The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has led to the emergence of two national chairmen, following a split within the ranks of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
The split within the party’s national leadership was caused by the ongoing tussle for control of the party’s soul in Rivers State, escalated by the recent local government elections approved by the party’s national leadership.
While one faction of the party is led by acting national chairman Ambassador Illiya Damagum, the other is led by the national treasurer of the party, Alhaji Yayari Ahmed Mohammed. This was preceded by the exchange of suspensions among some national executives, with Damagum’s camp suspending the national publicity secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, and the national legal adviser (NLA), Kamaldeen Adeyemi Ajibade, SAN, over alleged anti-party activities.
In turn, the Mohammed-led camp declared Damagum and the national secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, suspended.
Worried by the escalating situation, the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) called for calm and urged the warring factions to revert to the status quo. However, the PDP governors stated that there is no faction in the party, adding that a general meeting of all its stakeholders would be held soon to bridge the gaps within the party.
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday restrained the National Executive Committee (NEC) and BoT from removing Damagum as the party’s acting national chairman. Justice Peter Lifu, who issued the order, stated that no other person must be recognised as PDP acting national chairman other than Damagum until the party’s national convention, scheduled for December next year.
The court order comes ahead of the PDP NEC meeting scheduled for 24 October.
The drama in the party began less than 24 hours after the BoT met and called for a review of the recent state congresses. The BoT also insisted that the NEC meet as scheduled on 24 October to deliberate on the crisis rocking the party, including the Rivers State chapter and the recent congresses.
The PDP has been enmeshed in a pre-2023 presidential election crisis, compounded by the rift between FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Rivers State Governor Fubara over control of Rivers PDP and the recent conduct of the congresses.
While Damagum and some party officials recently met with Governor Seyi Makinde, Ologunagba and Ajibade met with Governor Mohammed, chairman of the PDP Governors Forum. After the separate meetings, Makinde declared support for Damagum’s continued stay as acting chairman, but Mohammed insisted that the acting chairman must vacate the seat for the North Central zone as designated by the party.
PDP members from the North Central region have insisted that Damagum, who is from the North East region, should revert to his deputy chairmanship position to allow the North Central to occupy the position vacated by Senator Iyorchia Ayu. Although hints of a split in the NWC had emerged due to the unfolding crisis, it came to a head yesterday with the suspension of party officials for alleged anti-party activities regarding the battle in Rivers State.
Suspensions
The Damagum-led faction said it suspended Ologunagba and Ajibade over allegations of abuse of office, insubordination, and refusal to adhere to the directives of the NWC. It further announced that a committee, to be chaired by the deputy national chairman (South), Amb. Taofeek Arapaja, would investigate the issues raised against the officers in compliance with the provisions of the party’s Constitution.
Providing further details, the acting national spokesperson of the Damagum camp, Ibrahim Abdullahi Manga, Ologunagba’s deputy, stated that his embattled colleagues acted against a resolution of the NWC regarding the Rivers local government election.
Manga said the party leadership decided collectively not to get involved in the dispute over the conduct of the Rivers local government election.
The rift between Governor Fubara and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over party control culminated in disputes regarding the conduct of the local government election.
Wike had opposed the conduct of the council poll, which Fubara insisted on holding even though the PDP refused to participate. However, on the eve of the exercise, a PDP statement signed by the national publicity secretary, Ologunagba, urged the people of Rivers to participate in the election, which was largely won by the Action Peoples Party (APP).
Manga said that at the NWC meeting where the decision to suspend the officers was made, eight of the 12 members present voted in favour of the suspension, while four voted against it.
“It was a collective decision,” he stated, adding that similar actions had occurred in Kebbi and Katsina States.
He remarked that the NWC has the power, at the request of members from a particular state, to decide either to suspend the election or refrain from participating in it.
“But an individual went and issued a contrary statement that we should participate in the election, which the party felt was not in the collective interest of the party,” he said.
Manga, however, dismissed the appointment of a new acting national chairman, claiming that the other group did not have the quorum to make that decision.
In a countermove, the PDP’s national publicity secretary, Ologunagba, declared Damagum and Anyanwu suspended for alleged anti-party activities.
In a press release, Ologunagba stated that the suspension was based on a decision made by the party’s NWC.
He said the PDP NWC had extensively considered the numerous complaints raised against Damagum and Anyanwu regarding a letter they addressed to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/PH/307/2024, concerning the party’s position in the case involving 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon defecting from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The NWC condemned this anti-party activity by the acting national chairman and the national secretary, which is in gross violation of the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) and their Oath of Office. Consequently, the NWC, pursuant to Sections 57, 58, and 59 of the PDP Constitution, has suspended Amb. Illiya Damagum and Sen. Samuel Anyanwu as acting national chairman and national secretary of the party respectively, and referred them to the National Disciplinary Committee for further action.
“In the meantime, the two officials are suspended from all meetings, activities, and programmes of the NWC pending the conclusion of investigations by the National Disciplinary Committee.”
In a subsequent statement, Ologunagba stated that following Damagum’s suspension, the NWC has approved the appointment of Alhaji Yayari Ahmed Mohammed as the acting national chairman, adding that it takes immediate effect according to the provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).
He urged all party organs, leaders, critical stakeholders, and members to remain focused as arrangements commence towards holding the party’s NEC meeting, already scheduled for Thursday, October 24, 2024.
BoT Wades In
The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the embattled PDP has, however, pleaded with the warring camps to sheathe their swords and de-escalate the tension.
