PDP in Fresh Crisis: 60 PDP Lawmakers Threaten To Dump Party

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By Correspondent

Few days to the scheduled meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a coalition of PDP federal lawmakers has demanded the immediate resignation of Umar Iliya Damagun, the acting National Chairman over alleged anti-party activities.

The PDP lawmakers have accused Damagun of “working to hand over PDP structures to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),” and therefore demanded his resignation to allow for a North Central person to emerge as acting chairman, pending the party’s convention as stipulated by the party’s constitution.

Embattled Damagum

The angry members threatened to leave the party if the alleged doctored list of Local Government Caretaker Committees in Rivers and 10 other states, which they claim is filled with APC members and loyalists, was not nullified.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, the spokesperson for the group and member representing Ideato Federal Constituency of Imo State, stated that they cannot remain in a party whose activities are determined by another political party.

The lawmakers alleged that the list of Caretaker Committee members in Rivers State was doctored in favour of former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, and APC members who have defected from the PDP.

They also accused Damagun of not doing anything to halt the plot to impeach Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, despite allegedly being fully aware of the details.

According to Ugochinyere, based on the PDP zoning formula, it is the turn of the North Central to produce the party’s chairman, and he called on North Central leaders to present a credible replacement for Sen. Iyorchia Ayu.

They called on PDP stalwarts such as former Senate President David Mark, Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Senator Abba Moro, and Bukola Saraki to rescue the party from being sold to the ruling APC.

Additionally, the lawmakers urged the PDP NEC to review the party’s sources of finance, investigate allegations of pro-APC supporters funding the party, and set up a committee to investigate all acts of anti-party activity since 2023, with appropriate sanctions to cleanse the party.

“You may have heard rumours about ongoing events in my party, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where there have been allegations of doctoring of Caretaker Committee members lists in Rivers state and at least 10 other states. This story is quite unfortunate and I can confirm to you all that it is not a rumour but fact.

“We have obtained very credible intelligence on the on goings in our Party’s Wadata House National Secretariat and it does not sound right at all.

“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 alternative to the people. We do not have any of these.

“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.

“Against their wish, we won the election and now Damagum and his co-travellers have launched the phase 2 of their protocol which is to hand the structures of the party to interests working for the APC.

“It is on this basis that we the genuine PDP lawmakers who believe in our party and its ideals hereby announce today that we would not stand idly by and allow Damagum destroy the efforts of Sir Alex Ekwueme, Prince Solomon Lar and other eminent former Chairmen and leaders of the party.

“We therefore declare that if the list in Rivers State PDP Caretaker Committee and the other 10 states were to stand, that the 60 lawmakers will resign from the Party, severe all relationship with the party and seek new political alliances elsewhere.

“Some leaders may not boldly speak out, but as you all know, we won our elections by scoring victory against the devil himself. So we can speak out,” the group said.

Already, a Federal High Court in Abuja has stopped former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, from participating in the party’s meetings pending the determination of a motion on notice.

The National Chairman, Secretary of the Party, National Executive Council, and Board of Trustees were ordered not to allow Secondus to attend any of its meetings until the suit is determined.

Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the ruling in an ex-parte motion by Titus Jones, a PDP member from Rivers State.