PDP holds crucial NEC meeting Wednesday; Secondus to relinquish Chairmanship position; Gulak not in the race

Against the backdrop of the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, especially regarding the issue of the Chairmanship of the opposition party, meetings of its key organs have been scheduled for Tuesday, February 9 and Wednesday February 10, 2016.

A press release by National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, said that the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party had approved that the meeting of the National Caucus of the party should hold on Tuesday, February 9 at 7pm while the meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT) follows on Wednesday, February 10th morning. The crucial meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party would then hold on the same Wednesday, February 10th at 2pm.

The meetings are expected to be fractious, given the confusion which attended the recent announcement of three people as Chairman of the party. Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, former Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Affairs, announced himself as Chairman, the PDP Governors asked the acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus to hand over to the National Secretary, Prof. Adewale Oladipo, while the NWC, with the support of some governors from the South South geo-political zone, insisted that Secondus would remain the acting Chairman till a substantive chairman is chosen from the North East geo-political.

Metuh said that “the meetings are in furtherance of internal discussions on very crucial issues within the party as well as ways to reposition it for the challenges ahead.”

It is expected that Prince Secondus will, at the NEC meeting relinquish the Chairmanship position which he has been holding in acting capacity since the then incumbent, former Governor Adamu Muazu resigned.
Alhaji Gulak from Adamawa State, who stormed the PDP Secretariat to declare himself the chairman, is, however, said not to be favoured for the position which he has been fighting for for some time now.

Leaders of the party from his state and the Noerth East zone are said not to be in support of his aspiration, though a few analysts say he has the courage and what ever else it takes to lead the now rudderless PDP.