The National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has described the statement credited to the party's youth leader Sunday Ude-Okoye, as "unfortunate".
Ude-Okoye had asked the Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus to step aside on Tuesday following the resignation of seven members of the National Working Committee.
Due-Okoye accused the party chair of crippling many departments and units in the secretariat.
Saying the party chair had nothing to offer the PDP, Ude-Okoye said more members of the NWC were also aggrieved by Secondus’ leadership style.
He threatened to resign if the party chairman failed to heed the call to resign.
He said: “Today, I have asked him (Secondus) in our NWC meeting to resign his position as the chairman of this party because he cannot lead this party to victory.
“I am also asking the leaders, the governors, the founding fathers, the youth, the women to rise up to rescue our party.
“I am here to make it very clear to all Nigerians that if Secondus does not resign from the party, I am going to leave the party for him.
“The governors, if they don’t wade into this matter right now, I assure Nigerians that within the next three, four days, my (resignation) letter will be made public.
“Seven deputies have already resigned their positions today because of Secondus. Many more people are also going to resign in the NWC because of Secondus.
“Right now, I can tell you that not less than eight to ten persons within the NWC members are very aggrieved with Secondus.
However, Ike Abonyi, media adviser to Secondus, the PDP chair questioned the rationale in asking for his resignation.
“The media office of the national chairman has described as unfortunate the statement from the Party’s National Youth leader calling on the national chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus to resign from his position.
“The media office wonders why it took the national youth leader three and half years before realizing that the national chairman is incompetent or that he is enriching himself.
“The agenda of Hon. Ude- Okoye and his sponsors are to take this party back to Egypt but they have failed because the party is focused and unwilling to look back as they match towards regaining power.
“The party structure is intact and anybody who allows him or herself to fall to the inducement for an interim administration in the party will be disappointed because the stakeholders are not ready to go backwards any longer.
The media office advised media houses to look out for anti-democratic operatives who think they can use the money to destroy this party and play into the hand of the inept ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC,” the statement read.
The seven national officers who resigned on Tuesday are Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Diran Odeyemi; Deputy National Legal Adviser, Ahmed Bello; Deputy National Women Leader, Umoru Hadizat; Deputy National Auditor Divine Amina Arong; Deputy National Organizing Secretary, Hassan Yakubu; and Deputy National Financial Secretary, Irona Alphonsus.
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Previously, several members of the House of Representatives and Senate as well as the governors of Ebonyi, Cross Rivers and Zamfara states had decamped from the party citing concerns over the leadership of the party.
Secondus has also been engaged in a political battle against his erstwhile godfather and governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike.
Meanwhile, the National Working Committee (NWC) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said it has activated internal conflict resolution mechanism of the party to ensure amicable resolution of all issues affecting the party.
The party made this known in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ologbondiyan said that the party’s NWC rose from a crucial meeting where it reviewed the state of the party, with a view to creating an atmosphere that would engender stability within the party.
“The NWC assures that it has already activated the internal conflict resolution mechanism of the party to ensure amicable resolution of all issues.
“The NWC assures all members of the party that it is taking urgent steps to ensure decisions that will strengthen our great party for the task ahead.
“This is particularly at this time Nigerians are looking up to the PDP for direction and solutions,” he said.
Ologbondiyan said against the backdrop, the NWC urged all PDP members to remain calm.
He assured members that the PDP remained stable as the NWC was working to bring the party back to power in 2023.
