Prince Secondus, PDP National Chairman
THE National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has warned that any attempt by the ruling party to rig the forthcoming Ekiti state governorship election may jeopardize next year’s general election.
The party boss gave the warning while inaugurating the party’s campaign committee for the Ekiti election headed by the Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel.
He said Information available to the party shows that the All Progressive Congress (APC) is plotting to subvert the will of the people.
But he charged the committee
to work assiduously to ensure that the PDP retains the state.
He said: “Let me warn that if there is an attempt to thwart the will of the people in Ekiti state, there may be no general election and the entire democratic process will be endangered.
“Ordinarily, given the enviable achievements of our party in the state in the area of delivering democracy dividends to the people in the last three years under the leadership of the Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, Peter Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti should be a smooth contest for us, but intelligence available to the party shows that the APC is planning in their own words to ‘capture Ekiti at all cost.’
“Part of the cost has started manifesting with the shooting carried out at their own rally on Thursday last week which happened to be a continuation of the violence they launched on themselves and the state since their primaries last month.”
According to Secondus, the peace in Ekiti has been disturbed since the desperation of the APC began.
“Because of their desperation, a hitherto peaceful state of Ekiti has been turned into a war zone for a party which electoral presence in the state is very negligible,” he alleged.
On the newly inaugurated campaign committee, he assured that the calibre of those who make up the committee shows the importance the party attaches to the Ekiti cause, noting that after July 14, the PDP will turn its attention to Osun State governorship election coming up in September.
Secondus admonished the APC to learn from the experience of the Second Republic when an attempt was made to compromise the outcome of an election.
He said: “I recall drawing the attention of APC recently to the negative aspect of our history associated with trying to obstruct the will of the people as willingly expressed through the ballot box.
“I tried to let them know that Ekiti State shares in that history when the then second republic ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) attempted to use their federal controlled might to hijack power from the then Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), that was on ground in the old Ondo state for which Ekiti was part.
“Men of wisdom had long told us that the easy way to repeat history is to refuse to learn from it.
“I charge APC leadership to take time and read our political history and know that the route they are headed is akin to that of the NPN days if not worse.”
Secondus also called on the international community to what he called the harassment of opposition figures by the Muhammadu Buhari government, saying the country has never had it so bad in recent years.
According to him, “In this country, the opposition and anybody holding dissenting views from that of the small clique of persons hanging on to power today have been marked either to be framed up for criminal offences or for corruption.
“A sitting governor in Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, had cried out recently that there is an attempt to assassinate him but his case was treated with levity only for Nigerians to witness a high profile failed assassination attempt in Ekiti last week at a rally.”
Chairman of the campaign committee, Governor Emmanuel, challenged APC governors to showcase their achievements alongside their PDP counterparts, adding that doing so would avail the electorate the opportunity to choose which party would better serve their interest.
Other members of the committee include all serving PDP governors, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, ex-Rivers State governor, Celestine Omehia, Senator Biodun Olujimi amongst others.
Eddy Olafeso is Secretary of the committee.
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