Rumpus in Wadata House as PDP faction suspends Acting National Chairman, Damagum

• Appoints National Treasurer, Yayari Mohammed, To Lead Party
• Damahum-led NWC Declares Action Null And Void
• BoT Wades In, Urges Warring Factions To Revert To Status Quo
• Damagum Can Only Be Replaced At National Convention, Court Rules

There is commotion in the Wadata House headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja following the suspension and counter-suspension of the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

But the Umar Damagum-led NWC of the party has dismissed the emergence of a factional national chairman of the party, Yayari Ahmed Mohammed .

Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ibrahim Abdullahi, at a press conference in Abuja, said it was wrong for anybody to just wake up and make pronouncements regarding the leadership of the party, stating that the emergence of Mohammed was null and void.

This is even as a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday restrained the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party from removing Damagum as the Acting National Chairman.

Spokesman of the Mohammed-led faction, Debo Ologunagba, who was suspended by the party on Thursday night by the Damagum faction, had in a statement earlier on Friday disclosed that “following the suspension of His Excellency, Amb. Illiya Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of our great party, the National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP has approved the appointment of Alhaji Yayari Ahmed Mohammed as the Acting National Chairman.”

According to Ologunagba, “the appointment which takes immediate effect is pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).”

He called on all organs, leaders, critical stakeholders and members of the party “to remain focused at this critical time especially as the NWC commences arrangements towards the holding of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting already scheduled for Thursday, October 24, 2024.”

However, Abdullahi noted that the PDP remained guided by its rules and constitution, which according to him remained sacrosanct.

The PDP has also provided justifications for the suspension of Ologunagba and the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Adeyemi Ajibade.

It explained that the two officers were accused of insubordination and disloyalty to the party.

According to Abdullahi, Ologunagba disloyally issued a statement and urged members of PDP to participate in Rivers State local council elections contrary to the position of the NWC.

Similarly, the National Secretary of the PDP, Sam Anyanwu, has explained that Ajibade and Ologunagba were suspended on Thursday, stating that the purported suspension of Damagum was an act of revenge mission that would fail.

He stressed that “the NWC came to this conclusion by voting and out of the 12 members present, eight voted in favour of the suspension while four voted against.”

Anyanwu also dismissed reports on social media alleging that he was suspended alongside Damagun.

In a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Ikenna Onuoha, he described the report as “false, misleading and mischievous,” urging the public to disregard it.

The statement read in part: “The attention of Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu has been drawn to a misleading story on social media claiming to have purportedly suspended him as National Secretary of the PDP alongside the National Acting Chairman, Amb. Iliya Damagun.

“This is not true. The story is entirely false, mischievous and misleading. The public is enjoined to ignore it.

“The truth of the matter is that the NWC of the party led by Amb. Iliya Damagun on Thursday, October 10, 2024, suspended the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba and the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Adeyemi Ajibade (SAN) for gross insubordination.

“Regrettably, instead of the suspended party officers to accept their suspension in good faith, they defiantly and grossly issued a press statement on Friday morning, a day after their suspension, purportedly suspending Senator Samuel Anyanwu and the National Acting Chairman as part of their petty revenge mechanism. What they fail to understand is that the PDP constitution does not give someone on suspension the powers to exercise any duty(ies) while serving the punishment until cleared.

“Considering their actions as serious misconduct not befitting of the positions they occupy, the NEC of the party has set up a disciplinary committee headed by Deputy National Chairman (South) Amb. Taofeek Arapaja, to look into the matter and report back.”

He added: “As part of its mandate to maintain sanity, the NWC also directed the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Manga and the Deputy National Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha, to step into the shoes of the suspended officers in line with the constitution of the party.

“Meanwhile, their suspension was confirmed in a statement signed by Chinwe Nnorom, PDP’s National Director of Publicity, and availed to the public. The suspended officers are expected to be remorseful and desist from any act that may likely impugn the image of the party.”

On its part, the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in a statement on Friday called on the two factions to sheath their swords and de-escalate the tension in the party.

Chairman of the BoT, Adolphus Wabara, who signed the statement, said “the warring persons must, in the overall interest of the party, revert to the status quo to preserve the unity and stability of our great party.”

The statement added: “We understand that disagreements may arise, but as a party with a long-standing tradition of internal democracy, we must not let these challenges derail our collective vision. The Board of Trustees will meet with the members of the NWC to intervene, foster reconciliation, and ensure that normalcy is restored in the NWC of our Great Party.”

The Federal High Court presided by Justice Peter Lifu ordered that no other person must be recognised as PDP national chairman other than Damagum until the national convention of the party scheduled for December next year.

The court issued the restraining order against PDP NEC, BoT and others while delivering judgment in a suit instituted against them by Senator Umar El-Gash Maina.

The judge held that in line with Articles 42, 47 and 67 of PDP, it is only at the National Convention of the party that national officers can be elected.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/579/2024, Justice Lifu said that PDP members are bound by the constitution of the party and as such must always act in line with the provisions and be obedient to the party’s laws.

The plaintiff, who claimed to be chairman of PDP in Yobe State, had instituted the suit against PDP and eight others alleging that some stakeholders of the party had been holding clandestine meetings to forcefully remove Damagum from office in gross violation of the party’s constitution.

He said that a former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Dr. Phillip Omeiza Salawu, was being pushed forward as replacement for Damagun by the stakeholders.

Maina claimed that upon becoming aware of the plan, two separate letters complaining against the clandestine meetings were delivered to the national secretary of the party, and that despite the acknowledgment of the two letters, the national secretary and BoT members have never deemed it fit to act on the letters and their claims.

In the suit instituted on his behalf by Joshua Musa (SAN), the plaintiff prayed the court to invoke Article 45, 47 and 67 of PDP constitution to stop the move to replace Damagum as the acting national chairman.

The plaintiff specifically asked the court to declare that the national chairmanship of PDP is rotated between the North and South region and not through any other procedure not enshrined in the party’s constitution.

In his judgment after perusing the PDP’s constitution and exhibits, Justice Lifu agreed with the plaintiff that Damagum can only be replaced at the national convention of PDP or through an order of a court.

Justice Lifu also held that any attempt to truncate un-exhausted four years tenure of the northern region without the national convention of the party would amount to an affront to the constitution of the PDP.

Earlier, the judge had dismissed the opposition of the defendants to the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff had no locus standi to bring out the case and that the court lacked jurisdiction.

Justice Lifu held that the plaintiff predicated his suit on the protection of the PDP constitution from being violated and the northern region, his zone, from being short changed from the four year tenure.

Justice Lifu said that the plaintiff having displayed his PDP membership card before the court and having raised the fundamental issue of protecting PDP’s Constitution had sufficient interest and justiciable cause to institute the case.

The judge therefore declared that PDP NEC and BoT are bound by the party’s Constitution and that Damagum as national chairman can only be replaced through the national convention of the party.

He also held that Damagum having been appointed from the northern region where the former national chairman, Senator Iyorcha Ayu, hails from is entitled to serve out the remaining tenure of the national chairman.