Under pressure to withdraw case from court
Party set to practise principle of rotation
Uche Secondus, erstwhile national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party may return to his office, other things being equal.
The Point learnt that following the mounting pressure on the current national chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, to honourably resign his position as a measure of respect for the practice of the principle of rotation in the party, the odds seem to favour Secondus more than any other person.
Secondus, who was kicked out of the position, has been in and out of court to legally reclaim his position. The case is still pending at the Supreme Court.
The Point learnt that the Rivers State-born politician is “being talked to” so as to withdraw the case
The Point learnt that the Rivers State-born politician is “being talked to” so as to withdraw the case.
A source confided in The Point that “If the party wins the 2023 presidential election, it would have no choice than to honour the principle of rotation that the party is well known for. And Uche Secondus, the former chairman will most probably get back to his office if, and only if the party wins the presidential election because it cannot afford to keep the two positions in the North. He is being talked to. They want him to do the needful early in the day now so that the party can strengthen the bond of unity within it, go into the election and win it. I am sure the efforts being made by top party chieftains will yield positive results.
“But it is not an issue that can be considered beyond persuading him to withdraw it now because the election has not yet been won or lost. All that top stakeholders can do now is just to prepare the ground for 2023 by appealing to him to withdraw the case which is what I understand is going on now. If he agrees, and there is no legal case in court and the party wins, the next step would be to normalize the situation and that’s it.”
The general election is expected to hold next year in February and March.
Following the emergence of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, as the presidential candidate of the PDP, some stakeholders of the party have been demanding the resignation of Ayu, as the party’s national chairman. They argue that the North cannot hold the two positions at the same time.
Earlier in the week, elder statesman and leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, Edwin Clark, joined in the call for Ayu to resign. He argued that Ayu is no longer fit and proper to retain his position as the national chairman of the PDP.
In a statement on Tuesday, titled, “Resign now: You’re no longer fit to remain PDP national chairman,” he faulted Ayu’s seeming display of sectionalism when in a viral video, Ayu was caught declaring, “You’re the hero of the convention” to Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal.
Ayu emerged late last year as the national chairman of the party from the North Central Zone and with that, it was hoped that the presidential candidate would come from the South.
Speaking in an interview shortly after his emergence as national chairman, Ayu had said he was ready to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure the PDP wins in 2023 and will gladly step down if the party asks him to do so.
“Luckily, party positions are not tied to the position of executive and legislative positions. However, I’m a very democratic person and I will do everything to promote the interest and image of my party. If the PDP says I should step down after a presidential candidate emerges and happens to be from the North, I will be very glad to do so because what we want is to take over the government and run the government in the interest of Nigerians. So, I’ll sacrifice anything to ensure that my party wins”.
