The internal crisis within Nigeria’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has escalated as a faction of the National Working Committee (NWC) has taken drastic action by suspending the acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, and the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu. The suspensions come amid accusations of disloyalty to the party, adding another layer to the ongoing conflict within the PDP’s leadership.
This latest move follows an earlier decision by a faction of the NWC, aligned with Damagum, to suspend two other top party members – National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade and National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba. They were also accused of disloyalty to the party, sparking significant tensions within the party’s leadership ranks.
However, in an unexpected twist, Debo Ologunagba, one of the officials recently suspended, issued a statement on Friday announcing the suspension of both Damagum and Anyanwu. His statement highlighted that the NWC had received complaints against the two suspended leaders regarding actions they had taken that went against the party’s interests.
The central issue stems from a letter sent by Damagum and Anyanwu to the Court of Appeal concerning an ongoing case involving 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. These members had vacated their seats after defecting from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to Ologunagba’s statement, the NWC viewed this move as a violation of party loyalty and a breach of the PDP constitution.
The statement read in part, “The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has extensively considered the series of complaints raised against the Acting National Chairman, Amb. Illiya Damagum and National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu particularly with regard to the letter addressed by them to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No:CA/PH/307/2024 against the party’s position in the case involving the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
“The NWC condemned this anti-party activity of the Acting National Chairman and the National Secretary which is in gross violation of the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) and their Oath of Office.
“Consequently, the NWC, pursuant to Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the PDP Constitution, has suspended Amb. Illiya Damagum and Sen. Samuel Anyanwu as Acting National Chairman and National Secretary of the Party respectively and referred them to the National Disciplinary Committee for further action.
“In the meantime, the two officials are suspended from all meetings, activities and programs of the NWC pending the conclusion of an investigation by the National Disciplinary Committee.”
