Embattled Acting National Chairman of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iliya Damagum, has blamed the party’s disciplinary committee for the continued stay of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike and other members who are working against the stability of the party.
The Ag. National Chairman who spoke on BBC Hausa features programme, Gane Mana Hanya, which was monitored by Sunday Tribune on Saturday, stated that the committee should be blamed for not taking decisive action on the over 40 petitions forwarded to it, which would have settled the crisis.
According to him, “The committee was handed over 40 petitions that needed attention but it only chose to act on that of the national secretary. If the committee had acted on those petitions, maybe we would not be here today.”
He stressed that there were enough reasons to have expelled him (Wike) and others from the party but those who were in position to do so at that time refused to act due to reasons best known to them, now they are putting pressure on us.
According to him, “Before I knew him, many of those people had known him and had relationship with him. They were enjoying his magnanimity. My only sin to them is that I came at a time when their relationship had collapsed.”
He added, “This same man never hid his intent even before the 2023 General election. We advised then that the five of them should be expelled from the party but nothing was done until the elections came and gone. They succeeded in setting the party back with the things they did.
“Now that I am leading the party, they are putting pressure on me to expel him. My own is that, I want peace in the party, by the time you keep expelling members rather than peaceful resolution of issues, one day you will wake up and no more people in the party.”
Damagum added that when the “FCT minister singlehandedly brought the embattled Rivers State governor as the candidate of the PDP, nobody asked him how he did it. Now, there is a problem between them, how do you expect the party or myself to come in.”
He reiterated that his motion is to ensure that the PDP remains the formidable opposition in the country, as well as ensure that in the next general elections, the party wins the election and returns to power in the country.
He also berated some influential members of the party who are not playing their leadership roles well for the good of the party, but rather engaging in divisive tendencies thereby plunging the party into more crisis.
He lamented that such persons are feeling like sacred cows that cannot be touched, thereby holding the party to ransom through their negative actions and anti-party activities.
He declared that, “Since I joined the PDP in 1998, I have not moved away because I have political discipline and principles. I cannot be jumping from one party to another. I don’t have any reasons to do that.”
Though he regretted the gale of defections, he said “there is nothing we can do about it. However, it is going to make the party come out better and stronger than what it is now.”
“One thing is that, it is not the number of defections that will make the APC win the 2027 general elections; it is the electorate, Nigerians who will cast votes to elect a president. In 2027, it is President Bola Tinubu versus Nigerians, not the APC,” he stressed.
He stated that those leaving the party have one or two things to hide, adding that they are looking for safe landing from possible persecution or maybe looking for more money in their bank accounts.
