By Jude Idu and Ben Ogbemudia
A former commissioner and member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Prince Kassim Afegbua, has called for the creation of a shadow cabinet to keep the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government on the alert.

This, he said, is the reason that informed his decision to drag the chairman of the main opposition party, the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, to the anti-graft agencies, EFCC and ICPC, among other steps designed to reposition the party.

Afegbua, who served as a commissioner for information in Edo State, berated the leadership of the PDP, said it was the leadership style of the PDP chairman that had been responsible for the defections to the APC in recent times, a development he said must stop. According to him, Secondus, since his inauguration on December 9, 2017, has been running the PDP along a fault line that has weakened the opposition from mounting an effective challenge against the ruling party.

PDP denies generating Afegbua’s fictitious sum of N10bn in 2019

On the challenges facing the PDP, Afegbua explained that the security challenges facing Nigeria today had warranted some further steps to be taken to check the menace. Reacting to what informed his recent petition to the anti-graft agencies, Afegbua said, “Why should I not take him to the anti-graft when he is the chairman of the party? He has been running the affairs of the party since December 9, 2017.

“As a member of the party, I have seen that he (Secondus) has not lived up to expectation with respect to discharging his responsibility and putting the PDP at the front burner in Nigerian politics that can create the alternative voice, and he is not engaging the ruling party that have caused untold damage to the psyche of average Nigeria. “There are kidnappings, banditry, robberies, insurgency, and blood-letting. Nigeria now is a blood flowing country, and I expect that the main opposition party should take on the challenge of putting the All Progressives Congress on its toes.’’

In the opinion of the PDP chieftain, “They don’t want to listen to the voice of reason. What is stopping PDP from forming a shadow cabinet, peopled by professionals, who know their onions, and can be responding to issues on the regular basis, and so that Nigeria will say, okay, if this party comes on board, they should be able to do this.’’

Afegbua added, “I suggested this to them, but those at the leadership will not do that. What stops the party from organising seminars or workshops or set up a think tank that will be dissecting issues of policy formation, policy driven, policy failure of this present government that is failing so monumentally and people are defecting?

““They are just panicking because they know their hands are not clean. The point is they have agreed that N4.6bn accrued to the party and the question is which account did it accrue to?

“It is a fundamental question because I participated in the 2019 aspiration for the House of Representatives and paid N1.5m and they did not tell me to pay into the party account. They told me to go and pay to one Point of Service (POS) man. “A lot of people were complaining of that. PDP accounts were garnished because they owed a lot of money on litigation. They do not want the money paid into their account because of being taken away. Why won’t you pay people when you owe them?

“Yes, they have agreed to N4.6bn. If I did not raise the alarm this would not been been known. So, it is cheering news for them to have agreed to that amount. It is a big progress. So, EFCC and ICPC will further tell us how much they raised or spent. “I have a different account they used because people give me information. They think I am alone in this game. No, a lot of people are supporting this move because it is like whistle blowing. “I am just blowing the whistle and I am waiting to hear that they are ready to submit themselves to EFCC and ICPC for probe, not to be calling me names.

Meanwhile, the PDP chair has demanded N1bn in damages and an apology from Afegbua, over statements which he said impugned on his integrity. Secondus demands were contained in a letter by his lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), dated April 29, and addressed to Afegbua. In the letter titled “Re: Case of defamation of character of Prince Uche Secondus: National chairman, Peoples Democratic Party”, Etaiba said, apart from the petition filed before the anti-graft agencies, Afegbua made some defamatory claims against the PDP chair.

Etiaba added, “The publications were read worldwide and most especially in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria and this fact has been confirmed by the phone calls that have trailed your publications. “Take notice that if you fail to retract your said publications, apologise to our client in the said newspapers with the same prominence with which you published the offensive statements and pay the sum of N1bn to him as damages all within 48 hours from the date hereof, we shall proceed to institute an action to seek redress from a court of competent jurisdiction.”

Earlier, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, had dismissed Afegbua’s allegation as spurious and irresponsible. He also described Afegbua as “an inconsequential blackmailer hired to mudsling the party and its leadership.” Ologbondiyan said, “As a law-abiding political party that respects the doctrine of rule of law and transparency, the budget was presented to the National Executive Committee (NEC) where it also received a final approval.

“Having said that, as a political party, under whose administration the EFCC and the ICPC were formulated and established, our party strictly adheres to best practices of transparency, accountability and probity in all issues, including our financial administration.”