PDP: Reps Caucus’ Meeting Fails To Endorse Damagu’s Chairmanship

The Caucus meeting of members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 ended in a commotion as lawmakers in the different divide between pro-Atiku Abubakar and Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike disagreed over a vote of confidence to be passed on the Party’s Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damgun to continue in office in acting capacity.

The Reps Caucus meeting which was conveyed by Minority Leader of the House, Hon Kingsley Chinda, which took place at Committee Room 301 in the National Assembly, ahead of Thursday’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP failed to achieve its purpose.

This was as it was gathered that the main agenda of the pre-NEC meeting was to pass a vote of confidence on Damagun by the lawmakers loyal to the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, but was met with stiff opposition by the group of over 60 lawmakers on the aegis of Coalition of Opposition Lawmakers led by Hon Ikenga Ugochinyere.

A member of the Ugochinyere-led group, who revealed the outcome of the meeting on the condition of anonymity, said the move to pass an illegal vote of confidence on Damagun failed flat on its face value and could not hold.

According to him; “We are glad that the plan of the pro-Wike group supporting Damagun fell like a pack of cards as we refused all entreaties to perpetuate illegality and stoking of crisis in the party.

“Our position remains that Damagun must go for someone from North-central to take over and complete Ayu’s tenure. Our group is in the majority with over 60 members and they know that they cannot do anything to pull through.

“Our party needs total overhaul and reformation. We currently have in the PDP a national leadership that is in bed with the APC and is working extremely hard to hand over the party to the APC for his greed and selfish interest.

“This is quite shameful and disheartening. But, we won’t fold our hands and let that happen. We are aside other demands insisting on 100 percent formation of caretaker PDP executive list at all levels without any tampering or inclusion of new names outside the earlier resolution that members of the expiring executives should act as caretaker for three months pending the conduct of substantive election.

“Our party will not be overtaken by APC. We are here to serve the Nigerian people not to the whims and caprices of some selfish politicians,” he stressed.

The Ugochinyere-led group insisted that the Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Damagun should resign to give room for someone from the North-central zone to take the position and complete the mandate of the zone in line with the provisions of PDP’s constitution pending the conduct of a national convention.

The group specifically insisted on the expulsion of the former governor of Rivers State and present minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike and other members of the PDP involved in anti-party activities.

The group of 60 PDP members in the House of Representatives had last week, threatened to quit the party if the doctored list of Caretaker Committees in Rivers and 10 other States, which was filled with members and loyalists of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was not nullified and pointedly demanded the resignation of the acting national chairman of PDP, Damagun, who they noted was encouraging anti-party activities.

The Coalition of opposition lawmakers at a press conference addressed by their Spokesperson, Hon Ikenga Ugochinyere, said they cannot be in a political party where the activities of such party are determined by another political party.

They said; “We call for immediate resignation of Umar Iliya Damagun as Ag National Chairman of PDP for anti-party activities and allow North central produce the acting chairman as clearly stated in the PDP constitution or watch us reconsider our membership of the party in the months ahead if the right thing is not done.

“The NEC of the Party should ensure that the list of party Caretaker Committees in Rivers State and all other 10 states tampered by Damagun and his APC friends are reversed and announced as originally agreed, that is by extension of the tenures of the outgoing leadership. Any tampering in any state will be resisted and not acceptable. They should also ensure that disciplinary action and punishment are meted out on FCT minister Wike and his cohorts for anti-party activities,” they declared.