Uche Secondus, embattled national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) struggling with court injunctions to retain his seat, has been suspended by the executives of his primary constituency.
Announcing the suspension which is indefinite, without detailed reasons, the chairman of Ward 5 in Andoni local government area of Rivers State, George Christopher, on Tuesday, said it became necessary due to issues affecting the party.
“The ward executive of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ward 5, Ikuru town; the leaders on the 31st of August, 2021, discussed issues that affect the party,” Mr Christopher said in a statement. “Suspension of Prince Uche Secondus was done by the ward executive after a duly constituted ward meeting called by the Secretary on the instructions of the chairman, according to the Constitution of our great party.
“The party at the ward further reaffirmed his suspension and thanked the party at the local government and state level for agreeing on the suspension,” he added.
The opposition party’s chieftain said 11 out of the 17 exco members endorsed their move.
Reacting through his aide, Ike Abonyi in a statement on Wednesday, the PDP chairman described his suspension by the ward excos as their mere wish because only the National Executive Committee (NEC) could discipline the national chairman of the party.
“The media office of Prince Uche Secondus ordinarily should not be responding to every ‘noise’ in the media being engineered by those who set out to distract and destroy the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but it’s our responsibility to guide those who are easily persuaded by news in the media hence this response,” Mr Abonyi said.
“Such action is a mere wish as Article 59(3) of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, (the) constitution states clearly that only the National Executive Committee, NEC of the party can discipline the National Chairman or any other National officer of the party.
“Members of the public and the media should therefore be wary of agents out to distract PDP from the focus of retrieving our beloved country from the irreparable damage already done to it by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC,” he added.
