There is palpable tension in the camp of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the misunderstanding between the party’s national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, and his chief sponsor, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, gets messier.
Wike wants Secondus sacked as soon as possible, party sources said on Saturday. Observers see the misunderstanding as a big threat to the party’s plan to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023.
Sources also confirmed that the development is creating anxiety within the party ahead of its congress in December.
Investigation also indicates the emergence of at least two tendencies over the fate of Secondus and the National Working Committee (NWC) which he leads.
On one side is Wike, backed by some governors and PDP leaders, to sack Secondus and the NWC before their official exit date in December.
There is also Secondus leading his own supporters comprising some governors, members of the PDP Board of Trustees and some party leaders. This group is all out for his retention in office.
Secondus’ supporters brand him the “most transparent national chairman in the history of PDP, who does not take bribes from aspirants or candidates standing for any elective post.”
Sources said that it has been difficult to reconcile the anti-Secondus group, with Wike as the arrowhead, and other interest groups within the party.
It was further learnt that intra-party politics in the Rivers State chapter of PDP has “complicated” the relationship between Wike and Secondus.
While Wike is said to be scheming to hand over to a candidate from the upland area of the state which has been governing since 1999, Secondus prefers a riverine area.
The alleged presidential or vice presidential ambition of Wike in 2023 is another factor which has deepened the political cleavages between godfather and his godson. Secondus is said to be “not too keen on Wike’s ambition.”
