Politics

Secondus, PDP jittery over prisons reform

Published

9 years ago

December 20, 2017

PDP’s National Chairman Uche Secondus has cried out over the prison expansion scheme the federal government has undertaken. He alleged they expanded these facilities so they can herd in PDP’s members in 2018.

He said these in Abuja at the opening of a two-day retreat for members of the newly elected National Working Committee of the party.

The prisons service, however, has been complaining of congestion and other challenges that appal many, including President Muhammadu Buhari who has declared a state of emergency in the service.

The expansion, therefore, might not be uncommented with the reforms which the PDP chairman may have miscast.

“We learnt that they are building more prisons. Let them go ahead and build more. They will be the one to stay there.

“We learnt that they are coming after our members in January. Let them continue. How many people will they put in jail?” he said.

According to him, it was wrong for the Federal Government to be persecuting members of the PDP because of their refusal to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

“They should stop intimidating people. They should remember that almost everybody they had put in jail wrongly came back to become President.

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“This is because they were jailed unjustifiably. So, if they are persecuting us, let them continue. But we will not withdraw the ultimatum we gave them to quit Aso Rock in 2019.”

Talking of the allegation the PDP cannot foght corruption, Secondus stated that it ts wrong to assume that, pointing at President Olusegun Obasanjo who was the PDP president that established institutions currently waging a war against graft in the country.

He noted that the former President did not spare members of the PDP then, unlike now when he alleged that the ruling party “protects its members.”

Secondus also condemned the alleged harassment of the former Senate President David Mark by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“There is nowhere in the world where a former Senate President has been harassed like this before,” he said.

Various bodies within the party, including former chairmen led by Ahmadu Ali, BoT members led by Walid Jibrin, the National Working Committee, came visiting the executives.

Jibrin explained that at no time did members of the BoT support Senator Ali Modu Sheriff while he was party chairman.

Jibrin then urged members of the party to unite and support the Governor Seriake Dickson-led reconciliation committee.

The BoT also recommended that the new NWC should visit all chairmanship aspirants that lost the bid to emerge as the chairman of the party and their key supporters.