April 21, (THEWILL) – Despite overcoming a potential threat to party cohesion on Wednesday as the National Working Committee, NWC, and the National Caucus voted for the retention of the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, still has more hurdles to scale.
No less a person than the Chairman of the Board of Trustee, Senator Adolphus Wabara, put a finger to the challenge a day after. According to him, the continued stay in office of the duo of Damagun and National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, was raising tension in the party and weighing on the “collective conscience of all of them.”
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 the 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 where the national officer comes from should have produced a viable candidate to complete the tenure of the former national officer.
“Furthermore, the contentious issue surrounding the office of the National Secretary has regrettably sown seeds of discord within our party. The ambiguity surrounding this position has led to confusion and internal strife, hindering our collective efforts to pursue our noble objectives.”
Wabara said the party’s constitution was being by-passed in addressing these lingering issues by those who deliberately choose to institute legal disputes over party cohesion and supremacy.
Damagun, who had previously served as National Deputy Chairman, North, had assumed the leadership role in acting capacity, following the hasty exit of former National Chairman, Prof Iyorchia Ayu, in the instance of a court suspension in March 2023.
Anyanwu’s continued stay in office, even as he contested the Imo State governorship election and lost to the incumbent Governor Hope Uzodinma, created so much crisis within the state chapter and the nation that confusion and strife has continued to haunt the party.
Indeed, the party recently approved the appointment of caretaker committees in 21 states, including the FCT, where the tenures of its executive members had expired. In many other states as well, the ward and local government executive structures are almost expired.
It was not, therefore, a surprise that last Wednesday through Thursday meeting of the National Executive of the party featured the two tendencies loyal to the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and its 2023 presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, respectively, each trying to assert its control of the party’s machinery.
Investigation, however, shows that while the forces within try to battle for control of the party’s structure, the upcoming governorship elections in Edo State and Ondo State, have presented the party with no option for now.
The Edo State governorship poll comes up on September 26, 2024, while that of Ondo will take place on November 14, 2024. Although the party has successfully concluded the primary election in Edo State, it still has the yet-to-be-held one in Ondo to contend with. Both states present the party with a tough battle against its rival All Progressives Congress, APC. In both states, the two parties are the major contenders and they each have one state apiece; APC controls Ondo, while PDP governs Edo State.
A win in Ondo will boost the PDP’s image in the South-West geo-political zone where it currently controls two, Oyo and Osun, out of the six states there. Conversely, the APC will consolidate its image in the South-South if it wins in Edo and with Cross Rivers State, make it two over six in that geo-political zone.
According to Damagun, these two challenges are the main focus of the party for now, even as he said his leadership was consulting widely to maintain order in the party.
He said, “We have been active and diligent despite the challenges that have arisen in various forms. We have two elections approaching in Edo and Ondo States. We are optimistic that following the upcoming primary in Ondo, the future of that election looks promising. We have performed admirably to the extent that we can confidently say that in that election, with our collective efforts, we will emerge victorious.
The National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the NEC has “charged all Organs, leaders, critical stakeholders and indeed, all members of the PDP to close ranks, put aside every personal or group interests and work together in the overall effort to reposition and return the PDP to power at the centre in the interest of the Nigerian people.”
To accomplish these tasks, the NEC received and approved the timetable for party congresses across the country; approved the reconstitution of the party’s Disciplinary and Reconciliation Committees to further ensure the stability of the party and approved the extension of the life of the Constitution Amendment Committee to allow it to receive new amendment proposals for inclusion in its deliberation and final report for consideration by the NEC.
Amos Esele is the Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
