The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iliya Damagum, has placed blame on the party’s disciplinary committee for the continued presence of members, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, whom he says are working against the party’s stability.
Speaking on the BBC Hausa programme, Gane Mana Hanya, Damagum said the disciplinary committee failed to act decisively on over 40 petitions submitted to it, which, in his view, could have helped resolve ongoing crises within the party.
“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 stated.
He added that there were sufficient grounds to have expelled Wike and others from the PDP, but those responsible at the time declined to take action for reasons he described as unknown.
Damagum also pointed to his strained relationship with Wike, explaining, “Before I knew him, many of those people had known him and had a 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 further said that Wike’s intentions were clear even before the 2023 general elections.
“We advised them 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.”
Damagum expressed a preference for peaceful resolution over expulsions, warning that continual expulsions could eventually empty the party.
“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.”
On Wike’s influence, Damagum said, “When the FCT minister single-handedly 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 me to come in?”
He also criticised some senior party members for not fulfilling their leadership responsibilities and instead contributing to the party’s crisis through divisive actions. According to Damagum, these influential figures act as though they are untouchable, effectively holding the party hostage through their behaviour.
Since joining the PDP in 1998, Damagum said he has remained loyal. “I have political discipline and principles. I cannot jump from one party to another. I don’t have any reasons to do that.”
Although he expressed regret over recent defections from the party, Damagum said there is little that can be done to stop them, adding, “It is going to make the party come out better and stronger than what it is now.” He dismissed the impact of defections on the upcoming 2027 elections, insisting, “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.”
Damagum suggested that some defectors are motivated by a desire to avoid possible persecution or to seek personal financial gain. “Those leaving the party have one or two things to hide, looking for safe landing from possible persecution or maybe looking for more money in their bank accounts.”
