The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has finally finished itself. On Thursday, October 10, the leadership of the Party which has since closed its eyes to the many obvious anti-party activities by a number of its high profile members, decided to dance naked in the market place. The members of the National Working Committee, NWC, now divided into, at least, two factions, engaged each other in suspension and counter-suspension exercise.
By engaging in this, not a few hold the opinion that the main opposition party has, finally, finished itself.
For long, the PDP has been engaged in sabotaging itself, with the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum and the Party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, being accused of ineffectiveness and pro- FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike who many accuse of brazen disloyalty.
On Thursday, the crisis within boiled over.
A Faction of the Party’s National Working Committee, NWC, paid back Damagum and Anyanwu back in their own coin. This followed the earlier suspensions announced by a faction aligned with Damagum, which targeted the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, and National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, for similar allegations of disloyalty, and suspended them from the Party.
In what could be termed a reprisal attack, Ologunagba alongside Party Chieftains who had been suspended by Damagum’s faction, issued a statement Friday morning and suspended both Damagum and Anyanwu from their offices.
The statement reads:
“The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has extensively considered the series of complaints raised against the Acting National Chairman, Amb. Illiya Damagum and National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu particularly with regard to the letter addressed by them to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No:CA/PH/307/2024 against the party’s position in the case involving the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The NWC condemned this anti-party activity of 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 programs of the NWC pending the conclusion of an investigation by the National Disciplinary Committee.”
The PDP has been engulfed in crisis since from the time of the 2023 Presidential Primary of the Party.
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