
“He never attends to administrative work; never holds formal meetings with other organs of the party; doesn’t even know his deputies; zonal excos and members of state excos are called only in emergencies exhilaration there is no programme of activity for the party.
“Yielding to the wish and opinion of party members and leaders, we have seen party chairmen, including Secondus’ former boss, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur leaving office honorably; how can you orchestrate Alhaji Tukur’s exit over allegations of running the party from his home and then become so fond of doing just that?
“With the loss of both 2015 and 2019 national elections, fewer PDP members in the National Assembly than we had in 2015 as well as a hellacious gale of defections, it would be a most honourable sacrifice for Mr. Uche Secondus to leave office now and thereby help foster better reconciliation processes; give hope to those who wish to join the PDP and inject vibrancy into our preparations to improve our party’s chances in the forthcoming elections.”
“Secondus ought to have gone yesterday , it is up to the PDP Board of Trustees, the PDP Governors’ Forum and the PDP Caicases in both Chambers of the National Assembly to do the needful; Secondus must please go now,” the PDP Frontliners stated.
