The internal rift within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a dramatic turn, as acting National Chairman, Iliya Umar Damagum, has officially handed over control of the party\u2019s structure in Rivers State to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. This move has drawn sharp battle lines between Damagum and several PDP governors, further escalating tensions within the party.<\/p>\n
The conflict revolves around the control of the party\u2019s structure in Rivers State, a key political battleground. Traditionally, state governors serve as the de facto leaders of their parties within their respective states, and Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, had been expected to take control of the PDP structure there. However, in a direct challenge to this tradition, Damagum’s National Working Committee (NWC) instead backed party congresses led by Wike’s loyalists, leaving Fubara sidelined.<\/p>\n
PDP governors, who had met in Enugu and Taraba states, had resolved to engage the Damagum-led NWC and revisit the party\u2019s internal processes in Rivers to ensure Governor Fubara was recognized as the leader of the party in the state. Their efforts appear to have been dismissed by the party leadership, deepening the divide between the NWC and the governors.<\/p>\n
The decision to empower Wike is seen as a clear defiance of party norms, signaling a growing influence of Wike within the PDP\u2019s national structure. Wike, who recently transitioned from his role as Rivers State governor to become the FCT Minister, has long been a polarizing figure within the party, known for his influence and strategic political maneuvers.<\/p>\n
Damagum’s actions reflect an ongoing shift in the power dynamics within the PDP, with loyalty to Wike seemingly outweighing the traditional role of governors as state party leaders. This move has drawn criticism from party members and leaders, with many seeing it as a violation of internal party order. Chief among the critics is Governor Fubara, who has reportedly been left out of key party decisions and is now fighting to regain control of the party structure in his own state.<\/p>\n
The PDP’s internal strife has been further compounded by recent accusations of corruption and mismanagement within the party. The 2023 Kogi State governorship candidate, Senator Dino Melaye, recently claimed that the PDP had been “commercialized and privatized,” sparking widespread controversy. Melaye\u2019s outspoken criticism of the party\u2019s leadership led to his suspension by his ward in Ayetoro\/Iluagba on September 12, 2024, with rumors circulating that further punitive actions against him are being planned by the state and national leadership.<\/p>\n
In response to the mounting pressure and to avoid an internal reversal of its decision on Rivers State, the NWC postponed the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting originally scheduled for September 26, pushing it back to October 24. This delay is seen as a tactical move by the NWC to consolidate its decisions and prevent opposition from reversing its stance.<\/p>\n
The escalating internal dispute has reignited concerns over the PDP’s ability to maintain cohesion as a political force. Long-standing party members have expressed concern that the recent power struggles, coupled with accusations of internal corruption, are weakening the party. Elder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, expressed these concerns in an open letter to Damagum on April 24, 2024, where he accused the acting chairman of doing Wike’s bidding and called for his resignation to prevent the party from collapsing.<\/p>\n
These concerns are not isolated. The party’s internal troubles have also drawn sharp criticism from external observers. During an interview earlier this year, Rabiu Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), described the PDP as \u201cdead,\u201d pointing to its internal disarray and loss of direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The internal rift within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a dramatic turn, as acting National Chairman, Iliya Umar Damagum, has officially handed over control of the party\u2019s structure in Rivers State to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. This move has drawn sharp battle lines between Damagum and several […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48653,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48652\/revisions\/48653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}