Yemi Akinwonmi Proposes Resuming Leadership of PDP
The Deputy National Chairman (South) of the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Yemi Akinwonmi, has proposed resuming leadership of the party.
Tuesday’s comments follow an order by the Rivers State High Court, which restrained the National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, from office.
Akinwonmi stated that his taking over party leadership was in line with the party’s constitution. According to him, “Section 35(3) (b) of the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party empowers me to summon and preside over party meetings in the absence of the national chairman,” he said.
“Our attention was drawn yesterday (Monday) evening to a court order which purports to restrain our National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, from summoning and presiding over the meetings of the organs of the party.”
Akinwonmi’s first assignment was to postpone till further notice the meeting which the National Working Committee (NWC) was to hold on Tuesday.
He noted that this was done in the practice of the powers of his office and to give opportunity for broader consultations in the overall interest of the party.
Recall that the PDP has been experiencing some leadership crisis, with several calls for the resignation of the NWC led by Secondus.
Two weeks ago, the party’s governors and Board of Trustees had a consultative meeting to resolve its problems, mandating the NWC conduct a national congress in November.
However, on Monday, the crisis took a new dimension as Justice Okogbule Gbasam of the Degema Division of the High Court sitting in Port Harcourt gave an interim order that restrained Secondus from his position, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
The order follows a motion ex parte marked PHC/2183/CS/2021 and filed by four persons – Ibeawuchi Alex, Dennis Amadi, Emmanuel Stephen, and Umeziriki Onucha. Secondus and the main opposition party were listed as the first and second respondents to the suit.
