Politics
PDP crisis: Secondus presides over NEC today, convention tops agenda
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 told one of our correspondents 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.
Meanwhile, the proposal on national convention was part of the resolutions reached at the end of the 40th national caucus meeting of the party, held in Abuja, on Friday.
Reading the resolutions after the meeting, the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, said, “we have resolved to submit to the NEC of our party tomorrow (Saturday) recommendation from the National Working Committee for the National Convention of our party to be held between Friday, 30th of October, and Saturday, 31st of October. The venue will be determined tomorrow (today) by NEC.”
On the conflicting court orders over the position of the party’s National Chairman, Tambuwal said, “This distinguished body had empanelled eight distinguished leaders of our party under the able leadership of a (former) President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, to interface with our leaders who are involved in these issues of court, so that all court matters can be now withdrawn and then for normalcy to continue to return to the party.
“I appeal on behalf of this body to all well-meaning members of our party in the interest of the party to sheath their sword and let us embrace peace because Nigeria is waiting for the PDP and I believe that we have the capacity to resolve whatever issues we have internally.”
Earlier, there was mild drama at the beginning of the meeting.
Aides of Secondus moved into the National Executive Committee Hall, venue of the caucus meeting probably in a bid to pave the way for him to preside over the meeting.
This led to an uproar which prompted a three-man delegation, comprising the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin; the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, and the party’s National Secretary, Senator Umar Tsauri, to visit Secondus, who was seated in his office, upstairs.
It was gathered that the delegation prevailed upon him to steer clear to allow for a peaceful resolution of what could have snowballed into a larger conflict.
On their return, the BoT Chairman called the meeting to order and handed over the microphone to the party’s acting National Chairman, Yemi Akinwonmi, to preside over the meeting.
Secondus, who was acting on an order of interim injunction from a Kebbi State High Court, ordering him to resume office on Thursday, was seated at his desk by 9.51 am in preparation for the meeting.
Since he was prevailed upon to stay away for the meeting Akinwonmi, presided.
In his opening remarks, Akinwonmi, who was panting at the time he took over the microphone, said, “Why I’m still panting is that it was too stressful for me, we had up to six meetings yesterday. On getting here today, a letter was served on me.
“I know the letter would be of importance to this meeting and I received it. Coincidentally, I showed the BoT Chairman (the letter), he said that he received a copy too, meaning that the letter was served on me and the BoT Chairman.”
But as Akinwonmi moved to read the contents of the letter, he was told to wait for the meeting proper to start. The meeting started after goodwill messages were received from Tambuwal, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and Senate Minority Leader, Eyinnaya Abaribe, after which reporters were asked to leave.
In his remarks, Tambuwal said, “I want to assure you that our governors are working together for the benefit of our party, for the benefit of our country. With the assemblage of people here, by the grace of God Almighty, no issue can remain insurmountable.
“I have the confidence that, by the grace of God, whatever issues we have, we shall be able to, at this caucus meeting, resolve them.
“The governors of the party are ready to continue to work for the party, for their respective states and for us to continue to deliver good governance. I believe at the end of this meeting we shall see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Earlier, scores of Secondus supporters stormed the Wadata Plaza Secretariat of the party, in solidarity with him. They held several placards with inscriptions such as “Welcome Back, Total Chairman;” “Secondus Oyoyo.”
Acting on the order of the Rivers State High Court, the party organs, including the NWC, the BoT as well as the party’s Governors Forum ratified the Deputy National Chairman (South), Akinwonmi, as acting National Chairman, after a series of meetings on Thursday.
In a statement by his media adviser, Ike Abonyi, titled, “Secondus resumes office as Elder Akinwomi hands over,” Secondus said he had resumed office and had taken over the party’s affairs.
The statement read in part, “The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, on Friday, took over the affairs of the party.
“Secondus was obeying the purported ex parte order of a Degema High Court in Rivers State but got reinstated after a Kebbi High Court presided over by Justice Nasirat Umar directed him to resume.”
The statement said following his reinstatement “at the brief handover, Prince Secondus pledged to continue providing astute leadership to the party. Elder Akinwonmi also announced his receipt of the court order which he presented to the caucus meeting.”
The former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has urged the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, to focus on ensuring the conduct of free, fair, and credible elections.
In a statement on Sunday in Enugu, Okechukwu noted that credible elections remained the strongest antidote to intra-party impunity.
He was responding to the INEC Chairman’s recent call on political parties to adhere strictly to principles of internal democracy during a courtesy visit to former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, in Minna, Niger.
According to Okechukwu, the INEC Chairman has consistently emphasised the issue of internal democracy, having made similar remarks in Akwa Ibom in March 2026 and again in Abuja in June 2026.
He said, “Whereas one agrees with the Chairman that strict observance of internal democracy within political parties is of paramount importance.
“However, the greatest incentive for political parties to uphold internal democracy is the consistent conduct of free, fair, and transparent elections by INEC.”
He argued that political scientists had long maintained that political parties were more likely to respect democratic principles and popular will when electoral processes are credible and transparent.
