Expectedly, ahead of the April 18 NEC meeting, the gladiators returned to the trenches. While Wike’s loyalists were pushing for the continuation of Damagum as acting national chairman, Atiku supporters were pushing for the replacement of the acting chairman with a candidate from the North Central; with both groups in the opposition party, jostling to outwit each in the quest to decide the leadership of the PDP.
The chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees ( BoT), Adolphus Wabara, while speaking at the NEC meeting, noted that Damagum has overstayed as acting national chairman.
Wabara said: “I must address a matter that weighs heavily on our collective conscience, the leadership of the party as it stands. Recalling the events that led to the ousting of the former Chairman of the party in person of H.E., Senator Iyorchia Ayu, the current Acting Chairman has spent over a year in office; whereas as the usual practice of the party, the region from whence the national officer hails from should have produced a viable candidate to complete the tenure of the former national officer. “
governor, Caleb Muftwang, has not been forthcoming with the zone’s nominee for the chairmanship of the opposition party.
Nevertheless, as gladiators in the party continue the battle for the soul of the PDP, the crisis in the opposition party is deepening.
Last month, the PDP NWC broke into two, after Damagum faction suspended the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba and the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade for alleged disloyalty.
On the flipside, Ologunagba, in a statement announced the sack of Damagum and Samuel Anyanwu as national chairman and national Secretary respectively. The PDP spokesman announced the appointment of the national treasurer, Ahmed Yayari as the new acting national chairman of the opposition party.
Representatives, Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, said the incessant postponement of the meeting is a ploy to keep Damagum as acting chairman until the 2027 general elections.
Ugochinyere said, “They have perfected a plan to ensure that the NEC meeting to choose a chairman from North Central where the position is originally supposed to come from is not possible. They want Umar Damagum to continue to parade as the National Chairman and stay in office till 2027, so they can foist on us a weakling that will be presidential candidate. “
The 2027 dimensions
Inside sources say the tussle for the control of the opposition party is motivated by the politics of the 2027 general elections. This is because whoever emerges as national chairman will preside over the December 2025 National Convention of the PDP, where new members of the NWC will be elected. And the NWC will in turn decide the issue of zoning for the next general election, as well as preside over the nomination of the presidential candidate.
Daily Sun gathered that owing to the perceived failures of the President Bola Tinubu administration, gladiators take it for granted that the electorate will naturally gravitate towards the PDP in 2027.
The Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, while speaking at the unveiling of the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI), had noted that Nigerians were looking up to the PDP for succour in 2027. Nevertheless, Makinde stated that the opposition party needed to be fixed, so that it can fix the country.
According to him, “as we approach 2027, it is clear that the PDP has to provide real hope for Nigeria. And by revitalizing the PDI, that real hope is being provided for our people. Our country needs direction. Nigerians are looking up to the PDP to provide an ideological foundation.
“The PDP can, and will do everything in its power to fix Nigeria. We can fix Nigeria. We’ll fix PDP and then PDP will fix Nigeria. And that will be the basis of real hope for the people of Nigeria.”
However, not a few party leaders believe that the crisis in the opposition party, especially, as it concerns disregard for the rules of the party, will militate against the ability of the PDP to re-organise itself for the 2027 polls.
A member of the PDP NEC, who does not want his name in print, told Daily Sun that in as much as Nigerians are looking up to the PDP for succour, the crisis is robbing the party of the opportunity to provide effective opposition and galvanize Nigerians for the next general election.
According to him, “for me, party is about whether we actually want to be a party of law and constitution or a party of individual prejudices or personal interests that often will obliterate our own capacity to even abide and stay within our laws and constitution.
“We expected that people holding position should recognize that the interest of the party should supersede individual interest. If we must continue to have supremacy of party constitution.”
He added that the resolution of the power tussle in the PDP, “is important not just for the party, even for democracy. When you don’t have a virile opposition, then the government in power can do whatever they like. An example of that is that the President just got up to say they are taking a loan of N2. 2billion dollars. Nobody discussed that. In a matter of hours, they passed it. What is the caucus of the opposition doing there. “
Source: Daily Sun
