PDP Battle Shifts To State Congresses As Damagum Survives

The decision of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Executive Committee (NEC) to retain Ambassador Umar Damagum as Acting National Chairman has shifted the battle for the soul of the party to the forthcoming State congresses.

According to Vanguard, Damagum’s survival has opened new frontiers for the battle to control the party’s structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Loyalists of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who are the main backers of Damagum, are celebrating his retention as a victory over loyalists of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who wanted Damagum replaced.

The battleground for the soul of the party has now shifted to the usually contentious Ward, Local Government, and State congresses. Governors, who have powerful predecessors or party stalwarts, will be battling to either retain or take control of the party structure at the state level to enhance their chances of political survival.

A member of the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC), who spoke in confidence, explained that politics begins at the grassroots, hence the decision of party leaders whose political relevance is at stake to return to the drawing board.

The party stalwart, who is sympathetic to Atiku, said, “This (the Damagum debacle) was just one battle, there are several ahead. We are going back to plan for state congresses.

“We will work with friendly governors in states where our party have them. In states where we don’t have a government in place, we will work with leaders to stabilize the party.

“As you are probably aware, these are areas where the battle is likely to be fierce. The state executives have a crucial role to play in organizing the party and the election of delegates for crucial elections.”

Wike’s loyalists are not leaving anything to chance, setting in motion a machinery to consolidate on recent gains.

Dr. Katch Onanuju, an Imo State chieftain of the party, sympathetic to Wike, said, “We have issues in our party, no doubt, but we will sort ourselves out. All the noise about Wike doing anti-party is baseless. Whatever he did in 2023 is nothing compared to what the five northern governors and Rotimi Amaechi did to the party in 2015. Wike never left our party; he remained and has been helping to rebuild it ever since.

“The party will surmount its problems if there is sincerity of purpose. The congresses are coming up; there will be fresh crisis if some people think they can sit in Wadata Plaza and impose leaders on the states and write lists where people who never participated in the electoral process are named as leaders.”

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