PDP must not collapse, Bode George warns Damagun, Atiku

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has charged the duo of National Acting Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, and a presidential candidate in Nigeria’s last five elections, Abubakar Atiku, to embrace holistic measures aimed at resolving the party crisis.

In an interview first aired on Arise TV, George said the ongoing internal strife that has divided the party into three factions will work against its progress in the forthcoming presidential election in 2027.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis was ignited by controversy over the tenure of the party’s Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, and the struggle for the party’s ticket for the 2027 presidential election.

He denounced rumours making the rounds that the party is dead while assuring stakeholders and supporters that the PDP will rise from the ashes of defeat to take its rightful place in the Nigerian political system.

“You know, human beings are human beings. The only perfect being is the Almighty God. I have listened to a lot of people making comments on the state of our party. In fact, some people say that our party is dead, but our party is not dead. Discussions are ongoing, and, like you also observed, there are three major groups: the group of Damagum, the group of Atiku, and some other groups.

“As a life member of the Board of Trustees (BoT), I want you to look at our role in the management of the party. BoT is the custodian of the assets and liabilities of the party, and it is also the mediator when we have crises like this.

“I keep telling people we can disagree without being disagreeable, and I believe that this is not something that is completely out of control because, if we can manage ourselves effectively, we will be able to convince the electorate (in 2027). And no matter what crisis comes to us as a government (post-2027), we will be able to manage such crises.”

He said he is neither rooting for Damagum nor Atiku; rather, he is charging all factions to reunite as one body to avoid past mistakes at the polls.

“There were reasons why we allowed every zone to contest. Have people forgotten what happened on that convention floor? These are serious issues, and we must ensure they don’t happen again. We accepted that because of the reasons they gave. Now, everybody seems to believe and behave as if that doesn’t matter, including what Damagum is doing. Something leads to something, and that’s why we found ourselves where we are. Let’s be honest with ourselves.

He added, “I have no qualms about this. I am not supporting Damagum or Atiku or anybody. My concern is that this party should not be allowed to collapse. The Founding Fathers did so much to get us to this level. So, let’s holistically look at it so that we don’t repeat the mistake of the pitfalls of the past, and that’s what we are saying: that we look at it from all sides.”