PDP Crisis: Secondus Bluffs NWC, Rep. Caucus, Says He Will Not Resign; Legal Adviser Backs Him; Elumelu Tackles Caucus

By Adesina Soyooye

The crisis which has enveloped  the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, escalated on Sunday with both  the National Working Committee, NWC, and the Party’s House of Representatives Caucus, calling on the Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus to resign immediately.

But a defiant Secondus has called their bluff. He said he would not resign under the pressure of a minority. He, also, throws a challenge to them. He wants them to publicly list for him where he went wrong.

In a statement on Sunday, the Caucus described the Chairman as grossly incompetent, insisting that leaving him to remain as Chairman for the next three months would be a monumental disaster.

The statement signed Kingsley Chinda, Chairman of the Caucus, and Chukwuma Onyema, Deputy  Chairman,  said Secondus was more concerned about his office as Chairman than the Party’s success in future elections.

“The  National Chairman seems much more contended with occupying the office and, therefore, preoccupied with holding onto his position rather than  preparing for nextelections.

“Further three months under the rulership of the Chairman will do great injustice to the Party and put us in a precarious situation as every hour should matter now”, the Caucus said.

And as if pouring petrol in an already burning house, six out of  nine members of the National Working Committee, NWC, who attended  a meeting on Sunday, voted for the resignation of Secondus.

The six members who voted for his resignation were:

*Senator Suleiman Nazif, Deputy National Chairman, North.

*Alhaji Mai Adamu Mustapha- National Auditor

*Rt. Hon. S.K.E. Udeh-Okoye

*Amb. Taofiq Arapaho – National Vice Chairman, SW

*Chief Dan Orbih, National Vice Chairman, SS

*Chief Dr Ali Odefa, National  Vice Chairman.

Those who voted in favour of Secondus were:

*Chief Theophilus Dakas, National Vice Chairman, North Central

*Abdullahi Maibasira – National Financial Secretary

*Senator Umar Ibrahim Tsauri

Denouncing the NWC meeting, the Party’s Legal Adviser, Emmanuel Enoidem, dismissed the meeting as illegal. He said only the National Chairman has the authority to summon an NWC meeting with two thirds of the members, present.

Also, the Minority Leader of  in the House of Representatives, Hon Ndudi Elumelu, has dismissed the meeting on the Caucus. No such meeting was held, he said in a statement. He described the publication of any such meeting as embarrassing and misleading.

Secondus in a statement, entitled: Why I will not resign-Secondus, signed on his behalf by Ike Abonyi, his Media Adviser, said:

“The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus has said that he will not resign his position.

“Prince Secondus said in a short statement from his media office that nothing so far warrants his resignation from the party position and those tiny minority calling for his resignation should come clean and tell party members across the country his offense why he should resign.

“He said he will remain focussed and committed to the ideals of the party which he swore to protect and defend upon his election to lead this great party 44 months ago.”

In his own statement. Enoidem raised Legal issues

PDP National Legal Adviser, raises legal issues in an address to the NWC over their Sunday meeting.

It reads:

“I just saw the above somewhere and as a committed member of this party and by the special grace of God a member of NWC  I have the following points to make:

“1.By Section 29 (3) of the constitution of our party it is the national chairman or a summon backed by 2/3 members of the NWC that can validly convene a meeting of the NWC.

Subsection (4) provides for 2/3 members of NWC to form a quorum for a meeting of the NWC.

“2. As a bona fide member of the NWC, to the best of my knowledge am not aware of any meeting of NWC summoned by the National chairman or in the manner provided aforesaid.

“3. It is therefore of grave concern, and indeed, very sad to read the above position purportedly taken by some distinguished members of NWC in utter disdain and violation of clear  extant provisions of our constitution.

“4.The issue of resignation of any officer of our party at any level is a personal decision as stipulated in Sections 45(1) & 47 (5). There is no provision of our constitution which donates powers to any organ, individuals or group of persons to ask an officer of the party to resign for any reason whatsoever as was purported in the so called press release.

“5.The powers to remove any member of the NWC and indeed any national officer is reserved in the national convention which is due for December 2021.

“6. The said press release is an unfortunate assault and blatant violation of the provisions of our constitution and so it is illegal and unconstitutional.

“7. This is more so when the purported meeting was said to have been convened on Sunday August 8, 2021 against the widely published position taken by the BOT advising members and leaders of our party to maintain peace until a committee set up has deliberated on the raging controversies.

“This bad press caused the party at this critical time is most uncalled for, needless and wanton and must be discontinued if we are mindful of the interest of the party.”

An angry Elumelu in his statement entitled

PDP Reps Did Not Meet Over Secondus

“The attention of the minority leaders of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, has been drawn to false and misleading publications, purporting that the PDP caucus in the House of Representatives met online and resolved that the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus should resign.

“The publication is indeed embarrassing to PDP lawmakers in the House of Representatives, as no such meeting took place.

“For the avoidance of doubt, no online meeting or any meeting in any form whatsoever of PDP members in the House of Representatives was held, to discuss, let alone arrive at any decision regarding the National Chairman or any issue related to the disagreements in the PDP.

“Our caucus in the House of Representatives is fully aligned with the intervention and decisions of the  Board of Trustees (BoT); the elders and leaders of our party, in finding solutions to the leadership challenges confronting our great party and we await the outcome of their intervention.

“While we caution those behind this false and misleading publication to retrace their steps and desist from such, we also urge our party leaders, critical stakeholders, PDP members, teeming supporters and the general public to completely disregard the said publication.

“We call on all PDP members to remain calm and focused as the elders and leaders of the party will come out with solutions at this critical time.”

The battle to remove Secondus from office is allegedly being led by his kinsman and Governor, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

Incidentally, it was Wike who rallied round and installed Secondus as Chairman. But the two men fell apart over what Wike calls incompetence on the part of Secondus. But Secondus insists that Wike’s problem is his vaulting ambition.

Hon Chinda, the Chairman of the PDP Caucus in the House of Representatives is   a Wike staunch loyalist.

To stay or not to stay, the next few days will decide Secondus’ fate.