By Seyi Babalola
A new crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is developing just days before the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, scheduled for April 18, 2024.
This occurs at a moment when there are doubts about the NEC’s ability to act decisively against members engaged in anti-party activity.
A group of PDP federal lawmakers demanded a few days ago that Umar Iliya Damagun, the party’s interim national chairman, resign from office due to purported anti-party actions.
Hon. Ikenga UgoChinyere, a member of the House of Representatives, led the legislators.
They questioned, among other things, the party leadership’s reticence on the political climate in Rivers State, which prompted President Bola Tinubu to step in.
The lawmakers also claimed they were speaking on behalf of at least 60 lawmakers in the opposition lawmakers’ coalition in the National Assembly.
They said the local government leadership changes of the party were planned by Damagum, who they alleged have drafted members of the APC as caretaker committee members of the PDP in some states.
According to the lawmakers, the PDP under Damagum has been crumbling, losing elections and facing court cases.
“Not only did Damagun hold tight to the seat for well over a year now, he has abdicated every responsibility of the office of the Chairman of PDP and is very comfortable serving APC interests,” the lawmakers stated.
“There had been agreement of a broad spectrum of the party leadership when it became clear that Damagum was not interested in conducting elections but to appoint Caretaker committees in at least 19 states where the tenures of the State and local government leaders were expiring to extend the tenures of these officials by three months.
“This decision which was made to cover every state was the wisdom that restrained Damagum from announcing a wholesale list of a majority of Caretaker Committees populated by APC agents masquerading as PDP members.
“However, despite that decision to retain everybody, Mr. Damagun went ahead and received a list of APC agents and announced them as members and leaders of the PDP Local Government Caretaker Committees wholly in Rivers State and partially in at least 10 other states. This is a direct attempt to kill the PDP and ensure it goes into extinction.
“To make issues clearer, we are speaking on behalf of at least 60 lawmakers in the opposition lawmakers’ coalition in the National Assembly. We all won our elections without any form of help or support from the party hierarchy. It has become clearer to us that this scenario was foisted so that as many of us as possible will fail the elections. Damagum never really wanted us to win.
“Voices have risen from the National Assembly to speak out and stop you. You have a chance to resign immediately, leave or be embarrassed out of the party. At least 60 of us in the PDP in the National Assembly will sever all relations with the Damagun leadership until he leaves office.
“At the scheduled National Executive Committee meeting, if Damagun by any maneuvering, however, conjectured remains in office with the help of his APC friends at the end of the day, the party is now heading to the final slaughter shed,” the lawmakers said in a statement on Monday.
