A fresh push to remove Ambassador Iliya Damagum from his role as the acting national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has emerged, spearheaded by Engineer Conrad Utaan, a chairmanship aspirant from Benue State.
Launching the move in Abuja on Wednesday, he highlighted the party’s longstanding internal disputes, claiming that the North Central region, particularly Benue State, has been sidelined in the leadership equation.
Utaan’s challenge to Damagum’s leadership signals a new chapter in the party’s struggle to regain stability as the race for the PDP chairmanship heats up.
Calling for his candidacy to be given due recognition, he argued that Damagum cannot occupy both the substantive post of national deputy chairman (North) and the acting national chairmanship post of the main opposition.
Utaan pointed to the crisis that engulfed the party last year, which led to the removal of the Benue State-born former PDP chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu.
He recalled that Ayu’s suspension by his ward ignited confusion regarding his chairmanship, with members divided on whether he was still in charge.
“His ward executive passed a vote of no confidence on him and suspended him from the party. The reason they had was that he was owing party dues for two years. There was a lot of confusion… until I approached the court for an interpretation of our constitution,” Utaan recounted.
The court eventually ruled that Ayu could be suspended as a member of the party, thereby disqualifying him from serving as chairman.
With a vacancy in the chairmanship, Utaan is making a case for the position to return to the North Central Zone, particularly Benue Stat Zone B, where he observed is the only aspirant presenting himself for the post.
The national chairmanship aspirant argued that PDP’s internal zoning arrangements, as outlined in Section 47(6) of the party’s constitution, dictate that a vacancy in the national chairmanship should be filled by a candidate from the same region as the previous chairman.
He recalled that other zones in the state had already produced national chairmen of the PDP in Barnabas Gemande, Audu Ogbe, and Ayu.
“We naturally expect that the national chairman was zoned and micro-zoned. It wasn’t for all of Nigeria. It was for North Central. It wasn’t for all of North Central. It was for Benue. It wasn’t for all of Benue; it was for Benue, Northwest Central District, Zone B.
“And as it stands today, I am the only person aspiring from Benue North West Zone B in Benue State; there’s nobody from Zone C. The only other person running is former governor Gabriel Suswam, who is from zone A, where Gemade was national chairman.
“So, I should naturally be on the post in this race. I should not be running against somebody else from Zone A because they did not throw the national chairman open.”
“We in the North Central discovered that Damagum was becoming more or less a substantive chairman. And nobody was saying anything,” Utaan further said.
He emphasised that the North East, from which Damagum hails, already holds the position of deputy national chairman, making it unconstitutional for the region to hold both posts simultaneously.
“North East cannot have both the deputy national chairman and national chairman at the same time while North Central is left with nothing,” he insisted, advocating for the chairmanship to be returned to the North Central zone as was done in previous instances when other regions held key party positions.
The 47-year-old national chairmanship aspirant made a case for a fresh face to occupy the national chairmanship post of the former ruling, saying that as someone who was neither a former governor nor a former national assembly member, he had no baggage.
He claimed that his lack of previous high-profile political roles should be seen as an advantage, arguing that his fresh perspective and untainted history make him the ideal candidate to unify and rebuild the party.
Utaan further stated that his youth would resonate with Nigeria’s younger voting demographic, which makes up more than 70% of the electorate.
“I do not come with the encumbrance of the baggage that people who have been former this and former that carry. I am not encumbered by ego. Our party right now requires peace and reconciliation,” Utaan remarked.
He also expressed concern over what he perceives as arrogance within the current PDP leadership, stating that the party has struggled to adjust to its role in opposition.
Utaan called for fresh energy and new ideas to lead the PDP back to national prominence after years of internal conflicts and electoral losses.
“The arrogance of power still permeates the leadership of this party,” Utaan said, adding, “Somebody needs to come to the table with new ideas, fresh energy, and humility to reach out to leaders and unify this party.”
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