PDP’s ex-chairman, Uche Secondus, asked to explain 25 exotic cars gift from suspected oil fraudster
By KEMI KASUMU
The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has charged the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, to explain why he was gifted 25 exotic vehicles worth billions of naira by an oil magnate currently standing trial on corruption charges, rather than attempting to stall discussions on publicly available information on PDP-era corruption.
The group gave this challenge in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke in reaction to a threat of legal action by the embattled opposition figure.
“We are amused to hear that Mr Secondus is threatening to take us to court for mentioning his name in a recent press statement titled ‘Ayu, not different from previous corruption-tainted PDP leaders-BMO’.
“All we did was to simply recall how the suspended PDP chairman’s name was mentioned in the course of the corruption trial of Jide Omokore, an ally of former Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, by a prosecution witness as having received 25 exotic cars from what is believed to be from proceeds of corruption.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the witness who is a top management staff of a major car dealership told Justice Nnamdi Dimgba that his company ‘supplied 23 cars to Adamu Muazu, among them were 5 Land Cruiser Jeeps. We also supplied 25 cars to Prince Uche Secondus by order of Omokore and we also supplied nine vehicles to Albert Bassey.’
“So what we did, in essence, is to quote a court session which was well reported in 2018 by all the major news outlets and which details are public material”, it said.
BMO added that the erstwhile PDP chairman should be more interested in getting the court to clear his name, rather than seeking to muzzle public opinion.
According to the group, “here is a man under whose tenure, PDP made several unverifiable claims against President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration under the guise of opposition politics. but today he is threatening legal action against us for citing a reference to him by a witness which was also backed up with invoices in court.
“It is also in the public domain that Secondus acknowledged collecting vehicles from Omokore whom he described as a long-standing friend, so it would be great to hear his explanation for the gift of 25 exotic cars which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told the court were paid for from the $1.6bn said to be proceeds of petroleum products belonging to the Federal Government.
“And like we said in an earlier press statement, there is hardly any former or present PDP chairman that did not have to deal with corruption allegations.”
The group again urged Nigerians to ensure that the former ruling party does not have unhindered access to the nation’s collective wealth in 2023.
