PDP, Stakeholders Disagree on Acting Chairman’s Tenure

Party: We’ve not declared vacancy

Onyebuchi Ezigbo

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some stakeholders yesterday disagreed on the legality or otherwise of the continued stay in office of the acting National Chairman, Chief Uche Secondus.

Some PDP stakeholders, including former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Affairs, Ahmed Gulak and party bigwigs operating under the aegis of ‘Restart PDP’ have demanded that the party appoints a new chairman from the North-east to replace Adamu Mu’azu who resigned shortly after last election.

Their argument was that based on the party’s constitution, the acting chairman should by now give way for another substantive chairman who will come from the same zone as Mua’zu.

Speaking to journalists shortly after submitting a letter to the secretariat, Gulak called on the party to immediately consider the appointment of a new chairman.

“As for the NWC, I have the confidence that they will do the needful and call the meeting of NEC to fill the vacant seat. They will no doubt abide by the constitution of the party. My visit is to bring to the notice of the NWC, intention to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the former national chairman,” he said.

In the same vein, the coordinator of the PDP reformist group, Restart PDP, Chief Emmanuel Nwosu, said the party’s leadership should take steps to appoint a replacement of the chairman from the North-east, warning that the party must try and avoid any action that would amount to breach the constitution.

Nwosu who spoke during an interactive meeting in Abuja yesterday, urged stakeholders of the party to prevail on the acting national chairman to ensure that a replacement is chosen from the North-east as provided for in the party’s constitution.

“If we go back to the practice where a few individuals take decisions and forced them down the throat others, we will not get things right. We have the issue of the acting national chairman still remaining in office after three months. He is suppose to give way for a substantive chairman from the North-east to take over and run till march.

“We are asking the acting chairman and members of the NWC to enforce the letters of the constitution and ensure that a new chairman emerges from the North-east,” he said.

But the PDP National Secretary, Wale Oladipo, disagreed with the position saying that the party’s leadership has not yet declared the chairman’s seat vacant.

Oladipo who addressed journalists in company of the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metu and Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon, said contrary to the assertions of Gulak, there are no time limit for the acting national chairman and that it is only at the prerogative of the NWC to end his stay.

“I am not aware of any vacancy in the chairmanship seat. PDP is always guided by two major documents the country’s Constitution and that of the party. There is no time limit for the acting national chairman. So as it is now, it is constitutional for the acting national chairman to continue in office until the party leadership decides to appoint a replacement.

Oladipo said the party was waiting for the report of the Ekwerenmadu post election review committee before the decision to replace the national chairman can be made.

Speaking on the issue, Kwon said the party was determined to follow the constitution to the letter.

“There is no time limit for acting national chairman. It is constitutional for the acting national chairman to continue in office until the party’s leadership decides to appoint a replacement.

“We are aware of the circumstances under which the acting national chairman assumed office when the then national chairman resigned, Secondus was asked to step in and act in line with the party’s constitution particularly section 45 which says that when the chairman resigns, the deputy national chairman will assume office pending the appointment of another chairman. He also said that there were relevant sections of the PDP constitution (section 47 subsection 6) which empowers NEC to convene and appoint a replacement at the instance of the NWC.

“But there is no time limit provided in the constitution within which the acting chairman is expected to serve. It is only the prerogative of the party leadership to decide when to choose someone from the appropriate zone to effect the replacement. But like I said, there is actually no time limit under section 47 subsection 2,” he said.

One of the key stakeholders of the PDP and Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, had advised that it would be better for the party to allow the acting chairman to serve out the remaining tenure till March 2016, so that an entirely new chairman can emerge during a convention.