“Political party leaders will do everything within the ambit of the law to keep their houses in order and present the most acceptable and popular candidates when they are confident that elections will be free and fair.
“In such circumstances, they are compelled to obey the wishes of the electorate. However, when elections are perceived as lacking transparency, internal party conflicts and impunity are more likely to thrive,” he said.
Okechukwu also dismissed the allegation of other political parties feelings that INEC is the handgun of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The APC chieftain said that APC needed free and fair elections as core patriots who are committed to the genuine growth of our fledgling democracy and overall progress of every Nigerian.
“I dismiss the handgun allegation, as APC needs free and fair elections,not only for legitimacy with our 31 state governors, but for the genuine growth of our fledgling democracy and overall good governance,” he said.
He maintained that the APC remained a formidable political force and that credible elections would ultimately strengthen Nigeria’s democratic institutions and political parties alike.
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, says Buhari didn’t publicly back Tinubu in the 2023 All Progressives Congress primary due to religious and ethical concerns.
In an interview with Symfoni TV released on Saturday, Lawal revealed that Buhari was initially hesitant to back Tinubu due to religious and ethical considerations regarding his suitability as a successor.
Lawal claimed that, however, after extensive discussions, the late president agreed to remain neutral and allow party delegates to decide the candidate at the convention.
According to the former SGF, Tinubu played a critical role in previous APC election campaigns by providing resources and political strategists, making it difficult for Buhari to oppose his presidential ambition outright.
“Bola Tinubu brought people and we coarced him to change the trajectory of the campaign through those his people.
“Buhari is a human and he’s a decent guy. So I am the only person that confront him with these facts.
“He will not say I don’t know. He would not say it’s a rumour because I was there.
“So why would he deny him (Tinubu)? Why would he… in the end he said okay,” Lawal said.
Lawal added that before the APC presidential convention, he advised Buhari to refrain from backing any aspirant and allow party delegates to choose the candidate.
“As we were going to the convention, I said, ‘Oga’, let’s make a deal. I said look, this man (Tinubu), we now know that on the basis of your religion and your ethics and your upbringing, you don’t want to hand over to this man, but he has helped us get here.
“So there’s no way. Let’s make a deal. Stay neutral and allow me to run the process.
“If we go to the convention and the party faithfuls defeat him, so be it. Your hand is not in it.”
Lawal said Buhari initially rejected the proposal, insisting that if he allowed him to manage the process, Tinubu would emerge as the party’s candidate.
“But Buhari said that’s not an excuse. I know you, you will give Bola Tinubu this ticket.“I say, are you God now, sir?
“Buhari said, no, you started with me since 2002. So I know how you work. I know your methodologies. That man, if I leave him to you, he’ll get the ticket.”
Lawal said he responded that even if Tinubu secured the APC ticket, Nigerians would still decide the outcome of the presidential election.
“I say, okay, okay, granted. If he gets the ticket, it means you are now a prophet. However, you’re ascribing to me qualities I don’t have.
“But let’s assume it happens. Supposing the general election rejects him, is that you?”
He added that Buhari also expressed concern over whether Tinubu would be fair to members of their political camp if elected president.
“He mentioned some things. This man, is he going to be fair to our people? Is he going to be this?
“I said, yes, as long as I’m there, you know, I can checkmate him.
“He said, ‘Okay, deal.’”
Ahead of the APC presidential primary in June 2022, Buhari repeatedly urged party delegates to choose a candidate they believed could advance the party’s ideals but stopped short of publicly endorsing any of the aspirants, despite intense lobbying by contenders, including Tinubu.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, went on to defeat other leading aspirants, including former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, to clinch the APC presidential ticket.
He later won the February 2023 presidential election and was sworn in as president on May 29, 2023.
Politics
Enugu NDC Passes Vote Of Confidence On Dr. Johnpaul Anih-Led State Exco, Warns Against Destabilisation
The Enugu State chapter of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has unanimously passed a vote of confidence in the Dr. Johnpaul Anih-led State Working Committee (SWC), reaffirming its confidence in the current leadership and warning individuals allegedly plotting to destabilise the party to desist.
The resolution was reached on Saturday during an expanded meeting of the state working committee, party stakeholders, candidates and members, who commended the state executive for its leadership, commitment and efforts at repositioning the NDC in Enugu State.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the meeting, the Chairman of the party in Isiuzo Local Government Area, Hon. Jonathan Ogbu, said the current state leadership had transformed the fortunes of the party in Enugu.
“This is the only leadership of the party that emerged through a valid congress monitored by INEC, and any attempt by Enugu politicians spending dollars in Abuja to destabilise the party will be firmly resisted”.
“Without the current leadership, nobody would be hearing about the NDC in Enugu State today. The Dr. Johnpaul Anih-led executive has given the party life and made it attractive through its programmes and grassroots mobilisation,” he said.
Corroborating his position, the Igboeze North Local Government Chairman of the party, Hon. Kingsley Ape and his Aninri counterpart, Hon. Stephen Ajah, stated that the achievements of the present leadership had positioned the party to participate effectively in the forthcoming local government elections.
