By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Apparently not impressed with the conduct of the out-going National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin has counselled him to tread softly.
Senator Jubrin also hinted that the PDP National Convention fixed for October 30 and 31, 2021 to elect new national officers of the party will hold inspite of the lawsuit instituted by the
embattled Secondus.
The PDP respected Chieftain who spoke on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, said he is optimistic that the party’s National Convention billed for Eagle Square Abuja will go ahead as scheduled.
According to him: “I believe Mr. Secondus who is a pioneer member of PDP and someone who has benefited immensely from the party will like to destroy the party. If he is not the Chairman of the PDP will he die? I believe he will not want to pull down the house helped to build”.
The BoT Chairman also asked Secondus to lay down his arms, pointing out that “as someone who has benefited immensely from the party, it will be unthinkable if he will be used to kill the party he helped to nurture”.
Reminded that Secondus’ tenure would have elapsed in December hence he went to court to challenge his ouster, he said PDP took the decision to rejuvenate the party ahead of the 2023 General Elections hence the National Executive Committee (NEC) took the decision to call for the election early.
Said he: “NEC made a decision after the enlarged body of stakeholders including State Governors and elected National Assembly Members and other high-ranking officials met to agree on the Convention. BoT, NEC and NWC met to take position on the Convention”.
On if the Governors will demand that the PDP Presidential Candidate should go to Southern part of Nigeria, Jibrin said that only Governors alone cannot determine things because other stakeholders will make inputs.
“We have procedures in our party. We have organs of the party that meet to take decisions especially at NEC and NWC levels and National Convention will ratify it. Anyone who has any grievances should bring it forward; we are going ahead with the National Convention”.
“National Zoning Committee for party offices headed by Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu were not given the mandate to zone elective positions like the President, Vice, Senate President and Speaker of the Federal Republic. These will come later”, Jibrin argued.
Asked if there is anything BoT of PDP would have done to forestall the crisis in the party, he said the BoT which he is leading has been a stabilizing factor or else the crisis would have been worse.
Prompt News reports that PDP had fixed October 30 and 31 for a special convention to elect new national officers in Abuja, as a means to resolve the internal crisis that rocked the Secondus-led National Working Committee of the party.
But Secondus is not pleased with the decision to conduct the convention which would abruptly end his tenure that was due to expire in December.
The suspended PDP National Chairman later filed an application as part of the processes in the ongoing litigation over his suspension from the party, to stop the party from holding the convention.
Following the suspension of Secondus, Mr Yemi Akinwonmi has been serving as the PDP National Chairman in an acting capacity.
