Aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives, under the aegis of the G60 Group, formally sent a petition to members of the National Executive Council (NEC) over a plot to extend the tenure of the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun, to August 2024.
The spokesman of the G60 group, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, stated this in a memo sent to the PDP NEC members titled: ‘The New Plot to Shift the Appointment of a North Central Person as PDP National Chairman/Removal of the Party till August 2024 Instead of Today at the NEC Meeting as Required by Article 47(6) of PDP, Coupled with the Withdrawal of Pending Litigations by Former PDP National Chairman, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, Which Cleared All Impediments to the Anticipated Emergence of a New PDP National Chairman Today.
While outlining the position of the Opposition Lawmakers Coalition, Hon. Ugochinyere said, “We say NO to the last-minute plan to shift today’s expected step-down of Umar Damagum as Acting National Chairman of PDP to August 2024, before a candidate from the North Central Zone can take the Chairmanship position of the Party. This last-minute plan is backed by APC loyalists within the PDP, aiming to use the extension period to fill the over 19 PDP states with Party State Executives who are pro-APC members. NEC Members must stop this madness today if they want PDP to survive.
“The plan to give Umar Damagum a soft landing till August 2024 is to provide an opportunity to elect APC members as PDP State Executives in the over 19 states where PDP will be holding Party Congresses.
“The extension is a plan to elect APC members as Executives of State Chapters of the PDP, thereby planting those who will massively decamp to APC to create the impression of a crisis in the Party. The National Executive Committee (NEC) must arise and state it clearly to give our party the leadership it deserves.
“Former PDP National Chairman, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu’s case was used as an excuse for Damagum to attempt to elongate his illegal stay in office. But to their shock, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu made a huge sacrifice by withdrawing his case from court, thereby paving the way for the emergence of a North Central candidate as National Chairman today.
“However, the APC agents controlling Umar Damagun, after their secret meeting, came up with a new agenda, which is being sold to party members to allow Umar Damagum’s handover by August 2024.
“To many, this will be seen as a victory in the struggle, but to us, it is a fraudulent and illegal arrangement targeting the upcoming Congresses in over 19 States where the tenure of PDP State Party Executives will be expiring before the August handover.
“The plan is to use Umar Damagum, who is working with G5 governors to elect APC members come 2027, to now fill up those expiring EXCO positions with APC members whose names have been supplied by the serving APC Minister who is bankrolling Umar Damagum to destroy our party. This scenario is similar to the failed attempt in Rivers State to elect APC members as State Party EXCOs.
“Meaning that, by the time a North Central candidate comes on board, all State Congresses have been held and State Party officials elected for a fresh 4-year tenure in over 19 States with APC loyalists planted into the heart of the PDP, thereby burying the party, suffocating it, and killing any survival attempt.
“We have finished meeting immediately we received the intelligence of the Pre and Post Caucus meeting and have come to the strong conclusion announcing our rejection of this fraudulent, illegal, and unknown handover by August 2024, which will amount to a rape of our Party’s Constitution.
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“This will deny the North Central Zone their legitimate right as enshrined in section 47(6) and pave the way for pro-APC forces now known as the new PDPAPC to plant pro-APC officials as our State Party Executive officers in over 19 States.
“The PDP will enter into an unimaginable crisis if this happens. We will declare Umar Damagum persona non grata from tomorrow if this illegality happens, and we will not recognize such a usurper as Acting National Chairman of our Party, and we will proceed to the Federal High Court within 24 hours to launch a legal action to stop this madness once and for all.
“The G60 frowns and condemns the idea of allowing a serving APC Minister into the highly confidential National Caucus meeting knowing fully well that the Minister is a Campaign Manager for the APC 2027 Presidential election.
“This is a political abomination and clear evidence that the Umar Damagum leadership has officially merged PDP with APC and is desperate to hold on to power to execute the demise of the party.
“Such an abomination should not be allowed at the NEC meeting, and NEC members should have the courage to walk out of any serving APC official in the party to avoid continued sabotage and compromise. Let NEC members be men for once.
“We call on NEC MEMBERS, especially Governors, to be bold for once and stand up to show our loyal members in the rural areas strength that we are ready to get up and be firm and set the roadmap for Revival. No sitting on the fence.
“Those governors and NEC members sitting on the fence over fear or lack of courage should stand up and defend the party our founding fathers handed over to us to avoid the inevitable destruction awaiting us like ANPP if we don’t act.
“We hereby restate our position that Umar Damagum must step down and revert to his Deputy Chairmanship position and a North Central candidate should be elected as National Chairman.
“A Disciplinary Committee must be set up to discipline members who are loyalists of the APC that have made attempts to hijack and kill the party; the reform and re-branding of the party must start immediately. The caretaker list tampered with must be excluded from affirmation today, especially Cross Rivers, Kano, Rivers, etc., which was filled with APC members.
“So based on the above, we state once and for all that we say NO to the move to shift Umar Damagum’s resignation to August 2024. This is to avoid giving a few months period that will be used to plant the seed of destruction and endless litigation once the step-down date is shifted. Damagun must revert back to his Deputy Chairmanship position and allow NEC to appoint a North Central candidate as Acting Chairman.
“God save PDP, the party of Ekwueme, Abubakar Rimi, Solomon Lar, Adamu Ciroma, etc., from the desperate hands of PDPAPC members.
In a related development, a group of youths under the aegis of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Reform Vanguard, who staged a peaceful protest at the party’s headquarters, demanded the immediate resignation of the party’s Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagun.
The youths, who besieged the party headquarters before its scheduled National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, also urged the NEC to sanction the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike,
for alleged anti-party activities.
In his address, Usman Seidu, the convener of the PDP reform vanguard said Damagun and Wike have “undermined our collective efforts and jeopardized our very existence as a formidable opposition force.
“We commend our former National Chairman Dr. Iyorchia Ayu for his demonstration of unwavering loyalty and love for our party by withdrawing all pending suits against the party in the Court.
“His actions have paved the way for our great party to move forward, to cleanse our ranks and restore integrity to our leadership. However, the presence of individuals like Amb. Iliya Damagun and Mr. Nyesome Wike within our midst remains a cancerous growth on the body of our party.
“Their actions, tantamount to betrayal, have undermined our collective efforts and jeopardized our very existence as a formidable opposition force. The time has come for the NEC to act decisively. Amb. Iliya Damagun must be removed from his position as Acting National Chairman, in accordance with the provisions of our party’s constitution.
“He must be replaced with a loyal member from the North Central, someone who embodies the spirit of our party and will work tirelessly for the advancement of its course.
“Furthermore, we cannot turn a blind eye to the continuous presence of Mr. Nyesome Wike within our ranks. His romance with the APC has been handsomely rewarded with his appointment as Minister of the FCT and as such, his stay is a slap in the face of every loyal member of our party.
“The continuous presence of individuals like Damagun and Wike is not just detrimental to our progress; it is a clear and present danger to the very survival of our party. If the party fail to take decisive action against those who have betrayed our trust, then it risk losing the faith and support of it’s loyal members across the country.”
The group, therefore, implored members of the NEC to summon the courage and conviction necessary to take the tough decisions required to reposition the party for greatness.
