Gov Wike Attacks PDP Chairman Secondus, Says He Lacks Leadership Abilities

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State chose the occasion of a birthday ceremony to launch a virulent attack on the National Chairman of his party, Uche Secondus.

The Peoples Democratic Party national chairman was among the special guests at the 60th birthday celebration of former Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, in Abuja on Sunday .

Special guests at the occasion include former Senate Presidents Bukola Saraki and Pius Ayim, among others.

Wike, in his usual volatility, chose the occasion to berate the leadership of his party and blamed it for the gale of defections that has hit the PDP.

He blamed the party chairman for the current crisis in the party, pointing out that the defections in Cross River State was a result of Secondus’ lack of leadership skills.

Secondus, sensing he may be the but of Wike’s tirade, quickly left the venue before Wike took his turn to speak.

“Talking about leadership, unfortunately, the National Chairman (Secondus) left before I start. We should not be theoretical but be practical in what we practice. He goes to the church, you see the pastor, you pontificate. He leaves the church, he does a different thing. What is the problem with this country? Its leadership.

“If he ( Secondus) had shown leadership in Cross River, our party would not have had the problem we have today. The national chairman said we need good leadership in the country, but if you don’t show good leadership, the party cannot produce good leaders. That is the truth of the matter.

“We talk about character. What is leadership? Leadership is about character, boldness, selflessness and audacious. As a leader, you must have character. Not to speak white in the morning and you speak black in the evening. Is that leadership? What are we telling our youths? We are talking about the future of this country,” Wike stated.

He stated further that leadership stands on sacrifice, putting the interest of others above personal gains and enacting decisions that will keep the party going forward.

Earlier in his remarks, Imoke asked youths to leverage their influence and negotiate their way into power as he noted that despite the influence the Nigerian youths commanded both on and outside of the social media, they have not been able to break into power.

He disclosed that the reason why the youths were constantly being sidelined by the government is as a result of poor objectives set by them before venturing into politics.

He said that the influence exhibited by young people on social media was not enough as governments across Africa always had a certain influence over the operation of social media.

Senator Imoke said 2023 provides youths with another opportunity to get into the business of political leadership to make the change they yearned for.