Secondus Loses Grip On PDP NWC As Crisis Gets Messier, Implosion Imminent

The National Youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye, confirmed to journalists, at the party National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza,  that there was a split in the NWC as no fewer than 10 members were against the continuation of Secondus as national chairman.

This is as seven deputy national officers have served the NWC a 30-day resignation notice. They include Diran Odeyemi, deputy national publicity secretary; Ahmed Bello, deputy national legal adviser; Umoru Hadizat, deputy national women leader; Divine Amina Arong, deputy national auditor; Hassan Yakubu, deputy national organizing secretary; and Irona Alphonsus, deputy national financial secretary.

However, Secondus, in a swift reaction, said he remains in control of the leadership of the PDP.  He spoke through his media aide, Ike Abonyi.

“I want to assure members of the party that the structure of the party is intact and Prince Secondus is the national chairman and anybody who resigns will be filled the next day and this party will work to victory in 2023 there is no going back about it.

“All those who are looking for interim government few months to general election are taking us back to Egypt and nobody is ready to go back to Egypt. We have passed through this road before and we do not want to go back there.”

Daily Sun gathered that amidst rising tension in the opposition party, the PDP Governors Forum, has scheduled to meet on August 9 to fashion the way forward. The meeting is expected to take a decision on Ude-Okoye, who stormed out of a  meeting of the NWC and demanded immediate resignation of Secondus. He called on PDP governors and other leaders to rise up and rescue the party. He threatened to resign within four days if Secondus does not quit.

“Mr. Uche Secondus, the national chairman of the party is incompetent of managing the affairs of this party, he lacks capacity to manage PDP. There is a sharp division in our NWC right now; not only me, many more NWC members are more aggrieved than myself.

“Today, I have asked him in our NWC meeting to resign his position because he cannot lead this party to victory.

“I am also asking the leaders, the governors, the founding fathers, the youths, the women to rise up to rescue our party from the hand of incompetent leader like Secondus because he is not willing to take us to anywhere.

‘Seven deputies have already resigned their positions because of Secondus. Many more people are also going to resign in the NWC.  Right now, I can tell you that not less than eight to ten persons within the NWC members are very aggrieved.

“I am here to make it very clear to all Nigerians that if Secondus does not resign from the party, I am going to leave the party for him to eat the party and own the party. The governors, if they don’t wade into this matter right now, I assure Nigerians that within the next three, four days, my letter will be public.”

However, a highly placed source told our correspondent  that the notice of resignation by the deputy national officers was part of a grand plot to force Secondus out before the expiration of his tenure on December 10.

The source confirmed that apart from Ude-Okoye, who has threatened to resign, three other NWC members, including the National Secretary, Senator Ibrahim Tsauri, the National Auditor, Mai Adamu Mustapha and the Deputy Chairma, North, Suleiman Nazif might resign in the next couple of days. The plot is to create a crisis situation so as to replace the NWC with a caretaker committee, which will preside over the December national convention.

Daily Sun gathered that already governors elected on the platform of the PDP are divided with majority of them in support of the party chairman.

The source listed governors allegedly opposed to Secondus to include Nyesom Wike, Seyi Makinde and Ahmadu Fintri of Rivers, Oyo and Adamawa respectively. Governors with him, according to the source, include Godwin Obaseki, Edo;  Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi,Enugu; Dori Douye, Bayelsa; Samuel Ortom; Bala Mohammed, Bauchi and Darius Ishaku, Taraba while Ifeanyi Okowa and Emmanuel Udom of Delta and Akwa Ibom are said to be indifferent.

It was gathered that the Sokoto Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, who is chairman of the PDP governors is calling for caution. Tambuwal, it was also gathered, is proposing that rather  than sack the NWC before the end of tenure, the party can fasttrack the conduct of the national convention.

However, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the party has activated its internal conflict resolution mechanism immediately it got the notice of resignation from the deputy national officers.

“We call on all the leaders, stakeholder and members of our great party to remain calm as we collectively resolve these issues.”

•National Reconciliation C’tte meet in Ibadan

Meanwhile, the National Reconcilation Committee under the chairmanship of  former Senate president, Bukola Saraki, met with Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and some aggrieved members of the party in the state towards brokering peace.

The committee met with Governor Makinde at the Governor’s Office in Agodi, Ibadan, and thereafter met with some aggrieved members at Carton Gate Hotel, Idi-Ape, Ibadan. The third meeting, which was an enlarged one held in front of the Presidential Lodge, Government House, Oke-Oyinbo, Agodi, Ibadan, comprising both the aggrieved and non-aggrieved members of the party in the state.

Saraki was accompanied by former Senate president, Anyim Pius Anyim; former governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke; and former leader of the House of Representatives, Mulikat Adeola-Akande, who is also part of the aggrieved members of the party in the state.

•Vote of confidence in Ortom

The party has passed a vote of confidence on Governor Samuel Ortom and reaffirmed its support for him as leader of the party in Benue State.

Its state chairman, John Ngbede, moved a motion for the vote of confidence at an expanded caucus of the Party which held at Government House on yesterday and was chorused by all other caucus members in the affirmative.

He posited that the PDP has total confidence in the ability of the Governor to lead the party to victory in the 2023 general election.

(This story excluding headline contains information from The Daily Sun)