As the battle for the leadership of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party rages, the Deputy Chairman (South) of the party, Yemi Akinwonmi has declared that he is the authentic acting national chairman of the party.
He said the declaration became necessary after the Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Suleiman Nazif stated that he was incapacitated and unable to carry out the responsibilities of Acting Chairman.
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In a press conference on Tuesday at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, and in the company of the 2019 governorship candidate of the party in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, and the party’s national secretary, Sen Ibrahim Tsauri, Akinwonmi said that he was hospitalised for a period of three months and has recovered enough to take the duty of Acting Chairman.
Referring to the earlier meeting held by a faction of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Sen. Nazif, Akinwonmi said that all their decisions were null and void but upheld a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for Friday.
While declaring that there is no victor, no vanquish, Akinwonmi called on the party faithful to join hands with him in piloting the affairs of the party.
“I am a man of peace, not a man of crisis. PDP has a good succession order. There is order here. The chairman is followed by the deputy national chairman one (South), followed by the deputy national chairman two (north),” he said.
On the earlier meeting, he said, “everything conducted while I was not here is null and void. At the appropriate time, we will call for a meeting of National Executive Committee, NEC and the Board of Trustees, BoT.
He added that he played no part in the fate that befell Secondus.
Also commenting on the position of Sen. Nazif that he was incapacitated, Akinwonmi responded, “Sickness is not a friend of anybody.
“I was on my way to Wadata Plaza when I had a stroke in my car. I was at the Cidacrest Hospital for three months. Anybody can be sick but I am getting back and better.
“It was not my making to be sick. In the past, I could not stand up but I stood up singing the national anthem here this afternoon.
“It is wrong for people to start making reference to my ill health. Anybody can be sick but I am getting better now,” he said.
Also speaking, the National Secretary of the party, Ibrahim Tsauri said no faction exists in the NWC, adding that Nazif only presided over the meeting of the NWC earlier because Akinwonmi was not present at the time.
He added, “There are people that took this matter to court. We have given the judgement to our lawyers to study.”
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