PDP Crisis: See Three Governors That Want Secondus Out Before NEC Meeting

Three governors of the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are opposed to the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus remaining at the helms of affairs of the main opposition party.

Oasis Magazine (OM) learnt that they are
are Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State.

Sources said the plot to remove the chairman before the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting was part of moves to thwart his re-election at the party’s national convention, which would hold in November.

PDP Governors are sharply divided over the fate of party National Chairman Uche Secondus.

The National Working Committee (NWC) sank deeper into crisis with Tuesday’s resignation of seven members.

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Those that resigned are: the Deputy National Publicity Secretary Diran Odeyemi; Deputy National Legal Adviser Ahmed Bello; Deputy National Women Leader Hadizat Umoru; and Deputy National Auditor Divine Amina Arong.

Others are Deputy National Organising Secretary Hassan Yakubu and Deputy National Financial Secretary Irona Alphonsus.

Their grouse about the party is what they termed Secondus’ poor leadership.

Those who resigned gave a 30-day notice but the NWC told them after a meeting on Wednesday that they should go immediately, it was learnt.

The NWC’s tenure ends in December but Governor Nyesom Wike is leading the group seeking the termination of party officers’ tenure before the terminal date.

Things got to a head yesterday when the governors took different positions for and against the Secondus-led NWC.

Nine out of 14 governors are for Secondus. Three are against. The remaining two are sitting on the fence.

“The crisis in the party has caused a split among its governors. They are not on the same page despite last month’s meeting in Bauchi, where they appeared to be united.

“Secondus has pulled a counter-string by running to PDP governors and former governors”, party sources said.

It was learnt last night that governors backing Secondus are Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi(Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu(Abia), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Darius Ishaku(Taraba), Duoye Diri(Bayelsa), Ifeanyi Okowa(Delta) and Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto). Deputy Governor Mahdi Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara) is also with him.

Those opposed to Secondus and his team are Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa). Also against him is a former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who has issues with Governor Ugwuanyi on the zoning of governorship ticket in Enugu State.

Governors Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Emmanuel Udom (Akwa Ibom) are on the fence.

It was learnt that Tambuwal, who is chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, had started mobilising support for Secondus.

But sources in the PDP told one of our correspondents that Secondus’s opponents feared that if the chairman was allowed to convene the NEC meeting, where members of the convention/election committee would be chosen, he would plant his loyalists in the committee thus paving way for his re-election.