Akinwonmi displaces Secondus as PDP decides to hold National Convention in Abuja

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has been unceremoniously displaced by Elder Yemi Akinwonmi as acting national chairman at the PDP 92nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Saturday.

The NEC meeting presided by the acting National Chairman, Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, reached a decision to hold the national convention of the party in Abuja. Thereafter, the NEC scheduled another meeting for September.

The PDP may be charting a new course to resolving the crisis over the demand for the resignation of Secondus as national chairman, then, reposition the party.

Two state’s high court have delivered judgements ordering Secondus to vacate office as PDP national chairman. After the State High Court, Degema, Rivers State, had issued an order restraining Secondus from parading himself as PDP national chairman, the State High Court, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, had countered the order of the Rivers State High Court, therefore delivered a counter judgement restoring Secondus as PDP national chairman. Subsequently, the Cross River State High Court issued another order reinforcing or reactivating the order of the Rivers State High Court, restraining Secondus from being PDP national chairman and also prohibiting him from contesting for re-election in the PDP national convention scheduled for October for the election of new executive members into the National Working Committee (NWC).

Elder Akinwonmi has been coordinating PDP meetings as acting national chairman while Secondus has been conspicuously absent.

Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT), Senator Walid Jubril, at the NEC meeting on Saturday told party members that the problems in the PDP are not insurmountable.

The BoT chairman stated that crises are a fact of life in any party, adding that how they are resolved matters most in the life of the party.

Walid Jubril cautioned: “there is no way the PDP can win elections if it is divided.” He admonished that the party must not fail Nigerians, noting that it remains the last hope of citizens.