UPDATED: ‘No Suspension’ – PDP Govs Tell Damagum, Ologunagba To Revert To Status Quo

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors Forum (PDP-GF), has temporarily brokered a truce between rival factions in the party’s NWC that have set the beleaguered party on fire in the past month to revert to the status quo.

The party said there’s no crisis in the party and therefore there’s no suspension.

The directive was issued on Tuesday by the Chairman of the forum, who is also Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, after a two-day meeting of the governors which ended in the early hours of Tuesday.

Mohammed said as a political party, the PDP was bound to have disputes among members but that those challenges can always be resolved.

“There is no crisis. The Governors, BoT, and the National Assembly caucus have agreed that the NWC should revert to the status quo,” Mohammed said.

The governor, accompanied by the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, while travelling to Ondo State for a PDP gubernatorial campaign rally, announced that suspensions from both factions had been nullified.

Also speaking, Damagum confirmed that the crisis is over, adding, “The party is united, and no members of the NWC left before.”

The crisis in the party which saw the exit of Uche Secondus and Iyorcha Ayu as chairmen came to ahead in the past week with Damagum-led NWC suspending the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, and National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN.

Ologunagba and Ajibade were accused of anti-party activities for leading key voices, urging the Damagum to adhere to the party’s constitution in its daily operations.

A statement from the PDP National Director of Publicity, Chinwe Nnorom, said, “The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) arising from its 593rd Meeting today, Thursday, October 10, 2024, has directed the National Publicity Secretary (NPS), Hon Debo Ologunagba and National Legal Adviser (NLA), Kamaldeen Adeyemi Ajibade, SAN, to step aside.”

While announcing that the NWC had constituted a committee to be chaired by the Deputy National Chairman (South) H.E. Amb. Taofeek Arapaja, to investigate the issues raised against the officers in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution, the party “directed their respective deputies (DNPS and DNLA) to assume office in acting capacity with effect from Friday, October 11, 2014, pending the conclusion of the investigation by the Committee. The officers are:

“Ibrahim Abdullahi Manga, Acting National Publicity Secretary and Okechukwu Osuoha, Acting National Legal Adviser.”

But in a tit-for-tat, the Ologunagba faction announced the suspension of the embattled acting National Chairman and the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu.

Ologunagba, in a statement on Friday, announcing the suspension of Damagum and Anyanwu said, “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 concerning 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, under 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.”