PDP crisis: Reps caucus wants Secondus to resign

The lingering leadership crisis in Nigeria’s main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is getting deep, as the party’s members in the House of Representatives have called on the embattled national chairman, Uche Secondus to resign.

The erstwhile ruling party is enmeshed in a leadership crisis with several groups calling for the resignation of Secondus. Seven national officers of the party, who resigned last week, accused the national chairman of “poor leadership”.

The PDP caucus in the House of Representatives in its resolutions at the end of a virtual meeting on the leadership crisis currently rocking the party backed the call by other stakeholders on Secondus to resign.

The resolutions signed by Kingsley Chinda, leader and Chukwuka Onyema, deputy leader of the PDP House Caucus, also called on the Board of Trustees (BOT) and governors elected on the platform of the PDP to immediately to resolve the challenges facing the party.

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The caucus said this was necessary to enable a re-engineering and re-focusing process that would restore party members and millions of other Nigerians’ hope and confidence in the PDP as an alternative to the current dysfunctional, irresponsive and rudderless government of APC with its attendant suffering, economic woes and insecurity.

“Whereas, members of the PDP and millions of Nigerians nationwide anticipate vigorous and well-coordinated issue-based national opposition; preparations towards a national convention as well as the 2023 general elections, much confusion, finger-pointing and needless noise around the party’s national headquarters have obfuscated the noble objectives and lofty ideals of the PDP and democratic opposition politics in Nigeria.

“The national chairman seems much more contented with occupying the office and, therefore, preoccupied with holding onto his position rather than preparing for next elections; this explains his inexplicably missing endless opportunities that ought to have been utilised for consolidating a viable opposition; skewing party congresses to favour personal future ambition and frustrating genuine party members across states which have resulted in a mass exit of party members at the National Assembly.

“While the PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus contributed notably to the party in the past, cogent accusations currently being levelled against his leadership far transcend personal issues as there is an established consistent and persistent pattern of inadequate consultations, even with members of the PDP House caucus, thereby giving rise to hitherto unspoken feelings of intra-party alienation in several quarters, including in his NWC”, the caucus said.