Acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Iliya Damagun, was bullish on Thursday after he survived the push to remove him from the position.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the main opposition party was expected to decide his fate in Thursday’s session following the pressure from stakeholders of the North-Central zone for the chance to complete the short-circuited tenure of the former party boss, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, from the zone.
The elders of the party avoided the leadership issue, deferring to the next NEC meeting tentatively fixed for August 15, 2024.
Damagun said that even if he is removed as the acting national chairman, he will revert to his post as the substantive deputy national chairman (north) and remain in the National Working Committee (NWC).
On how he survived the onslaught against him, he told reporters after the NEC meeting that the issue did not arise.
“This is not a matter of life and death. I am still an elected member of this NEC. Even if I revert to deputy national chairman I’m still a member of NWC. The issue of surviving or not does not emerge,” Damagun maintained.
Also speaking on it, the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, revealed that there was no dissenting voice on the issues discussed during the meeting.
However, he noted that the party will address the leadership question in the months to come after it has gone through the planned congresses.
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“In the next two months, we will see a lot of activities. Leadership is a responsibility. We said in September we would have come out from our congresses. We will look at the issue of leadership and look at the issue of our constitution where it will be. And we will do it with no rancour,” Mohammed said.
The PDP Governors’ Forum boss, Governor Bala Mohammed, praised the conduct of the NEC, saying that those expecting the party implosion have been left disappointed.
Mohammed stated: “You can see there was no dissension and rancour. It was planned that the party would have an implosion. PDP is more than that, we have risen beyond all these idiosyncrasies.
“This party is a united party that is guided by experience and constitutionality. There were a lot of permutations and mischievous thinking outside there.
“But we looked at all the issues and we worked along our guidelines and constitution. There is no problem or dissension and problem among members.”
The PDP national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, confirmed that the issue of party leadership has been deferred to the next NEC meeting
“Our party emphasizes the need for reconciliation and stability within the party at this time. Therefore, the issue of the National Chairman, Damagum, has been deferred to the next NEC meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for August 15, 2024,” Ologunagba said.
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