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With barely 24 hours to the planned National Executive Committee meeting on Thursday, governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and other party bigwigs are further divided over the fate of the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, who many predicted could be asked to step down.
But the party chieftains loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, have vowed that Damagum will go nowhere.
The development took a dramatic twist on Tuesday morning when the other faction led by Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed sought a court order to stop the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission from annulling Thursday’s planned National Executive Council meeting.
The lawsuit, filed by Imam Auwal at a Zamfara High Court in Gusau Judicial Division, also sought to vacate an earlier injunction from the Federal High Court Abuja barring the PDP from removing Damagum from office.
However, notwithstanding the stance of the NWC, several PDP members noted that the ratification of the governors was crucial for the meeting to be held.
Owing to the uncertainty, the notice of Thursday’s meeting was yet to be sent to NEC members as of Tuesday evening.
This is just as the PDP Governors’ Forum is factionalised along the lines of those who want the meeting to be held and those who don’t.
While some governors insist that the NEC should hold, others including one from the South-West, North-East and North-Central are said to insist that the NEC meeting should be postponed.
With the key agenda of the meeting to be occupancy of the National Chairmanship of the PDP, those insisting on the meeting held that what would happen would be that the North-Central would be asked to present its candidate as Chairman while the acting chairman, Iliya Damagum, reverts to his former position as deputy national chairman.
Those keen on NEC postponed from Thursday argue that Damagum should be allowed to continue as acting chairman till the next convention of the party.
Some members also fear that the drama regarding the conduct of the NEC meeting may continue with the possibility of another faction still going to obtain a court order stopping the conduct of the meeting.
As the intrigues continue, former Senate President David Mark, ex-Governor of Benue State Senator Gabriel Suswam, and the Director General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Dr Emmanuel Agbo, are being positioned as favourites to replace the embattled acting national chairman.
But highly placed multiple sources in the National Working Committee of the party told The PUNCH that despite the number of members using court orders, including the existing one that mandates Damagum to remain in office till December 2025, it wouldn’t be easy for the NEC to unseat him unless he willingly volunteered to step down.
One of the sources said, “The position on Damagum now is far more complicated than when we first started. The complication there is that there are too many court orders, judgments and all that have not been taken into consideration. It is too tricky for the political party to act as though it can do things notwithstanding court orders and judgments.
“The second problem is that the PDP governors are still not on the same page. It has made deciding on the matter far more difficult. The constitution is also ambiguous on how much power the NEC has over the NWC. Though the power to summarily dissolve states was there, it was not given to them to do the same to the NWC. The powers of the NEC are beautiful and comprehensive. But still, it is a little bit also restrained.
“We created the slots for two national vice chairmen to cure the defect that in case something happens to the national chairman from a zone, we won’t run into the trouble of saying that zone can’t complete the tenure. It could have been Arapaja. But it wasn’t Arapaja because he had to remain in his zone where he came from. Now, the argument is neither here nor there.
“Those kinds of things are not open to interpretation and they have gone to courts to go and ask for a proper interpretation. And the court has given a judgment that he has the power to complete the tenure. Until you vacate a judgment, you can’t do anything about it. So, it’s a little bit complicated, honestly. There is convention and there is law. By convention, if Damagun agrees (to leave), they can do that, but if Damagun does not agree, they cannot do anything outside the law.”
Bode George laments
Former Deputy National Chairman (South-West) of the PDP, Bode George, lamented that the PDP was gradually deviating from the vision of the founding fathers.
George also noted that some elders of the party, including himself, would be available for the NEC meeting on Thursday.
He said, “If the NEC meeting comes up, we are going to tell ourselves some serious things. For me, at my age, what am I looking for? I am still concerned because the ethics left by Dr Alex Ekwueme is the minimum standard we should use as a yardstick to build up on the foundation. All sides have asked us to calm down.
“Mistakes were made at that national convention. That mistake now has become a massive tool, like a rock that wants to smash people. We, the elders, will be the NEC. We were the first elected managers of the party in December 1999 when the old babas (fathers) handed over to us and they were alive. Most of those who are alive now are already too old to get involved with all these discussions. That is why some of us continue to believe in the ethics of this party. We are still talking to these people. No individual can turn the party into a private enterprise.”
Speaking on the genesis of the current crisis, George blamed former Sokoto Governor, Aminu Tambulwa, for taking an unpopular decision that subsequently divided the PDP.
The former deputy national chairman admitted that the party needed healing.
He said, “It was at the presidential convention that it all started when Atiku won. Those who were able to manipulate the convention at that time won the hearts and minds of the people. That was how they spoke. Tambuwal made an address to the convention, everybody clapped and the last candidate was Wike. The next thing was for us to start voting. The man who was chairman of that convention was David Mark.
