THE crushing defeat it suffered in the 2015 presidential election put the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had dominated Nigeria’s political landscape for over 16 years, in virtual disarray. The unexpected loss of power and the highly effective propaganda mounted by the new ruling party, which some say played on the sentiments of the people, left the “umbrella” party in tatters and many of its prominent members did not want to be associated with or have anything to do with it again, at least, in the open.
Adamu Mu’azu, who as the national chairman of the PDP was happy to be addressed as the “game-changer,” threw in the towel, ostensibly not being able to leave with the shame of leading the party to an ignominious game-changing outing in the watershed 2015 presidential election. The lot fell on Prince Uche Secondus as the deputy national chairman to pick up the pieces. He acted as the party’s boss in what could be regarded as the most trying era for the PDP in its history – 2015 to 2016.
After the national caretaker committee interregnum and all the crisis that came with it, including the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff debacle, Secondus emerged as the substantive national chairman of the PDP following a national convention to elect a new national working committee for the main opposition party in December 2017.
The national convention was controversial in itself and there had been fears that the PDP would not survive it, but despite the protest from national chairmanship contestants, including Professor Tunde Adeniran and Chief Raymond Dokpesi over the emergence of a “unity list” of preferred candidates, the exercise passed off peacefully. With Secondus garnering 2000 votes to Adeniran’s 231 while Dokpesi managed 66 votes, the PDP’s stakeholders were confident that the party had been reborn.
On his swearing in, Secondus unveiled an agenda to reconcile, rebuild, reposition the party and recapture power. “No more imposition, no more impunity. Every member of this party as from this moment considers himself/herself equal shareholder in our common destiny,” he promised party faithful who looked forward to the new leadership with optimism.
Indeed, the new leadership seemed to rekindle hope in the opposition party as many of its members who had defected to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) began to retrace their steps and return to the PDP. Easily, the most significant of these returnees was former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who, in 2014, joined some governors to leave the PDP in protest of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s emergence as the sole candidate of the party in the 2015 presidential election. Atiku had explained that he dumped the PDP because “I believed it was no longer aligned to the principles of equity, democracy and social justice upon which we had founded it.” But under the Secondus-led PDP NWC, he found it comfortable enough to return and recommence the pursuit of his political ambition. “So, today, I want to let you know that I am returning home to the PDP as the issues that led me to leave it have now been resolved and it is clear that the APC has let the Nigerian people, and especially our young people, down,” he said in a statement announcing his return to the platform on which he served as the nation’s number two citizen.
But with the primaries for the 2019 general elections looming in the horizon, there was once again apprehension among party stakeholders about its fate despite Secondus’ repeated assurances that the leadership would conduct one of the most transparent exercises that could be seen in Nigeria. The subsequent congresses from the ward to the state levels were praised for their lack of usual interference and imposition. Secondus got the plaudits for presiding over and pulling the exercises through with little rancor.
Again, with 12 presidential aspirants going head-to-head in the October 5-6, 2018 national convention to elect its flag bearer for the 2019 election, Secondus had his work cut out to deliver on his promise to guarantee a level playing ground. He did. The exercise was largely acclaimed to have the ingredients of a free, fair and transparent primary election.
Having crossed that hurdle, the 2019 general election was always going to be a hard nut to crack for the PDP, a battered and much maligned main opposition party. Not even the most sublime of political artistry was expected to be sufficient to enable it to unseat a determined ruling party. In spite of running the PDP from its perceived position of weakness, post-2019 election, Secondus succeeded in steering it into regaining four states to raise its stake to 15 from the 11 states it was able to muster in 2015.
The PDP NWC under the Rivers State-born politician was to mount a stiff legal challenge to the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the 2019 presidential election but to no avail as both the Presidential Appeals Tribunal and the Supreme Court affirmed the APC candidate as the valid winner of the presidential election.
The election loss notwithstanding, observers believe that Secondus can look back at his time so far and claim credit for upswing in the fortunes of the PDP, a party which can be said to be on its way to rising from the ashes of the 2015 demolition. The PDP chairman has already embarked on reforms and will be hopeful that when fully implemented, the former ruling party will regain its place in the hearts of the Nigerian electorate in time for the 2023 presidential election.