The Senate President Godswill Akpabio openly mocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over its ongoing leadership crisis at the Senate chamber on Wednesday.
During the plenary session, Akpabio sarcastically asked Senate Minority Leader Patrick Abba Moro who the party’s national secretary is.
He said, “Who is your (PDP) National Secretary? The governors have their National Secretary and other members have their National Secretary.”
In reply, Senator Moro insisted that Senator Samuel Anyanwu remained the legitimate National Secretary of the PDP. Aside from leading the opposition in the Senate, Moro heads the PDP Caucus in the National Assembly—which includes all PDP senators and House of Representatives members.
There has been unabated controversy over the PDP’s National Secretary position. Last Friday, PDP governors, in a meeting in Asaba, Delta State, recognized Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the party’s new National Secretary and directed the National Working Committee (NWC) to acknowledge him officially.
Similarly, the PDP’s Board of Trustees (BoT), in a meeting in Abuja earlier on Wednesday, sided with the PDP Governors and reaffirmed its recognition of Udeh-Okoye as the legitimate National Secretary.
In a communiqué signed by BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, the board stated that its decision was based on the findings of a committee led by Barrister Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN). The BoT cited a declarative judgment from the High Court of Enugu, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal, affirming Udeh-Okoye as the rightful National Secretary.
“The BoT, by adopting the report, recognizes Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of the PDP in full obedience to the declaratory judgment of the High Court of Enugu, as also upheld by the Court of Appeal, there being no contrary or overriding judgment from any court of superior jurisdiction,” the communiqué read.
The BoT called on the NWC to immediately swear in Udeh-Okoye and urged all PDP stakeholders to abide by the court’s ruling. It also commended the PDP Governors’ Forum, the NWC, and other party organs for their commitment to upholding the party’s constitution and guidelines.
The drama in the Senate followed the official defection of Senator Ned Nwoko, who represents Delta North, from the PDP to the APC. In his defection letter, read aloud by Akpabio, Nwoko cited the PDP’s internal crisis as the reason for his departure.
“In view of this, I urge the Senate to take this matter seriously by setting up an ad hoc committee to investigate the crisis within the PDP and recommend a way forward to safeguard our democracy,” Nwoko stated. He urged the committee to examine the root causes of the party’s internal conflict and propose reforms to ensure a strong and viable opposition.
Senate President Akpabio has, however, said he will not be setting up the committee, given that the issue in contention is in court.
(Politics Nigeria)