A Former Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, has thrown his weight behind the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Uche Secondus; saying he cannot be bullied out of office.
The PDP federal lawmaker who currently represents Bayelsa West in the Senate, faulted the move by some members of the National Working Committee, who recently met without the consent of the National Chairman and asked him to resign his position.
Also Read: PDP’s Seriake Dickson wins Bayelsa West Senatorial bye-election
In a statement signed by him, Dickson said that the action of the minority members of the NWC, does not represent a valid resolution of the NWC known to the PDP.
He said that based on the PDP Constitution, it is only the National Chairman of the party that can summon and preside over meetings of the organs of the party, especially the NWC of which he is chairman; stressing that the meeting and its outcome are part of a plot to create unnecessary crisis.
“It is part of the scheme to call a dog a bad name to hang it.
The general public should note that the statement signed by 3 members of the working committee and 3 Vice chairmen of the party (as indicated in the press release), does not constitute a valid resolution of the National Working Committee”.
Seriake Dickson explained that the NWC has 19 members and 6 of them cannot sign a statement leaving out the majority of 13 others who were not at the meeting; including the Chairman, who was not aware and did not attend nor authorise the meeting.
The former Bayelsa State Governor said that the gathering was not only a nullity but an act of gross misconduct.
Dickson also called on the public, not to pay any attention to a statement credited to Kingsley Chinda as leader of the PDP Caucus in the House of Reps.
“As Nigerians and all PDP leaders know, the minority leader of the Reps is Honourable Ndudi Elumelu, not Hon Kingsley Chinda, and members of the House of Representatives caucus, have already spoken that they did not hold such meeting.”
According to Dickson, there is no crisis in the PDP. He said that what exists was a media frenzy backed with the sponsored demonstrations at the party secretariat on Monday, designed to force the chairman to resign in order to set up a caretaker committee, which is illegal.
He added that a vote of no confidence even by a duly constituted NWC or other organs of the party does not remove a Chairman.
Dickinson said that Secondus was voted for and can only be removed by the National Convention, except if he chooses to resign.
He called on the National Chairman, to utilize all options and powers available to him under the constitution to take steps to ensure that no officer or member no matter how highly placed usurps, or impedes the exercise of his rights, powers, and duties as national Chairman, or is allowed to plunge the party into another needless crisis.
(Edited by Tunde Orebiyi)