According to them, without the Dr. Johnpaul Anih-led executive, the NDC would not have been on the ballot for the forthcoming local government chairmanship and councillorship elections in Enugu State.
The party leaders declared that they remain firmly behind Dr. Anih and his executive, insisting that the State Working Committee enjoys the overwhelming confidence and support of the party’s grassroots structure across the 17 local government areas of the state.
They further warned that any attempt to tamper with the existing leadership could trigger a mass exodus of members from the party in Enugu State.
The stakeholders also cautioned individuals allegedly fomenting crisis within the party, urging them to steer clear of activities capable of undermining the unity, stability and progress of the NDC.
According to them, any attempt to create parallel party structures or sow discord among members would be firmly resisted in the interest of preserving the party’s cohesion ahead of future political engagements.
The members equally expressed concern over what they described as the actions of the party’s national leadership, alleging that recent developments could further deepen internal disagreements if not handled with fairness and respect for due process.
They urged the national leadership to refrain from actions capable of escalating tensions within the party, stressing that internal disputes should be resolved in line with the party’s constitution and democratic principles.
Reaffirming their loyalty to the NDC, the stakeholders called on members across the state to remain united, focused and committed to building a stronger political platform.
They pledged their continued support for the Dr. Johnpaul Anih-led State Working Committee and maintained that the Enugu chapter would continue to protect the integrity of the party while working tirelessly to advance its political objectives in the state.
Kwankwaso disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, saying the agreement was aimed at ensuring power returns to the North after a single four-year tenure in line with the party’s power-sharing arrangement.
The former Kano State governor said he had no reason to doubt Obi’s commitment to honouring the agreement.
“Oh yes, I personally believe him. I don’t think, based on what I now know about him, that he will change his mind when the time comes. We are all gentlemen,” he said.
Asked whether the understanding had been documented, Kwankwaso replied that both the party and the two candidates signed separate agreements.
“We have done one for the party, and we have done another one between the two of us,” he said.
Explaining the substance of the agreement, Kwankwaso said it provides for a single four-year tenure for Obi before the presidency returns to the North.
“The agreement is what you said, that for four years, we will work together, team together as a group, party, friends and brothers so that after his term of four years (2027-2031), it comes back to the North. That is the general agreement.”
“Together we felt that the presidency should go to the South for four years; thereafter it will come back to the North.
“We believe that should be the consensus of everybody in this country so that we can move together as a family, both North and South,” he said.
On whether he intends to contest the presidency in 2031, Kwankwaso said the party remained focused on winning the 2027 election while keeping its long-term political plans in view.
“We have a short-term plan which we are executing now and, of course, we also have our medium and long-term plans for the country, and that is what we are working on now,” he said.
Obi had in May announced that he would serve only one term if elected president, saying the decision was intended to promote political stability and strengthen national unity.
“I want to be a one-term president because of stability. I would not stay a day, with a gun to my head, longer than four years,” Obi had said.
The NDC has consistently defended its power-sharing arrangement, presenting the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket as a consensus aimed at balancing the country’s regional interests ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The leadership crisis rocking the Anambra State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took a fresh turn on Monday after the Federal High Court in Abuja granted a stay of execution on its earlier judgment that removed Sen. Emma Anosike as the party’s state chairman.
The order effectively restores Anosike to office pending the determination of the legal proceedings.
The dispute began after a faction of the party led by Ifeanyi Osegbo approached the court, seeking recognition as the duly constituted State Working Committee (SWC) of the APC. The application was opposed by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
Following the initial judgment, the Anambra APC dismissed the ruling as a “kangaroo judgment,” alleging that the plaintiffs misrepresented facts before the court. The party further claimed that some individuals listed as plaintiffs were unaware of the suit and that their names had been inserted without their knowledge.
The party also argued that Anosike and the state secretary, Mr. Obi Okpala, were not joined as parties in the suit, making the judgment unenforceable against them.
Relying on the earlier judgment, members of the Osegbo faction reportedly took over the party secretariat in Awka, gaining access to the offices and holding a meeting there.
In response, Anosike, Okpala, acting on behalf of themselves and other elected executive members, filed an application challenging the judgment. They asked the court to set aside the ruling delivered on June 24, 2026, by Justice M.G. Umar, describing it as a nullity.
The applicants also sought an order staying the execution of the judgment pending the hearing and determination of their application.
Among the grounds for the application were alleged non-service of originating processes and hearing notices, denial of fair hearing, misrepresentation of facts, forum shopping by the plaintiffs, estoppel, and the court’s inherent jurisdiction to set aside a judgment obtained through procedural defects.
Speaking after Monday’s proceedings, counsel to the APC, Douglas Najime, alleged that the earlier judgment was secured through misrepresentation and without proper service on the affected parties.
According to him, the court’s decision to grant a stay of execution means that Sen. Emma Anosike remains the substantive chairman of the Anambra APC, alongside the existing executive committee, pending the outcome of the appeal.
He maintained that the stay of execution effectively suspends the enforcement of the earlier judgment and preserves the status quo until the legal dispute is finally resolved.
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