A faction of the party is accusing the acting National Chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum, and National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, of orchestrating a plot to undermine the party’s interests in Rivers State.
By Emma Ogbuehi
Barely one week after setting up a 25-member national reconciliation committee and a day after approving a 26-member disciplinary committee, the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is yet to ebb. It has rather taken another wider and worrisome dimension, with a faction of the party accusing the acting National Chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum, and National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, of orchestrating a plot to undermine the party’s interests in Rivers State.
The reconciliation committee has Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as Chairman, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo as Member/Secretary and Chief Anicho Okoro as Administrative Secretary. Its main assignment is to resolve the crisis affecting the party and reconcile all the aggrieved members. The disciplinary committee is headed by former foreign affairs minister, Chief Tom Ikimi.
Both bodies are yet to get down to work when a new wave of confusion hit the party. The bone of contention this time, is the claim by the faction, led by Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere that Damagum and Anyanwu are working against the party’s legal team, led by National Legal Adviser, Mr. Ajibade, SAN, in a court case involving the defection of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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The group alleged in a press statement that Damagum and Anyanwu have filed an appeal against an interim court order restraining the APC members from taking any action, despite the National Legal Adviser’s decision to withdraw the appeal.
This action, they claim, is a blatant disregard for the party’s constitution and a betrayal of the trust placed in them as leaders.
The group alleged that Damagun and Anyawu are opposing the Ajibade’s move to ensure that the pro-Nyesom Wike sacked APC lawmakers who decamped from PDP are neutralized and stopped from doing any harm to PDP interest but the PDP Chairman and Secretary are working in favour of the pro-Wike APC sacked lawmakers to help them regain lost legitimacy to aid them make another attempt towards their impossible dream of removal of their own PDP Gov Fubara led Rivers government.
The case, marked PHC/2177/CS/2024, centres on a dispute over the defection of 27 PDP members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 11, 2023.
Ugochinyere explained that the Rivers State High Court had previously issued an ex parte order on July 8, 2024, restraining key state officials from interacting with the defected lawmakers. However, he alleged that former Governor Nyesom Wike, in what he described as an “anti-party” manoeuvre, retained Dr. J.Y. Musa, SAN, to file an unauthorized appeal against this order, despite opposition from the PDP’s National Legal Adviser, Mr. Ajibade, SAN.
He said, “The National Legal Adviser, constitutionally empowered to protect the interests of the PDP, had already moved to withdraw the appeal on July 24, 2024, recognizing its potential harm to the party.
“However, in a shocking turn of events, on August 15, 2024, Damagum and Anyanwu sent a letter to the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, dissociating themselves from the withdrawal, effectively undermining the Legal Adviser’s authority.”
The Opposition Coalition lawmakers argue that this action by the party’s leadership is part of a broader scheme to destabilize the PDP in Rivers State and pave the way for the APC’s political ambitions.
They claim that this is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of interference by Damagum and Anyanwu in several other legal cases in Abuja and Port Harcourt, all allegedly aimed at weakening the PDP.
Ugochinyere warned of dire consequences if this “plot” is allowed to succeed, including the erosion of internal democracy within the PDP, potential fragmentation of the party, loss of public trust, and significant legal and financial repercussions. He called for immediate action, including reaffirming the authority of the National Legal Adviser, taking legal steps to restrain the National Chairman and Secretary from further interference, and convening a disciplinary committee to investigate their actions.
“The PDP must stand united in the face of this betrayal,” Ugochinyere urged, stressing, “We call on all members of the PDP and well-meaning Nigerians to join us in defending the integrity of our party and ensuring that justice prevails.”
