Every election in Nigeria, be it intra-party or inter-parties is always marred with the cry of the wolf before and after, the just concluded Peoples Democratic Party convention which led to the emergence of Uche Secondus, 62, from Rivers State as expected was not an exception.
The election od Secondus nullifies the earlier permutation that the post has zoned to the south-west which fielded many aspirants including former governors, who are all swept aside by hurricane Uche Secondus invigorated with the support of Nyesom Wike, Ayo Fayose and Godswill Akpabio, the governors of Rivers State, Ekiti State and a former governor of Akwa Ibom State respectively.
Secondus has his work cut out, he must find a way to unite the PDP with so many aggrieved party members and fashion a way to oust the running All Progressives Congress in 2019. He surely has the experience and wherewithal, having been in politics for almost 40 years.
He vented into politics during the Second Republic in 1978 and has been a member of the PDP since 1999. In 2007, he was the South-South Coordinator for the PDP National Campaign Council that organized the campaigns for the party during that year’s general elections. He was once the chairman of the Rivers State PDP.
In 2008, he became the National Organizing Secretary for the party, holding office until 2012. He was elected as the Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party in 2013 and also briefly served as acting National Chairman of the party between 2015 and 2016 after the resignation of Adamu Mu’azu.
Secondus is said to have interest in Intels Nigeria Limited, a company that is linked to Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, currently having problems with the federal government. He was awarded N10 million damages in a lawsuit against the EFCC involving Jide Omokore over the illegal purchase of 23 luxury vehicles valued at N310 million.
Secondus defeated a former Minister of Education, Professor Tunde Adeniran, founder of Daar Communications, Raymond Dokpesi, and a former Minister of Sports and Special Duties, Taoheed Adedoja to emerge the new PDP chairman. Other aspirants withdrew before the day of the election.
