From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The power tussle in the Peoples Democratic Party (Party) has assumed a new twist as a coalition of lawmakers elected on the platform of the opposition party, in the House of Representatives, yesterday, demanded the immediate resignation of the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.
At a press briefing in Abuja, the lawmakers alleged that there were plots by the Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) to hand over the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC). They accused him of plotting to impose APC members as caretaker committee members in Rivers and 10 other state chapters of the party.
Tension has been mounting on in the PDP, in the last few days, over power tussle between loyalists of the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, over control of the party machinery ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The two camps, it was gathered, have commenced intense lobbying and mobilisation ahead of the PDP NEC meeting scheduled for April 18.
Last week, the party announced the composition of a caretaker committee for 20 states, including the FCT. However, the appointment of the caretaker community is generating ripples in some states, with some stakeholders kicking against the composition.
The PDP lawmakers alleged that the fortunes of the PDP had further dwindled under Damagum’s leadership as acting chairman. Damagum took over the leadership of the party following the ouster of the former national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, in the aftermath of the 2023 polls.
The lawmakers, who noted that PDP NWC has not lived up to expectation, said a serious leadership ought to have reviewed the outcome of the 2023 general elections to determine the factors responsible for the poor performance failure of the opposition party in the polls.
Consequently, the lawmakers, in a statement read by the member representing Ideato North/ Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere, said in the event that Damagum refused to quit, the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) should remove him forthwith. They threatened to dump the PDP if the acting chairman was not sacked.
“We currently have in the PDP a national leadership that is in bed with the APC and is working extremely hard to hand over the party to the APC.
Following the removal of Sen. Iyorchia Ayu as national chairman of our party and assumption of office by Umar Illiya Damagum, who was elected as deputy national chairman to act in his stead, the party has only known misfortune and abdicated its responsibility as the leading opposition party in the country. That role which Nigerians would have loved the PDP to play as an institution it truly is has been abdicated for a plate of porridge.
“A serious leadership would have set up structures to review what, why, and how the party failed to win the last presidential election and also failed to secure majority in both chambers of the National Assembly, rather the Umar Damagum led NWC is assiduously working to hand over the party to the ruling APC and their agents.
“A serious leadership would have looked into the acts of open anti-party activities, established why they happened and set up measures to ensure that it never happened again in the party. A serious party leadership would have since the end of elections or even the tribunal matters gone round to thank members and rally them for the challenge ahead of being the opposition and offering credible alternatives to the people. We do not have any of these.”
The lawmakers added that if by April 18 NEC meeting, “Damagum 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.
“We have been briefed of plans and ongoing mobilisation and lobbying of some PDP NEC members by APC loyalist masquerading as PDP Members to issue a kangaroo vote of confidence on Damagum to enable APC continue their hold on the party via their agents who claim to be PDP while on APC mission to destroy PDP.
“Instead of allowing North Central zone produce the Acting Chairman as required by the PDP Constitution pending the conduct of convention or resolution of pending litigation, the pro APC forces working with Damagun want to affirm him as Chairman of the party at the NEC meeting to help them set the party on the path of irredeemable damnation.
“If Ayu is in Court, why not allow an acting chairman from his zone to act pending the resolution of all the issues since the tenure of office zoned to them is running and cannot be reversed?”
The lawmakers also called on the PDP NEC to reverse the list of caretaker committee members announced in Rivers and 10 other states.
“The move to use serving APC Members in Rivers state and 10 other states to lead our party caretaker at state, LGA and ward level is the highest act of political provocation and impunity that we are going to fight with everything in us. PDP cannot be handed over to the APC.
“APC officers cannot emerge from our party officials in Rivers or any of the 10 states with alleged imposition of APC interest. Let the world know that why they are hell bent on imposing APC officials as our party caretaker members is to fulfill a planned bigger plot which will see so called PDP members, who in reality are APC members decamping in mass into APC, as PDP officials…on their set date just to embarrass our party” , they stated.