PDP: Govs, BoT, others give Secondus soft landing
NEC meeting slated for next week, convention Oct Protesting members threaten to decamp
The Board of Trustees (BoT), governors, former ministers, National Assembly Caucus and former governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday met and asked the party’s National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, to convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting next week.
The meeting also resolved that Secondus’ tenure of four years which was supposed to elapse in December should now end in October 2021.
There is intense pressure on Secondus to resign sequel to alleged poor management as well as a gale of defections that have hit the party in recent times.
PDP governors had met on Monday over the issue but failed to reach a resolution. The PDP governors’ meeting came four days after the BoT met in Abuja, on the same issue.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting which lasted for about two hours, Sokoto State Governor and Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said all the issues would finally be resolved by NEC.
“This meeting has agreed that immediately the NEC should be convened for the party to constitute the National Convention planning committee and the National Convention should be held latest by the end of October.
“Also, the zoning committee for the party should be constituted by the same NEC immediately.
“So we thank members of the National Committee for holding up. We thank them for their prayers and support. We also thank well-meaning Nigerians who have been waiting patiently for the resolution of these issues.
“The NEC of the party shall meet most likely next week and all the issues will be addressed. And that NEC will be convened by the chairman of the party who is constitutionally endowed to do so.
“As party members of the BoT, members of the governors’ forum, members of former governors’ forum, former ministers, former senators, former presiding officers of the National Assembly and various stakeholders, we are very happy to announce that we have discussed all matters and we have resolved to continue to work as a united family,” Tambuwal said.
Daily Trust reports that the NEC meeting would ratify the decisions reached at yesterday’s meeting.
Speaking at the meeting during the opening session, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, expressed optimism that the party would overcome the challenges bedevilling it.
“PDP is a party that belongs to everyone and PDP is a party that can reinvent itself. We are going to come out clean. We are going to rule this country again,” he said.
Meanwhile, protesting members under the aegis of Arewa PDP Support Group, yesterday, besieged the National Secretariat of the PDP in Abuja and threatened to withdraw their membership of the party if Secondus continued in office.
The protesters carried banners and placards with inscriptions such as; ‘Red card Secondus’, ‘Secondus should resign’, ‘Secondus must go now’ among others.
Addressing newsmen, Yahaya Salisu, leader of the protesters explained that their demand was premised on the alleged inability of Secondus to manage the party well.
Also yesterday, the party said it is targeting 40 million eligible Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections as its e-registration kicks off.
Chairman of the PDP e-registration and Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, said at the meeting that the party was targeting 40 million eligible Nigerians to register with it ahead of the 2023 general polls.