August 04, (THEWILL) – Prince Uche Secondus, the embattled National Chairman of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, appears to have the support of key leaders of his political party against a block spearheaded by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who want him out of office immediately.
The panic that greeted the party Tuesday after the Wike group backed by Oyo State Governor, Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde and Adamawa State Governor, Ahamadu Umaru Fintiri facilitated the surprise resignation of seven members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party appears to have been effectively checkmated by the leadership of the party, who have opted to announce replacements for the officials as early as next week, according to authoritative sources with knowledge of the development.
The seven national officers in their separate resignation letters addressed to the National Secretary of the party, Senator Umaru Ibrahim Tsauri, had alleged being sidelined and unfairly treated by Secondus.
While they promised to remain loyal to the PDP, their resignation according to a party source, was part of the clamour for leadership change, targeted at removing Secondus, who has fallen out with his main sponsor and backer, Wike.
However, like the proverbial cat with nine lives, Secondus, popularly referred to as ‘Total’, who has weathered many storms since assuming office in December 2017, has again survived the coup to unseat him.
Authoritative party sources privy to development in the party, told THEWILL that key leaders of the party including Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, the Chairman of the party’s very influential Governors’ Forum and the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT) have reached a decision to replace the seven NWC members by next week to reinforce their support for Secondus and the current executive committee.
The sources further revealed that the top leaders have further restated their support for Secondus and the current executive to remain in office till December 2021 when their tenure officially expires.
THEWILL gathered that the race for the 2023 Presidency is the reason behind the raging storm over the removal of the Secondus led NWC.
The sources said the Wike group offered members of the NWC between N25m ($50K) – to N50m ($100k) per member of the NWC to resign from the Secondus-led party executive. Only seven members, who are deputies, accepted the deal, according to our sources.
About the Author
