There are indications that prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party are not happy with the silence of the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, following claims by former Rivers State governor and newly appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that he notified him (Damagun) in writing when he was nominated as a ministerial designate by President Bola Tinubu.
The leadership of the party, including some members of the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee, had in the past few months openly called for Wike’s sanction for what they described as anti-party activities against the PDP.
Recall that apart from leading his then four other governors in the Integrity Group to work against the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, Wike was one of the first frontline opposition figures to congratulate Tinubu for his election victory.
He led the quartet of current Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, former Abia, Benue and Enugu State governors – Okezie Ikpeazu, Samuel Ortom and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi respectively, on solidarity visit to the President few days after his inauguration.
But following his last week’s appointment as Minister of FCT, Wike disclosed that the party was fully aware of his nomination, adding that contrary to reports in the media, he wrote to the PDP leadership, notifying them of his nomination and got clearance to accept the offer.
“Before this appointment came, I wrote to the National Chairman. I wrote to the minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate. I wrote to the zonal chairman of the party and my state chairman.
“I wrote to my governor and all of them wrote me back and said ‘accept.’ I have my evidence documented. Forget these reggae dancers. I call them reggae dancers because when you’ve lost your opportunity, you’ve lost your opportunity because of arrogance and impunity,” Wike told journalists last week at his maiden press briefing.
Since this declaration, party members have been speaking in hushed tones on the need for Damagum to either speak up or keep his peace on the matter.
Rather than confirm or deny the allegation, neither Damagum nor the PDP Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, has deemed it fit to address the issue; a development that has elicited grumblings among party leaders.
Speaking exclusively with Saturday PUNCH, a former governor of a North-West state said Damagum now needed to speak with other leaders of the party because “The centre will not hold for too long after this.”
Confiding in our correspondent, he said, “Most of us were worried when Wike was openly reaching out to the APC. I am sure you are aware that some of us even called for him to leave the party.
“The excuse given by the leadership of the party that we should wait until the presidential election petition was dispensed with was fair enough and we kept our peace. But for Wike to say that Damagum was aware of his nomination, we are at a loss. The centre will not hold for too long after this except the chairman clears the air.”
Also speaking, a member of the NWC who declined to be named said many party leaders were shocked at Wike’s disclosure last week.
“We are not saying that what the Minister said is false but we expected Damagum to clear his name. Why is he silent? Is he thinking that the matter we lie low? This claim by Wike cannot be swept under the carpet but we are waiting to see what will happen in the next few days,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP, Timothy Osadolor has expressed doubt about claims by Wike that he wrote to party leadership about his nomination and appointment.
He said, “Damagum never told anyone about a letter from Wike except they had private correspondences, but as the acting National Chairman of the party, such a letter would have been presented at the NWC meetings. If PDP subscribed to the idea of a Government of National Unity, it would have nominated a member, a loyal member, not a rebel.”
