The crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has taking another dimension with the camp of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, backing the embattled acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.
Some members of the party alleged that the Wike faction had finalised plans to suspend some of its opponents.
A senior party member confirmed that the camp led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory was preparing to confront those against its efforts to maintain Damagum’s position.
The source revealed that in the coming days, Wike’s faction would take measures such as expulsion and suspension to neutralise members of the opposing camp, particularly those loyal to the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, at the state, local government and ward levels.
Since his appointment as acting National Chairman following Senator Iyorchia Ayu’s court-ordered removal, Damagum has faced criticism from party leaders and calls for his resignation have intensified.
At the PDP’s 98th National Executive Committee meeting on April 18, party leaders approved the creation of a reconciliation and disciplinary committee.
They also decided to hold ward and state congresses and tasked the North Central caucus with consulting on finding a replacement for Damagum.
The 99th NEC meeting of the PDP, originally scheduled for August 15, was first postponed to October 24, 2024, then rescheduled for November 28, 2024, and later suspended indefinitely.
Despite this, the PDP Governors Forum instructed the National Working Committee to convene the NEC latest February, 2025.
Former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, and the Board of Trustees of the party also urged the NWC to hold the NEC in February to resolve outstanding issues, including the need for the North Central to nominate a replacement for Damagum.
The anti-Wike/Damagum camp believes the repeated postponements are designed to safeguard the interests of Wike’s faction and preserve his control over the party.
As a result, both camps have been mobilising their supporters for verbal confrontations aimed at exposing and derailing each other’s plans.
The senior party member said that Wike’s camp targeted Ikenga Ugochinyere, the representative for Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State, for his criticism of Wike and the Damagum-led NWC.
The source claimed that Ugochinyere’s expulsion was part of Wike’s faction’s wider strategy to consolidate power by removing or silencing opponents.
In a related development, the NWC of the PDP has rejected the reported expulsion of Ugochinyere from the party by the Umuopia/Umukegwu Ward chapter in Imo State.
In a statement on Saturday, the PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, declared the alleged expulsion null and void, stating that it was inconsistent with the clear provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017).
It was previously reported that the representative for Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State and spokesman for the Coalition of United Political Parties was expelled by the Imo PDP Publicity Secretary, Lancelot Obiak, through a statement released on Friday.
The statement indicated that Ugochinyere’s expulsion was carried out by the PDP executive in Ideato LGA, through a letter dated December 5, 2024, signed by the LGA Chairman, ThankGod Okeke, and Secretary, Onyebuchi Umeh.
The expulsion was reportedly due to alleged gross indiscipline, insubordination, and anti-party activities.
The PDP publicity secretary emphasised that no ward, local government, or state chapter of the party had the authority to suspend, expel, or discipline a National Assembly member in any way without following the proper procedures set by the party’s constitution, which requires consultation with the NWC.