PDP National Vice Chairmen, Others Ask Secondus to Resign

Pressure seems to be mounting on the embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, as four national vice-chairmen of the party joined others to further call for his resignation from office.

In a resolution issued last night after a meeting held in Abuja, they stated that having reviewed the state of the party, they decided to pass the resolution asking the national chairman to resign in order to save the party from total disintegration.

The resolution, which was exclusively obtained by THISDAY AND ARISE NEWS channel, was signed by National Vice Chairman, Southwest, Taofeek Arapaja; National Vice Chairman, Southeast, Chief Ali Odefa; National Chairman South-south, Chief Dan Orbih, and National Chairman North Central, Dakas Shan.

It read: “The meeting reviewed the recent resignation by elected national officers of the party blaming their decision on the inept leadership of the national chairman and the recent movement of our governors and members of the National Assembly to a failed ruling party.

“The meeting also calls on all stakeholders to remain steadfast as our party remains the hope of Nigerians.”

Meanwhile, some other members of the PDP, under the umbrella of ‘PDP Frontliners’, have also asked Secondus to resign.

The leader of the group, Alhaji Hussein Mohammed, while addressing a news conference yesterday in Kaduna, said with the gale of defection rocking the PDP, the most honourable thing for Secondus to do was to resign so as to pave way for reconciliation and make the party more vibrant.

According to him, “With the loss of both 2015 and 2019 national elections, fewer PDP members in the National Assembly than we had in 2015 as well as a hellacious gale of defections, it would be a most honourable sacrifice for Secondus to leave office now and help foster better reconciliation processes.”

The PDP group said Secondus “has never proven to have any capacity for being a political war general…”

While expressing appreciation to Secondus for his contributions to the party, the Frontliners stated however that in the face of current realities, “he needs to rethink his insistence on the continued leadership of the PDP.

“He should also consider public repudiation of alleged moves to lobby some party leaders for an extension of his tenure.”

Mohammed said his group is “determined to see a vibrant, tactical and visionary leadership in the PDP towards putting an end to the pain, miseries and colossal disappointment that APC foisted on Nigeria in spite of massive propaganda and utopian promises made in 2015.”

According to him “The Secondus leadership has not taken real advantage of the ruling APC’ s glaring errors and inadequacies towards enabling PDP to gain traction in the consciousness of the ordinary Nigerian citizens.

“The man is evidently not a war-time general; his leadership is too cold and aloof to the prospects of vigorous politicking that we need for the 2023 elections.

“Even as we speak, notwithstanding the exit of several federal legislators, governors and even a member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), more groups are contemplating leaving PDP if Secondus leadership continues for the next one month.”

Also, it was also alleged that last Tuesday’s resignation of seven members of the PDP National Executive Council (NEC) was part of the moves to oust Secondus and set up a caretaker committee, which would organise the next national convention.

The seven national officers of the party who resigned included the Deputy National Financial Secretary, the Deputy Legal Adviser, the Deputy National Auditor, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, the Deputy Women Leader and the Deputy Organising Secretary.

Last Thursday also, it was reported that Secondus, who is battling to retain his chairmanship position of the party, is being hunted by opponents said to have anticipated that he would install his loyalists as members of the convention committee, thus paving the way for his re-election.