The future of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hangs in the balance as Nigerians await the National Executive Committee’s (NEC) decision on the fate of the party’s acting National Chairman, Illya Umar Damagum.
Despite widespread belief that the PDP is under the influence of Nysom Wike, expectations for positive outcomes from the NEC meeting are low.
Attempts by Atiku Abubakar, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, and his allies, including Senator Dino Melaye and the G60 Reps caucus, to oust Damagum have been unsuccessful. Instead, the National Caucus, which includes Atiku and his main rival, Nyesom Wike, the current FCT Minister, endorsed Damagum’s continued leadership of the party.
This decision has been a significant setback for Atiku and his allies, who had campaigned for Damagum’s removal, accusing him of being a Wike loyalist and damaging the party through his actions since losing the party ticket to Atiku in 2023.
Atiku won the PDP ticket, relegating Wike to second place. The former Rivers State Governor then allied with the ruling All Progressives Congress, contributing to the APC’s victory in the presidential election. He was subsequently appointed as the FCT minister.
The strategy was to remove Damagum, after which the new chairman would deal with Wike. However, the National Caucus, presided over by Damagum, decided in a lengthy meeting to postpone any leadership changes and instead address key issues at the NEC meeting.
Following the meeting, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, announced that the caucus prioritized reconciliation and unity over leadership changes. He stated that the NEC meeting would focus on unity and reconciliation, not leadership changes.
The caucus agreed to conclude all state and local government congresses between June and August this year and to extend the party’s constitution review committee to accept new recommendations.
Elsewhere, a series of events led to the belief that the crisis-ridden PDP could strengthen with a new national chairman. The first was a letter from Chief EK Ashiekaa, SAN, lawyer to the suspended national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, revealing that Ayu had withdrawn his appeal from the court of appeal.
This news sparked jubilation among the PDP’s G60 lawmakers, who are pushing for Damagum’s removal. They convened an emergency meeting, declaring it a step in the right direction and insisting that Damagum had no choice but to resign for a new chairman to emerge at the NEC meeting.
However, the Chairman of the PDP Governors, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, told journalists that only the NEC would decide Damagum’s fate. He stated that the meeting reviewed recent developments in the PDP and urged the NWC to initiate credible congresses in all states where the tenures of party officers have expired.
He emphasized that there are no factions in the PDP and that everyone is working together. He also reaffirmed the governors’ commitment to resolving all issues in Rivers State to unite all stakeholders. The meeting was attended by Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, the Vice Chairman of the PDP governors forum, and other governors, including Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State.