“He announced that the Governor of Sokoto (Tambuwal) has a message for the convention. Everybody was saying, ‘What message?’ And he said he was stepping down and all delegates should vote for Atiku. I remember Ayu saying ‘Tambuwal is the hero of the convention,’ not knowing that we were planting another tree that would consume this party and the philosophy on which these founding fathers established the party. And that was the beginning of this crisis. And we should have gone ahead to nip it in the bud.
“Simply put, the Nigerian constitution doesn’t have all these zones. Nigerian constitution does not recognise south-west, south-east, south-south, north-west, north-east, north-east. These fathers conceptualised it. We have allowed devils to enter into our party. Let’s get in there. We haven’t had a serious NEC meeting for a very long time. But look at the APC, are they not almost rejoicing?”
A former PDP National Publicity Secretary and member of NEC, Kola Ologbodiyan, however, appealed for calm, stressing that the party was bigger than Wike and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
According to him, the welfare of the masses and their role in nation-building should be the focus.
“I honestly don’t believe that the totality of PDP revolves around these two leaders alone. The situation confronting Nigerians and the country today is concerning to all, and as such, the PDP must not be allowed to go down for any reason.
“PDP must not be compromised to the extent that it will become a department in the APC. That is the crux of the matter. Therefore, reducing the issues of PDP to Atiku and Wike is begging the challenges confronting the party.”
‘Meeting must hold’
However, one of the chairmanship aspirants of the PDP, Conrad Utaan, stated that calling off the NEC is in no one’s interest.
Utaan spoke through his media aide, Bemgba Iortyom, the immediate past Publicity Secretary of Benue PDP.
He said, As it stands now, we have not yet had any correspondence to the effect that NEC is not going to hold. That is the constitutional requirement. So, the NEC of the 24th is not left to the whim or is not left to the arbitrariness of any individual within the party. It was set at the last NEC. This is the 99th NEC. The 98th NEC had already scheduled the 99th NEC.
“It is not about being on any side of the divide. The Damagun that we are talking about is a creation of the laws of the PDP. Damagun did not usurp the position that he is occupying right now. The Constitution provides for that. The constitution of the PDP provides for a replacement for any vacated position.
“Now, in this particular instance, when Iyochia Ayu was ousted from that position, the constitution provides that the deputy chairman from his region or zone. Again, the NEC that is scheduled to be held is a lawful exercise. Damagun, as acting national chairman of the PDP, is backed by law. And so, it’s not about which divide anyone stands on.”
Oyinlola panel
Meanwhile, the Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led Reconciliation Committee set up to resolve the factionalisation of the NWC in the opposition party on Tuesday announced that it had completed its mission.
Addressing journalists after a three-hour marathon meeting with the warring parties, Oyinlola disclosed that the differences that permeated the rank and file of the NWC had been resolved for the party to forge ahead in the task of nation-building.
He said, “The outcome of today’s (Tuesday) meeting is that, to the glory of God, we have been able to resolve the differences that have been causing our party some headaches within the National Working Committee.
“We thank God that we have been able to open up ourselves and resolve to move on as a united NWC. This is what we needed for the progress of our party in the PDP.”
Oyinlola, however, declined to comment on the issues deliberated and resolved at the NWC session.
“The issues resolved are the differences that have permeated the rank and file of the NWC. I cannot be itemising them for you now,” he stated
On whether the controversial NEC meeting will be held on Thursday as being pushed by a faction loyal to Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, he added, “That (NEC) wasn’t part of our discussion. I am telling you again that it wasn’t, and I am not in a position to talk about the NEC meeting. I am the Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee.
“There were differences in the NWC and that has been resolved. So my job is finished.”
Meanwhile, an NWC member privy to their discussion, who didn’t want to be mentioned, corroborated his position.
Although he also declined to go into details about what transpired, the source, however, explained that the outcome and recommendations were tabled by the PDP governors for a final decision on Tuesday night.
“The outcome of our meeting was sealed at the PDP Governors’ Forum tonight (Tuesday),” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Bala Mohammed; Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke; his counterpart from Rivers, Siminalayi Fubara and Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal were at the Bauchi State Governors’ Lodge in Abuja for the party’s crucial forum meeting.
In addition to the governors, other members of the NWC at the venue include the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Adolphus Wabara, and the Board of Trustees secretary, Ahmed Makarfi.
Also present were the PDP acting National Chairman, Damagum; National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature; Deputy National Chairman (South), Taofeek Arapaja and National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, among others.
The PDP Governors’ Forum, led by Bauchi State Governor, addressed the NEC meeting, the work of the disciplinary and reconciliation committee, the contentious replacement of Damagum, the recent Edo gubernatorial election, and the upcoming Ondo State gubernatorial election.
