Despite sustained pressure to step aside, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus will not leave office before the end of the tenure of the National Working Committee (NWC) in December.
Investigation revealed that the party boss is working on the premise that the NWC tenure is sacrosanct and cannot be shortened unless dissolved by the national convention through a motion.
Top sources at the main opposition party affirmed that the bringing forward of the national convention by party stakeholders under the leadership of its Board of Trustees (BoT) is immaterial because even if the exercise is held and Secondus and his NWC voted out, they will remain in office till the date of the expiration of their term.
“Tenure is four years. Four years is due to end on December 9.Hhow are you going to abridge it? Even if we do convention tomorrow, you can only handover to people who are coming on December 10. That’s the truth, except the convention now says the National Working Committee now stands dissolved, which will come via a motion,” the source volunteered.
“We have been having conventions. You cannot leave a vacuum. So, you must actually do the convention ahead of the new people that are coming in,” the party source added.
The Nigerian Tribune also gathered that contrary to widespread belief, Prince Secondus is therefore not seeking to postpone the date of the national convention from September or November as directed by the stakeholders because it will not affect his tenure.
“Even if the NEC (National Working Committee) says the convention is today, how does it remove the fact that the tenure of the people who have been elected into office will last till a particular date? it is a constitutional issue.
“Except the convention will now hold and say the life of the National Working Committee will end on the day of the convention,” a member of the NWC of the party told the Nigerian Tribune.
The source hinted that any attempt to shorten the tenure of the NWC can lead to unnecessary litigations in court, which the party will want to avoid.
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“If they do that people will go to court. So, they have to be very careful. It doesn’t really matter when the convention is conducted, transfer of power must go with the day of the election.
“It doesn’t matter whether the date of convention is August, whether its September, October or November. The life of the National Working Committee will end on December 9. The new National Working Committee will come in on December 10,” the source further stated.
Findings also revealed that the present consultations by Secondus with leaders across the country are not about the PDP politics per se but centre principally on the worrying state of the nation.
A source close to the office of the party boss affirmed that Secondus is worried that despite the country appearing to be spiraling into abyss, leaders are quiet.
The PDP National Chairman has recently met with former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and former President Olusegun Obasanjo in their residences in Minna, Niger State and Abeokuta, Ogun state, respectively.
“I think the concern is about the way Nigeria is bleeding. Ho be honest with you, the country is failing and it appears that the elders are quiet, they are silent. It calls for a lot of concern. I don’t think it is really political. Obasanjo, for instance is no longer a member of the PDP.
“Concerning the party, I don’t think there is so much issue there after the intervention of the elders and governors. I think what is just left is to return to that same committee and show them the timelines of INEC and what the party needs to do.
“I don’t think his visit has too much to do with the national convention. The national convention will come. It is natural.
“I read today Obasanjo talking about debts. Honestly, things are down, things are just too bad. I’m not even sure Nigerians know what they are confronted with and the government looks helpless.
“Even if we are talking about power will shift, what they (new rulers) will meet, how are they going to rescue it? And this insecurity matter is of a major concern. And for the president (Muhammadu Buhari) to have come out and say Africa is trhe next focus of terrorism, it sends a terrible signal.
“So, the elders of the country, statesmen themselves who have access to the man, they need to go and counsel him because it looks like we are just on autopilot and we are diving into an abyss and nobody is doing anything,” the source affirmed.
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