The chairman of the PDP BoT, Senator Adolphus Wabara, stated that the warring parties must revert to the status quo to preserve the party’s unity and stability.
While he assured that the advisory would meet with the factions soon, he noted that the party had a conflict resolution mechanism to address the conflict.
In a statement, Wabara said, “We understand that disagreements may arise, but as a party with a long-standing tradition of internal democracy, we must not let these challenges derail our collective vision. The Board of Trustees will meet with the members of the NWC to intervene, foster reconciliation, and ensure that normalcy is restored in the NWC of our great party.”
No Faction in PDP – Gov Mohammed
Meanwhile, the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has dismissed talk of a faction within the party even as he underscored the need for unity among all stakeholders.
The governor, while addressing reporters in Bauchi shortly after an interactive session with Damagum and other Northeast stakeholders of the party, stated that efforts to keep PDP members united had gone far. He added that all stakeholders would be consulted to address all looming problems among party members.
“Henceforth, we will deepen collaboration and stakeholding to ensure that all these issues of suspension are resolved. We will not allow a gap,” he asserted.
Mohammed denied rumours that the PDP Governors Forum planned to remove Damagum as chairman, insisting that such insinuations were designed to cause chaos and division among forum members.
“We are not recognising any group as a faction. We are together as a party. Definitely, at the end of the day, we will all resolve this. There is no faction in the PDP,” he stated.
Speaking earlier at the meeting, Bala Mohammed said, “As a leader, I am highly privileged to receive this first-hand information, as it will determine our actions and our collaboration. The most important thing is that the North East is united; we are together and united with even those who were not here.”
He assured that all challenges would be resolved as stakeholders come together in a manner that is not about personal interests or problems. “We have discussed everything and will resolve it with the other organs, members of the PDP, the governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives, the Board of Trustees, including the National Working Committee,” he stated.
Court Bars PDP NEC, BoT from Sacking Damagum
The Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Ambassador Umar Ilya Damagum as the party’s acting national chairman.
The court ruled that no other person must be recognised as the PDP national chairman other than Damagum until the party’s national convention scheduled for December next year.
Justice Peter Lifu issued the restraining order against the PDP NEC, BoT, and others while delivering judgement in a suit instituted against them by Senator Umar El-Gash Maina. The judge held that, in line with Articles 42, 47, and 67 of the PDP Constitution, national officers can be elected only at the National Convention of the party.
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/579/2024, Justice Lifu stated that PDP members were bound by the Constitution of the party and must always act in accordance with its provisions.
The plaintiff, who claimed to be the chairman of the PDP in Yobe State, instituted the suit against the PDP and eight others, alleging that some stakeholders of the party had been holding clandestine meetings to forcefully remove Damagum from office, in gross violation of the party’s Constitution.
He claimed that the stakeholders were putting forward a former deputy governor of Kogi State, Dr. Phillip Omeiza Salawu, as a replacement for Damagum.
Maina alleged that upon becoming aware of the plan, two separate letters complaining about the clandestine meetings were delivered to the party’s national secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu. Despite acknowledging the two letters, the national secretary and BoT members have never deemed it fit to act on the letters and their claims.
In the suit instituted on his behalf by Joshua Musa, SAN, the plaintiff therefore prayed the court to invoke Articles 45, 47, and 67 of the PDP Constitution to halt the move to replace Damagum as the acting national chairman. The plaintiff specifically asked the court to declare that the national chairmanship of the PDP is rotated between the northern and southern regions and not through any other procedure not enshrined in the PDP’s Constitution.
In his judgment, after perusing the PDP’s Constitution and exhibits, Justice Lifu agreed with the plaintiff that Damagum could only be replaced at the national convention of the PDP or through a court order. Justice Lifu also held that any attempt to truncate the unexhausted four-year tenure of the northern region without the party’s national convention would amount to an affront to the Constitution of the PDP.
Earlier, the judge dismissed the defendant’s opposition to the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff had no locus standing to bring the case and that the court lacked jurisdiction.
Justice Lifu held that the plaintiff based his suit on the protection of the PDP Constitution from being violated and the northern region from being short-changed in the four-year tenure.
The judge, therefore, declared that the PDP NEC and BoT are bound by the party’s Constitution, and that Damagum, as national chairman, can only be replaced through the party’s national convention.
He also held that Damagum, having been appointed from the northern region where the former national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, hailed from, is entitled to serve out the remaining tenure of the national chairman.
Opposition Lawmakers Back New PDP Chairman
The spokesperson of the opposition lawmaker’ coalition, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, stated that his group supports Mohammed’s emergence as the party’s acting national chairman.
In a statement, Ugochinyere said there was jubilation in various quarters as PDP faithful, supporters, and stakeholders welcomed the turn of events. He noted that with Damagum’s removal, the PDP’s transformation will begin, as the party has faced many setbacks and challenges due to his alleged anti-party activities and association with the party’s enemies.
The member representing Ideato North/South federal constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives urged PDP governors and stakeholders to convene to address the situation concerning Damagum, whom he described as an APC agent. Ugochinyere also stated that no federal or state court order prevented the PDP NWC from sacking Damagum as acting national chairman.
He critiqued the judgement, asserting that Justice Lifu’s order, which was “in favour of the pro-Wike APC-backed PDP faction,” came after Damagum had been suspended.
He insisted that Mohammed remain the acting chair while the party awaits the NEC meeting later this month, urging the courts to stay out of the party’s internal affairs.
END
Be the first to comment