PDP Senate Caucus Rejects Calls for National Chairman’s Resignation
The intrigues ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting took a fresh twist yesterday as the PDP caucus in the Senate rejected calls for the resignation of the party’s national chairman, Umar Illiya Damagum.
The leader of the PDP Senate Caucus, Abba Moro (Benue South), described the calls for Damagum to resign as ill-timed and inappropriate.
There have been agitations for Damagum, who hails from Yobe State (North East), to resign as acting chairman of PDP and pave the way for a national chairman from the North Central zone as originally planned by the party.
The recent call for Damagum’s resignation was made by opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives led by the member representing Ideato Federal Constituency in Imo State, Hon. Ugochinyere Ikenga, who accused Damagum of working for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as failing to call the statutory quarterly NEC since he replaced Senator Iyorchia Ayu as the PDP acting national chairman last year.
The agitation for Damagum’s resignation draws from a raging battle for the PDP’s soul between camps led by the party’s presidential candidate in 2023, Atiku Abubakar, and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister Nyesom Wike.
The NEC meeting, which is scheduled for this Thursday, would be preceded by other strategic meetings from Tuesday, including PDP Governors Forum meeting, the PDP Caucus, and the Board of Trustees (BoT). So far, former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, former Minister Humphrey Abba (Kogi State), Dr. Emmanuel Agbo (Benue State) have indicated interest in emerging as chairman of the party. They all hail from the North Central.
