There are indications that the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Uche Secondus may renege on the agreement reached to bring forward the convention of the party to October against the initial December date
AIT learnt that a memo was presented by Secondus at the national working committee meeting of the party which held on Wednesday, seeking to change the timelines for the exit of the current NWC
Amid the dissatisfaction with the leadership of the party, there were heightened calls for the Secondus-led NWC to resign.
But in what appeared to be a negotiated exit, the party’s leaders, led by the Board of Trustees, the National Executive Committee, and the Governors of the party had reached an agreement last week to give Secondus a soft landing by allowing him an exit earlier than the December date when his tenure is set to expire
Under the agreement, Secondus was to commence plans for the national convention of the party to hold in October instead of December 2021. Also, members of the current NWC including Secondus were barred from contesting for national offices at the convention
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But in a fresh move that seems to conflict with the terms of the agreement, Secondus on Wednesday was said to have presented a memo before the NWC demanding a shift in the agreed early convention date of October and proposing a late November date
The issue was said to have resulted in heated exchange and opposition by some members of the NWC led by deputy national chairman, South-South, Dan Orbih forcing Secondus to withdraw the memo
When AIT contacted the National Publicity Secretary of the party Kola Ologbodiyan, he confirmed that “there is for now no concrete conclusion on when the early National Convention of the party will hold”.
Sources told AIT that Secondus is unrelenting and wants to conduct the National Convention on his own terms. This may have informed the recent meetings held by him with influential leaders to seek their support. On Thursday, he was reported to be in a closed-door meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his Abeokuta residence. This followed an earlier meeting on Wednesday in Minna which had former senate president Bukola Saraki, former governor of Anambra State Peter Obi, Governor of Akwa Ibom state Udom Emmanuel and other top members of the NWC present
