By Musa Baba Adamu
The immediate past Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, who currently represents Bayelsa West in the Senate, had said nobody can remove the embattled chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, without recourse to national convention of the party.
Recall that the PDP Chairman has been facing challenges over alleged plans by some Governors elected on the party’s platform, led by Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike, to remove him and install an interim Chairman
But in a statement he issued in Abuja, Dickson said according to PDP Constitution, only a national convention can remove the PDP Chairman, calling on the leaders of the party to act wisely.
“Let me also bring to the attention of all that by the PDP constitution, a vote of no confidence even by a duly constituted NWC or other organs of the party does not remove a Chairman. The chairman is voted for and can only be removed by the National Convention unless on his own volition, he chooses to resign.
“So I call on all leaders of the party that this is perhaps their last effort to save the PDP. Like me, most of us have paid dearly and have paid our dues since 2015 when we lost the Presidential elections and like me, we should all not rest on our oars or leave any stone unturned in the bid to strengthen and reposition the party including calling people to order and standing up against illegality when we have to”, he said.
He similarly dismissed a statement issued by the PDP House of Representatives caucus calling on Secondus to resign, saying the recognized leader of the PDP House of Representatives caucus is not Hon. Kingsley Chinda, but Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, whom he said has already denied the alleged press statement asking the PDP Chairman to quit.
Speaking further, the lawmaker lamented the action of some members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) whom he claimed went outside the PDP’s Constitution to convene a meeting in a hotel room without the knowledge, consent and presence of the chairman.
He said the meeting was was the action of a few party officers and does not represent a valid resolution or decision of the National Working Committee known to the PDP constitution.
“By the PDP constitution, only the national chairman of the party can summon and preside over meetings of the organs of the party, especially the NWC of which he is chairman. So the purported meeting and the outcome therefore are part of the plot to contrive a needless crisis in the PDP.
“It is part of the scheme to call a dog a bad name to hang it. The general public should note that the statement signed by some members: three members of the working committee and three Vice chairmen of the party does not constitute a valid resolution of the National Working Committee.
“By the way, the NWC has 19 members and only 6 of them signed the statement, leaving out the majority of 13 who were not at the meeting and the chairman, who was not aware, who did not attend, who did not authorize and who did not preside over the said meeting and therefore it is not only a nullity but an act of gross misconduct.
“It is all an effort to contrive a crisis in the party to further the ulterior objective of those who are funding it, the intent of which is to cause a major crisis in the PDP”, he said.
While pointing out that all these are to create a media frenzy backed up by the sponsored demonstrations at the party secretariat on Monday which are designed to force the chairman to resign in order to set up an illegal caretaker committee which is illegal, Dickson expressed joy that the National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, has issued a statement that he will not resign.
“There is no crisis in the party. What is happening is only a contrived media crisis orchestrated and funded by some people with a motive to hijack the party without subjecting themselves and their cronies to a democratic vote at the convention which is due in less than 4 months.
