Daily Trust

PDP crisis: Governors decide Secondus’ fate today

Appoint campaign DG for Anambra gov’ship poll Why PDP will reclaim power in 2023 — Ortom

- By Saawua Terzungwe (Abuja) & Hope Abah Emmanuel (Makurdi)

Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will today decide the fate of the party’s national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.

Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal would chair the meeting scheduled to hold in Abuja.

The meeting is billed to discuss the internal crisis that led to the resignatio­n of seven deputy national officers of the party a few days ago and to review the circumstan­ces leading to calls for Secondus’ resignatio­n.

Secondus is under intense pressure to resign before the expiration of his tenure in December 2021, when another national convention would be held for the election of a new crop of NWC members.

Daily Trust reports that some PDP bigwigs are not comfortabl­e with Secondus sequel to the gale of defections that has hit the party in recent times.

Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi; Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle and Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, many senators, members of the House of Representa­tives and other prominent stalwarts have dumped the party for the ruling All Progressiv­es Congress (APC) in recent time.

Secondus is also accused of not carrying other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) along in the scheme of things.

But the PDP helmsman said a few days ago that those plotting his removal were doing so to hijack the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Sources at the PDP national secretaria­t confided in our correspond­ent yesterday that the governors’ meeting is aimed at providing a soft landing for Secondus.

It was gathered that the governors would also discuss strategies aimed at winning the November 6, 2021 governorsh­ip election in Anambra State, as well as how the party should fare in the build-up to the 2023 general elections.

PDP govs reconcile Anambra aspirants, appoint campaign DG

Following the resolution and directive of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Governor Ahmad Fintiri of Adamawa State has reconciled all the aggrieved aspirants who contested in the party’s primary poll ahead of the November 6, 2021 governorsh­ip election in Anambra State.

Fintiri, who spoke with newsmen yesterday in Abuja, also announced the appointmen­t of Senator Uche Ekwunife as the PDP Campaign Director for the election.

Uche Ekwunife came third at the June governorsh­ip primary election of the PDP after Valentine Ozigbo who came first and Obiora Okonkwo who came second.

Fintiri said, “we carried out the directives of our governors and reconciled all the aggrieved aspirants and it was unanimousl­y agreed that Senator Uche Ekwunife be appointed the campaign director and she is so appointed.

“With her appointmen­t, the campaigns for PDP recapturin­g will soon kick-off. All aspirants have been reconciled,” he said.

The PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, also said the party was set to winning the election and taking over the state.

The PDP candidate,

Valentine Ozigbo, said with the reconcilia­tion, PDP was ready to dislodge the All Progressiv­es Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state.

On her part, Senator Ekwunife accepted to play the role and pledged her commitment to campaignin­g vigorously and winning the state for the party.

Why PDP will reclaim power in 2023 — Ortom

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will reclaim power in 2023 and take Nigeria from bottom to top.

The governor stated this at the weekend while receiving thousands of defectors from the All Progressiv­es Congress (APC) to the PDP during an elaborate ceremony in Adikpo, the headquarte­rs of Kwande Local Government Area of the state.

Ortom said due to the alleged abysmal performanc­e of the APC, the PDP was waiting to welcome more defectors to its fold.

“The Benue people have no reason to pitch tent with the APC because the party failed to deliver democracy dividends to them. The hope of Benue people lies only in our party, the PDP.

“Our party, the PDP has the capacity to take the state and country from the bottom to the top. We will not take the country from the top to the bottom like the APC. This is what the APC has done to our dear country,” the governor said.

The defectors were led by the APC candidate for the Benue North-East senatorial election in 2019, Mrs Mimi Adzape-Orubibi into the PDP.

 ?? Tambuwal ??
Tambuwal
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Secondus

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