PDP in fresh crisis over chairmanship seat

In from Olumide Olaoluwa …
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be heading for another round of crisis over the tenure of the acting chairman, and who should replace him as substantive chairman, even as the party insists, that its chairmanship position is not vacant.
The party’s National Deputy Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, has been functioning as the acting chairman of the party following the forced resignation of the erstwhile chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu in May.
Ahmed Gulak, an erstwhile Political Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, stormed the party’s Abuja secretariat to register his intention to vie for the chairmanship position.
Speaking with journalists shortly after meeting with some of the party leaders, Gulak said the three months that the party’s constitution allowed Secondus to act as chairman had expired.
He said there was need to choose a substantive chair for the party.
Gulak said: “Going by the PDP constitution, the position is vacant because the three months allowed for anyone to act as chairman had elapsed and the party constitution stipulates that the replacement must come from the same Northeast zone as the erstwhile substantive chair.
“The PDP cannot continue in the illegality of continuing with Acting Chairman because the three months stipulated by the party’s constitution had elapsed.
“So it is time for the NWC to convene the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting for the party to call for nominations to fill the vacancy. We have had enough of impunity.”
But the party at a joint briefing by the National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo and National Legal Adviser, Mr. Victor Kwom, countered that the party’s constitution did not stipulate time limit for an acting chairman.
They said the party was waiting for the report of the Post Election Review and Assessment Committee headed by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu.

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