…Court Bars Organs from Removing Acting National Chairman

The fragile peace in the leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party finally gave way on Friday when its National Working Committee members broke into factions with suspension notices flying in the air by the different groups. First, was the announcement of the suspension of the Acting National Chairman, Amb Umar Damagun, and the National Secretary Senator Emeka Anyanwu. thereby throwing the party into confusion and chaos.

Swiftly, the suspended Officers also issued a counter-suspension of the National Legal Adviser, Mr. Kamaldeen Ajibade, and the National Publicity Secretary, Hon Debo Ologunagba for alleged disloyalty to the party, thereby throwing the party into confusion and chaos.

Furthermore, the Federal High Court in Abuja threw another spanner into the PDP family’s internal matters by restraining all the organs of the PDP including the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Umar Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of the party.

In the judgement, Justice Peter Lifu ordered that no person other than Umar Damagum should be recognised as PDP national chairman until the party’s national convention scheduled for December 2025. The suit was instituted by Senator Umar El-Gash Maina.

The judge held that in line with Articles 42, 47, and 67 of PDP, it is only at the national convention of the party that national officers can be elected. According to him, PDP members are bound by the party’s constitution and must always act in line with it.

Statement on the Suspension of Damagun, Anyanwu

“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 about 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, pursuant to 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 programmes of the NWC pending the conclusion of an investigation by the National Disciplinary Committee. The statement was signed by Hon. Debo Ologunagba National Publicity Secretary.

Yayari Ahmed Mohammed Appointed Acting Chairman
Alhaji Yayari Ahmed Mohammed, Acting PDP Chairman

Another statement announced the appointment of a new Acting Chairman. “Following the suspension of His Excellency, Amb. Illiya Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of our great Party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the National Working Committee (NWC) has approved the appointment of Alhaji Yayari Ahmed Mohammed as the Acting National Chairman.

“The appointment which takes immediate effect is pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017) The NWC calls on all Organs, leaders, critical stakeholders, and members of our great Party to remain focused at this critical time especially as the NWC commences arrangements towards the holding of the Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting already scheduled for Thursday, 24th October, 2024. The statement was signed by Hon. Debo Ologunagba the National Publicity Secretary

Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed Hosts to Damagun

The Bauchi State Governor and Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum was hosting the Acting Chairman of the PDP when he was being suspended in the party headquarters in Abuja. In a statement, the Governor wrote on his X handle:

“Today, I had the honor of welcoming Ambassador Umar Damagun, the Acting National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to the Government House in Bauchi. Ambassador Damagun’s visit was an important one, centered on discussions about critical Party matters and strategies to further strengthen the PDP as we continue to chart the path forward. Ambassador Damagun reaffirmed the PDP’s enduring position as Nigeria’s most resilient and dependable political party.

“He also commended my contributions to the success of the party, particularly in fostering unity and cohesion. His remarks underscored the PDP’s strength as the only tested and trusted political party in the country. The purpose of their visit was to engage with me on crucial issues as we work together as a united front. I expressed my deep gratitude for this visit and praised the leadership of our great party. I also took the opportunity to highlight the political strength of the northeast, a region with influential leaders who have been instrumental to our party’s ongoing success.

“As members of the PDP Governors’ Forum, we remain committed to fostering unity and collaboration within the party. I reaffirmed our dedication to the vision of national development, and I pledged to continue engaging with my colleagues in the PDP Governors’ Forum to ensure that our party remains forward-looking, particularly as we prepare for the upcoming 2027 elections. The session was graced by PDP leadership and key figures from the northeast region, demonstrating our shared commitment to the future of our party and our nation.

More Details About the Court Case
The plaintiff, who is the chairman of PDP in Yobe State instituted the suit against PDP and eight others alleging that some stakeholders have been holding clandestine meetings to forcefully remove Damagum from office in gross violation of the party’s constitution.

He said that a former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Phillip Salawu, was being pushed forward as Damagun’s replacement. The plaintiff claimed that upon becoming aware of the plan, two letters complaining about the clandestine meetings were delivered to the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu. He also claimed that despite acknowledging the letters, Anyanwu and BoT members have never deemed it fit to act on them.

In the suit instituted on his behalf by Joshua Musa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the plaintiff prayed the court to invoke articles 45, 47, and 67 of the PDP constitution to stop the move to replace Damagum as the Acting National Chairman.

The plaintiff specifically asked the court to declare that the national chairmanship of the PDP is rotated between the north and south regions and not through any other procedure not enshrined in the PDP’s Constitution.

In his judgment after perusing the PDP’s Constitution and exhibits, Justice Lifu agreed with the plaintiff that Damagum can only be replaced at the national convention of PDP or through an order of a court. He also held that any attempt to truncate the four-year tenure of the northern region, which has not been completed, without the national convention will amount to an affront to the PDP constitution.

Earlier, the judge had dismissed the opposition of the defendants to the suit because the plaintiff had no locus standi to bring the case and the court lacked jurisdiction to hear it. Justice Lifu held that the plaintiff predicated his suit on the protection of the PDP Constitution from being violated and the northern region where he is from is being short-changed.

Justice Lifu said that the plaintiff having displayed his PDP membership card before the court and having raised the fundamental issue of protection of PDP’s Constitution had sufficient interest and justiciable cause to institute the case.

The judge therefore declared that PDP NEC and BoT are bound by the party’s Constitution and that Damagum as national chairman can only be replaced through the national convention of the party.

He also held that Damagum having been appointed from the northern region where a former national chairman Iyorcha Ayu hailed from is entitled to serve out the remaining tenure of the national chairman.