PDP crisis: Makinde backs embattled Damagum as govs, NWC plan sack

• BoT hails Mohammed as party’s messiah
• Makinde declares support for Damagum, Ighodalo

The governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) have finalised plans to sack IIiya Umar Damagum as the party’s acting national chairman.

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, who is also the PDP Governors’ Forum chairman, made the revelation on Tuesday night shortly after meeting with the party’s NWC.

Damagum’s position as acting national chairman had always been shaky, as he occupies a position zoned to the North Central.

Prof Iyorchia Ayu, from Benue State in the North Central, became the national chairman after the position was ceded to the zone, but Damagum, from Kebbi State in the North East, was named acting national chairman after Ayu was forced out in 2023.

The PDP North Central caucus has been agitating for Damagum to step down so the zone can produce a substantive national chairman who will complete Ayu’s tenure.

However, the party’s leadership was silent on the matter until Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister Nyesom Wike, Damagum’s major backer, threatened to put fire in the states of PDP governors for supporting their Rivers State colleague, Siminalayi Fubara.

Damagum had been working with Wike to strip Fubara of any influence in Rivers PDP, leading to speculation that the governor would leave the party.

Damagum handed Wike control of the PDP structure in Rivers after approving the state congress held on August 31, 2024, where the minister’s loyalists took all the positions.

Fubara and his camp boycotted the congress.

Wike was summoned by the PDP Disciplinary Committee after his outburst against the governors, who had responded to the threat by openly backing Fubara, insisting that, as the governor, he should be recognised as the party’s leader in his state.

However, as the governors and Wike engage in a battle of supremacy, indications have emerged that Damagum is set to become the major casualty in the fight between the two elephants.

The agitation of the PDP North Central caucus to be allowed to produce the party’s national chairman, in line with the subsisting zoning arrangement, was revisited at the meeting between Mohammed and members of the NWC.

Addressing journalists at the meeting, Mohammed said it was a constitutional aberration for Damagum to remain in office. He said the North Central would be allowed to complete the tenure of the former national chairman, Ayu, who hails from Benue State.

He said, “My brother from the North East is acting as the national chairman, and it is a constitutional aberration because, according to our constitution, any vacancy in a leadership position should return to where it was created.

“We know North Central has been craving it, and we have discussed the issue and will work with that as the chairman, the NWC, and the party to ensure that North Central is given the opportunity to assume that responsibility.

“The North East also benefited from such constitutional arrangements after the resignation of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. Former Governor Ahmadu Muazu became the national chairman of the PDP. By the grace of God, it is not something that is in contention.”

Interestingly, the PDP NWC delegation that met with Mohammed in Bauchi was led by the party’s National Legal Advisor, Kamaldeen Ajibade Adeyemi, and not Damagum, who ought to have led the team in his capacity as acting national chairman.

The development could signal a factionalisation of the body.

However, Mohammed further disclosed that the NWC delegation had supported the decision of the PDP Governors’ Forum to back Rivers Governor, Fubara, as the leader of the PDP in the state.

Mohammed added, “The decision is in order and that is how it is supposed to be. Governor Fubara is the leader of the party in the state. It is along this line that we collectively agreed to the rule of law, and the delegation gave their firm commitment and support for the position of the PDP Governors’ Forum in Rivers State.”

He also revealed that the governors are working to find an amicable resolution to the Rivers crisis.

“We all know the relationship between the FCT minister (Wike) and the current governor of Rivers State, which is that of mentor and mentee. We are working behind the scenes to ensure they come together to work together in a manner that the PDP is known for. Certainly, it is not something we can dictate here, but we have summoned the courage and the will to ensure that the correct thing is done.”

A source at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja, who did not wish to be named, said the party is expected to commence the process for Damagum’s removal as acting national chairman and the election of a substantive National Chairman from the North Central in the coming days.

“It is expected that a National Executive Council meeting will be convened to address this issue,” the source added.

The NEC meeting, earlier scheduled for September 26, was postponed. Party sources insinuated that Damagum called it off as a ploy to stop the party’s highest decision-making body from overturning his decision to recognise the Rivers congress, which handed Wike the PDP structure in the state.

MEANWHILE, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde declared his full support for Damagum yesterday.

Makinde made this declaration while speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony to upgrade Ibadan Airport to international standard.

Damagum was accompanied by other members of the NWC, including the deputy national chairman (South), Taofeek Arapaja, the South West zonal chairman, the South East zonal chairman, and others.

The NWC of the party had rectified the ward congress held in Rivers State in favour of Nyesom Wike.

Makinde said, “On the issue of PDP leadership, I totally support Damagum as PDP Chairman because this is not the time to encourage crisis.”

Also, Makinde expressed support for Asue Ighodalo, the party’s candidate in the Edo State gubernatorial election.

He said, “I could not attend the PDP’s final campaign rally in Edo, but I am 100 per cent in support of Ighodalo, and anyone who wants the best for Edo people should vote for the PDP candidate on Saturday.”

THIS came as the PDP Board of Trustees described Mohammed as a ‘messiah’ considering the party’s ongoing crisis.

The chairman of the Board, Adolphus Wabara, led the Board to Bauchi Government House yesterday, where they held a consultative meeting with Mohammed.

Wabara stated that the Board decided to visit Mohammed in his capacity as Bauchi State governor and as the chairman of the Governors’ Forum to consult with him and his colleagues.

Wabara expressed dissatisfaction with the party’s crisis and emphasised the need to address issues.

Mohammed acknowledged the significance of the Board of Trustees as the party’s conscience and emphasised the wealth of human capital within the PDP.

He stressed the need to unite the party for the common good and mentioned that the governors are united and supportive of the efforts to bring everyone together.

The meeting in Bauchi took place 24 hours after some members of the party’s National Working Committee visited Mohammed to express their support for the Forum regarding the political crisis in Rivers State involving Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.