Board of Trustees insists PDP chairman, Secondus, must complete tenure, opposes interim committee

The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at its emergency meeting on Thursday insisted that the  PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, and the National Working Committee (NWC) must complete their tenure. The BoT vehemently opposed the replacement of the NWC with an interim caretaker committee.

Members of the PDP BoT at the emergency presided by the BoT Chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, condemned the uncomplimentary statements of certain party leaders against the NWC, who include Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

The PDP BoT, however, chided Secondus on the ways he had dealt with crises in some states.

There were insinuations that Governor Wike is plotting the removal of Secondus from office before the PDP National Executive Council (NEC) meeting and the national convention.

Governor Wike, announcing his withdrawal from the Edo PDP reconciliation committee, had on June 23, 2020, alleged that “Some NWC members are tax collectors”.

The seven national officers who resigned from the NWC last Tuesday were told to rescind their decisions by the BoT at the meeting. However, the party agreed to replace anyone who refuses to change his mind.

Former President of the Senate, David Mark, after the emergency meeting on Thursday, stated: “We resolved at the meeting to set up a committee that will look at the situation.

“The committee is made up of the governors, members of the BoT, members of the National Assembly, all the members of the National Working Committee, former governors, former ministers, so that they can holistically resolve the problems.”

Mark expressed the optimism that the peace initiative “will not only stop the current crisis, but it will also lead to providing a better environment to make us far more united and make us stronger as a party.”