PDP Crisis: Support Damagum Or Leave – Elected Deputies Tell Opponents

Elected deputies of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) have asked those seeking to remove the party’s acting national chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, from office to either live with the fact that he will remain in office until December 2025 or leave the party.

Deputy National Youth Leader, Comrade Timothy Osadolor, said this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

Osadolor, who led four other deputies to the media briefing, noted it was high time party leaders set aside pride and admitted that they all played a part in bringing the party to its present sorry state.

He said, “From 2013 to date, personal ambitions have driven us to heights of pure mischief and arrogant use of power.

“This has led to agreements not being kept and the ambiguities in our Constitution being exploited by those in position, even through the courts.

“We are all complicit by being perpetrators, supporters, or silent. No one is coming to save us; we must stand up and become heroes; we brought ourselves here.

“This is no longer the time for a blame game; all have sinned. From the BOT chairman, who endorsed an opposition governor, to candidates that negotiated and supported other party candidates in promises to get their return support, to NWC members and leaders that lost their polling units.

“We must all come down from our high horses, forget pride for now, and join hands with the party as led by Amb. Illya Damagum to reposition this party back to winning ways.

“Court distractions and media demarketing of the PDP must stop forthwith. You do not need to like the officers, but the party is more important.

“If you want to resign and go, be a proper opposition; do not be here and go from TV house to radio house abusing the party.

“The case of the acting national chairman is settled till December 2025, and on that of the National Secretary, we wait on the courts. Let’s learn to love and support PDP first and always.”

Osadolor maintained that the PDP is not only dealing with the tyranny of the All Progressives Congress-led federal government against the party and Nigerians but that it is equally dealing with the disillusionment of members across the country and beyond.

He listed some of the reasons for this situation to include distrust, insincerity, lack of firm enforcement of agreements, self-serving interests, and unnecessary eye service that is laced with smooth tongues.

Osadolor further chided unnamed party leaders whom he accused of lurking behind the scenes to cause misunderstanding within the party.

“This behaviour is apparently self-serving on their part, as it is not in the interest of the PDP in any way. It is ethically and morally wrong for members of the party to move around creating confusion instead of exploring our internal mechanism for peace,” he added.

Present at the briefing were Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor, Deputy National Publicity Secretary Ibrahim Abdullahi, Deputy National Financial Secretary Ndubisi Eneh, and National Deputy Organising Secretary Pascal Adigwe.