Umar Damagum, acting chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has blamed party leaders for exacerbating the ongoing crisis within the party.
Speaking on Wednesday at a meeting of the Board of Trustees
(BoT) at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Damagum cautioned PDP
leaders against prioritising their ambitions over the party’s unity.
He said Nigerians were looking up to the PDP to provide an
alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) amid ongoing economic
hardship.
Damagum accused party leaders of bypassing his authority by engaging members of the national working committee (NWC) without his knowledge.
“I want to use this opportunity to assure the BoT just like
the (BoT) chairman has reiterated: there is a crisis within the national
working committee (NWC). It is normal,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I want to say this with a high sense of
responsibility, most of these crises that you see today within the NWC are
propelled by our leaders who are supposed to unite us.
“It is very unfortunate. I would say it the way it is. We
all know the workings of the NWC. Some of you here have been members of the NWC
members.
“I’m sitting down here as the chairman only to see my
members called by certain leaders to visit certain places without even my
knowledge.
“I want to use this opportunity to caution us and our
leaders. You may have ambition but you don’t ride on a dead horse to reach your
destination.
“If you create a crisis simply to further your ambition, you
may get what you want but your dream will not be realised because you have
injured the horse you are going to ride to your destination.
“As the conscience (BoT) of this party, some of us are also
complicit. We should look inward, and search our conscience. This party is dear
to all of us. It is the only thing we have.
“The hope of Nigerians today is in this party. So, we should
sheath our swords and work towards uniting ourselves so that they would have a
credible vehicle that can challenge what is bedevilling us.”
Damagum said he would do everything possible to ensure the
national executive committee (NEC) meeting — the highest decision-making body
of our party — is held in February.
“The last meeting we had with the governors, we all agreed
that we would have the NEC. And I want to assure you that we would do
everything possible to have the NEC this February,” he said.
“You are all aware that we have started the process of zonal
congresses. Even at that, I enjoin our leaders to also be mindful of doing
anything that can mar these congresses. It is very important to sound this
note.
“We have had congresses in almost 28 to 29 states. We have
problems in a few states. I think we are getting there.”
‘I’M DISAPPOINTED’
Also, Adolphus Wabara, chairman of the BoT, expressed his
disappointment over the crisis in the NWC.
“This meeting comes at a time when the unity, focus,
direction and ideals of our great Party are being tested in ways that call for
reflection and decisive action,” he said.
“Primarily, let me express my profound disappointment over
the crises currently rocking the leadership of the National Working Committee
(NWC).
“As elder statesmen and women; leaders who hold the trust of
the generality of our party members and the public, it is disheartening that
these issues have not been resolved.
“The failure to resolve these internal conflicts undermines
the strength and credibility of our party. It is, therefore, imperative that
the NWC rises above personal interests and places the survival and progress of
our great party above all other considerations.”
Wabara asked the NWC to ensure that the NEC meeting is held
in February, saying “party members across the country are in earnest
expectation”.
He said the zonal congresses must be free, fair and
transparent so that the outcome will “reflect the collective will of our
members”.
Wabara said the PDP “remains the hope of Nigerians”, adding
that Nigeria has endured years of “suffering under the poor policies” of the
All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Nigerians are looking to us as a beacon of hope, and we
cannot afford to let them down. We must rebuild trust and offer a credible
alternative that prioritizes the welfare of the people,” he said.
The BoT subsequently went into an executive session after
Wabara and Damagum’s remarks.
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