A group of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) national officials have charged aggrieved leaders of the opposition party to accept the leadership of the acting national chairman, Umar Damagum or resign.
The national officials, at a press briefing, in Abuja, on Wednesday – today, January 22 – said Damagum’s case is settled until December 2025, warning against what the group called “demarketing of the party by some members instead of exploring internal crisis resolution mechanisms.”
Deputy national youth leader, Timothy Osadolor, who spoke on behalf of the national officials, said the demarketing of the PDP by aggrieved party members must stop forthwith.
PDP leaders have been divided on whether Damagum should be replaced or allowed to continue as acting national chairman.
The division in the opposition party deepened recently, with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, affirming the nomination of former National Youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye as replacement for Senator Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary.
However, Anyanwu has appealed the judgment while the appellate court has directed the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum.
Nevertheless, Osadolor, who noted that “all have sinned”, charged party stalwarts to bury their pride and join hands with the acting national chairman to rebuild the party.
He said: “Worrisome is the action of members of the Party who under the guise of ‘due process advocates’ act on behalf of self-serving leaders lurking behind the scenes mischievously causing misunderstanding in the party.
“This behavior is apparently self-serving on their path, 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.
“This is no longer the time for blame games, 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 forth with. 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, let’s wait for the courts. Let’s learn to love and support PDP first and always.”
Osadolor added that the abysmal performance of the PDP in the last 10 years would continue, except the members get their acts together.
According to him, “from 2013 till 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 explored 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. Tomorrow beckons on us, to rise up and surmount these challenges.
“As we await the outcome of the ongoing litigations, let us work towards the upcoming constitutionally backed stakeholders engagements, embrace each other, and put plans in place to amend the ambiguities, the loop holes in our Constitution.
“Our individual ambitions must be within the ambit of the law and must be pursued with sincerity and loyalty to the party, not the mischief and arrogance that we always display.”
