Chief Olabode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has revealed how Adamu Mu’azu, a former National Chairman of the party, fled the country a day to the conduct of the 2015 presidential election.
Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election.
The election earlier scheduled for February 14, 2015 was moved to March 28, 2015 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following concerns over insecurity in the North Eastern part of the country.
According to the result declared by INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, Buhari polled a total number of 15,424,921 votes while Jonathan placed second with 12,853,162 votes.
Following the defeat of the PDP, which ended its 16 years reign, Mu’azu resigned his position in May 2015 and Prince Uche Secondus, the then Deputy National Chairman (South), took over as acting national chairman.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Independent, George said he was unhappy as the PDP leadership that took over after he left his position as deputy national chairman messed up the party.
He added that Mu’azu’s absence greatly contributed to the defeat of the PDP in that election as the party’s helmsman who was supposed to work tirelessly for PDP’s victory absconded a day to the presidential election.
“Look at Adamu Mu’azu that messed up and ran away the day before 2015 presidential election. History must be told. We must tell the people so that such mistake must never be repeated.
“They made you national chairman and a day before presidential election, you said your wife was in the theatre and you ran away.
“He said ‘my wife was sick Sir, I have to go! I have to go!’ That was how he left the country a day before an important election. National chairman of a party leaving the country a day before the presidential election?
“When the General that was expected to lead a war absconded, what will happen to the morale of the troops? Mu’azu didn’t stay to do the 2015 presidential election between Jonathan and Buhari. He fled Nigeria a day to the election. He is now back in PDP ask him if I lied”, the PDP chieftain said.
Going back memory lane, George also carpeted Uche Secondus, suspended national chairman of the PDP, over his claim that he (Secondus) as acting national chairman was senior to George, whose highest ranking position in PDP was deputy national chairman.
He said he brought Secondus from Rivers PDP to the national secretariat of the party after he lobbied late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Emmanuel Uduaghan, former Delta State governor, to make him the party’s national organising secretary.
“He (Secondus) must have woken up from the wrong side of the bed. When I was deputy national chairman overall and Ahmadu Ali was national chairman, where was he? In age, education and class are we in the same group? He was a state chairman in Rivers. Ask him, who brought him to national level in PDP?
“During that period, I set up what they called G-84 members to stabilise our party. Secondus was state chairman of Rivers PDP and he was an active member of the G-84 of NEC. He has run out his time but they did so much and worked so hard for the party. I was quite impressed even though I didn’t know him from Adam. At the end of the day, they had rezoned national organising secretary to Delta State and they zoned treasurer to Rivers State.
“He came to me and said ‘Sir, it is over for me in Rivers as state chairman. I have spent eight years already and I want you to assist me in becoming the national organising secretary’. Remember, I told you the position was zoned to Delta and not Rivers State. I said okay, let me talk to the then governor of Delta State (Emmanuel Uduaghan).
“So, I discussed with Uduaghan if it was acceptable to him to swap the position in order for the treasurer to move to Delta and organising secretary to Rivers. The issue then was that the treasurer must be an accountant and Secondus is not an accountant. There is no way he could have come to the national headquarters. So, I discussed the issue with the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua that we should encourage some of these people, like Secondus who have worked so hard for the party.
“If the Delta State governor will accept us to swap treasurer from Rivers to Delta and national organising secretary from Delta to Rivers. After I presented my reasons, they accepted. I then went to the governor of Delta and I said, ‘Your Excellency, you owe me one thing’. He said, ‘Oga, anything!’ When I presented the matter to him, he said, ‘Oh my God!’ But he still accepted and said Delta will present somebody as treasurer and so national organising secretary can go to Rivers. Uduaghan is still alive. You can ask him what I just said.
“That was how Secondus got to the national headquarters of PDP. So, how can he compare me and him? Look at the way they mismanaged the party and the mess they created. When I wanted to contest for PDP national chairman in 2017 and he said he was also contesting, I told him Secondus, I wanted something and you also said you wanted the same thing? I got infuriated and said what kind of insult is this? He said because he was acting national chairman, he is senior to me in the party”.
George also reiterated his earlier position that he is quitting partisan politics after 2023 presidential election.
“The only thing that will liberate us is consistency, respect for the rule of law, justice, fairness and equity. If we don’t abide by these principles, we can’t make any meaningful progress.
“I have told everybody who cares to listen that by 2023, I would have spent 25 years in this party and I’ve spent 25 years in the Navy. If you add that, that is 50 years of my life in the service of this country. I have had enough.
“I will continue as an elder statesman but I will not do partisan politics anymore. All I am looking for is that we should have good, committed, loyal and consistent managers not a bunch of decrepit jokers who will think that they are going there to enrich themselves and fan the embers of disunity. Enough of that!
Efforts made by our correspondent to reach Mu’azu and Secondus proved abortive as calls and messages sent to their mobile phones were not responded to as at the time of going to press.
Source: Daily Independent
