PDP suspends national chairman, secretary as party’s crisis deepens

• The NWC also constituted a committee chaired by Deputy National Chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja to investigate the issues raised against those suspended.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Chairman, Umar Damagum and the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, have been suspended by the party.

The duo were suspended by a faction of the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, who also suspended the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba and the National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade.

The factional NWC announced the suspension of the party chieftains in a statement by the party’s National Director of Publicity, Chinwe Nnorom, on Friday.

After its 593rd meeting on Thursday, the NWC directed Ologunagba and Ajibade to step aside pending an investigation into allegations against them.

The NWC also constituted a committee chaired by Deputy National Chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja to investigate the issues raised against those suspended.

In a fresh twist, Ologunagba also announced Damagun and Anyanwu’s suspension.

The statement read in part, “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 with regard to 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.”