The ongoing internal crisis within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has taken another turn as key members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) clashed over the root causes of the turmoil.
The confrontation unfolded between Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, a vocal party figure, and Ibrahim Abdullahi, Deputy National Publicity Secretary, during a heated exchange that exposed deeper divisions within the party.
While Abdullahi attributed the party’s woes to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Ugochinyere pointed fingers at both the Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, and the former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as the primary instigators of the PDP’s instability.
Both party chieftains spoke at different forums yesterday in Abuja.
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Ugochinyere lamented that PDP members, including lawmakers and stakeholders, are abandoning the party.
He metaphorically compared the party’s symbol, an umbrella, to a structure no longer “wide enough” to accommodate its members, signaling a crumbling internal unity.
He accused minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike of betraying the PDP by working for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and arguing that Damagum’s leadership as acting chairman has only deepened the party’s troubles.
“Wike has taken a job to run errands for the APC, and Damagum’s presence as acting chairman is causing serious problems for the party,” Ugochinyere asserted.
He passionately emphasized that the PDP is failing to fulfill its role as an opposition party, stating that it has become ineffective in holding the ruling government accountable.
He noted that while opposition parties in other West African nations such as Senegal and Ghana maintain strength, the PDP is barely functional as an opposition force, having lost its political influence.
Reflecting on the party’s failures, Ugochinyere remarked, “We have been so decimated that Peter Obi’s Labour Party is now at the same level with us in 12 states.
“The new generation is moving away from us. We must fix our internal leadership struggles before we can fix the PDP or Nigeria.”
In a blistering critique of the current NWC, Ugochinyere accused the leadership of being out of touch and unwilling to take responsibility for the party’s failures.
He called for a resolution to the leadership crisis, urging the party to follow constitutional procedures to replace the acting chairman and restore order within the PDP.
Abdullahi, however, took a different stance, blaming Atiku Abubakar for the party’s problems, accusing him of allowing five governors to defect from the party in 2023, just as it happened in 2014.
According to him, Atiku’s failure to manage internal conflicts weakened the party’s chances in the presidential election.
He also claimed that Atiku’s actions had contributed to the rise of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, which he described as one of the worst in Nigeria’s history.
“The problem this present NWC is contending with is a problem we inherited,” Abdullahi said.
He added, “Atiku foisted a worse government on the nation in the person of Buhari, and we all rallied behind him in 2023. Yet, he allowed five governors to walk out of the party on the eve of the election, just as he did in 2014.”
The conflicting accusations from Ugochinyere and Abdullahi underscore the PDP’s deep-rooted crisis, as members continue to clash over who is responsible for the party’s decline.
With stakeholders like Tanimu Turaki, Senator Sanusi Daggash, and Osaro Onaiwu also weighing in on the need for reform, the party faces an uphill battle to reclaim its position in Nigeria’s political landscape.
