In anticipation of the upcoming National Executive Committee meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a coalition of PDP federal lawmakers, known as the Opposition Lawmakers Coalition, has called for the resignation of the PDP acting national chairman, Umar Iliya Damagun, citing alleged anti-party activities.
The group is also urging the party’s NEC to remove Damagun and impose sanctions on him if he refuses to resign, accusing him of working to transfer PDP structures to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
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The lawmakers contend that Damagun should step down to allow for a North Central candidate to assume the role of acting chairman until the party’s convention is held, in accordance with the party’s constitution.
They have threatened to leave the party if the purportedly doctored list of Local Government Caretaker Committees in Rivers State and 10 other states, allegedly filled with APC members and loyalists, is not invalidated.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, spokesperson for the group, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, along with members of the G-60 lawmakers in the coalition, expressed their dissatisfaction with the alleged interference of APC members in PDP affairs, particularly in Rivers State.
The lawmakers further accused Damagun of approving plans to impeach the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and criticized him for failing to uphold the responsibilities of the chairman of the largest opposition party in the country.
Ugochinyere emphasized the need to adhere to the PDP’s zoning formula, asserting that it is the turn of the North Central region to produce the party’s chairman.
They called on prominent PDP figures such as former Senate President David Mark, Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Senator Abba Moro, and Bukola Saraki to intervene and safeguard the opposition party from being influenced by the ruling APC.
The lawmakers urged the PDP NEC to investigate allegations of financial support from pro-APC groups and to establish a committee to address instances of anti-party activities, dating back to 2023, within the party.
This move, they believe, will not only serve as a deterrent but also promote the cleansing and revitalization of the PDP.
