Secondus Returns As PDP Chair, To preside Over NEC Meeting Today
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, is set to preside over the National Executive Committee meeting of the party scheduled to hold in Abuja on Saturday (today).
The meeting was called to ratify the decision by the National Caucus of the party which had proposed October 30 and 31, 2021 for the party’s national convention.
A top member of the party said that leaders of the party met with Secondus and agreed that he would preside over the NEC meeting, where other decisions like the composition of members of its zoning committee that would decide on zones where officials of the incoming members of the National Working Committee would come from.
“Secondus is expected to preside over the NEC meeting on Saturday. We need to move on. There is no need fighting again. What the NEC meeting would do is just to ratify the decisions made by the national caucus. The fight is on the need to hold national convention. I think we need to move on,” the source said.
When he resumed at the party’s headquarters on Friday, Secondus told reporters that the PDP was known for respecting court orders.
He said, “It’s good to be back. We are a party that respects the rule of law. We obey court orders, we obeyed the order given last week and we are obeying the one given yesterday. We have a series of meetings today.”
Recall that a Kebbi State High Court sitting in Birnin Kebbi and presided over by Justice Nusirat Umar, had on Thursday, granted an interim order reinstating Secondus as the PDP national chairman.
The interim order was granted in respect of suit number KB/HC/M.171/2021.
Claimants in the suit are Yahaya Usman, Abubakar Muhammad and Bashar Suleman, while Secondus and the PDP were listed as defendants.
Apart from issuing a stay of execution on an interim injunction restraining Secondus from parading himself as the national chairman, the Kebbi court granted “leave to the first respondent (Secondus) to continue exercising all the constitutional powers of the office of chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party as enshrined in both the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended and the PDP Constitution pending the hearing and determination of the applicants’ motion on notice.”
Earlier on Monday, a Rivers State High Court had granted an interim injunction restraining Secondus, from parading himself as chairman and member of the PDP.
Justice O. Gbasam of the Degema Judicial Division vacation court, sitting in Port Harcourt, granted the order.
This was sequel to the consideration of an ex parte application in suit No: PHC/2183/CS/2021 filed by Ibeabuchi Ernest Alex, Dennis Nna Amadi, Emmanuel Stephen and Umezirike Onucha against Uche Secondus (1st defendant) and the PDP (2nd defendant).
The judge, after reading the affidavit in support of the motion of ex parte as well as the written address, and after hearing the submission of H.A. Bello, counsel to applicants, granted the interim injunction.
