Divisions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are intensifying, with the party president and key figures divided over the fate of acting national chairman Umar Damagum.
While some governors are insisting on holding a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, factions loyal to Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike are adamant in their support for Mr Damagum to continue in office. .
Due to this disagreement, the originally scheduled October 24th NEC meeting was postponed and a new date was set for November 28th.
The postponement reflects an ongoing struggle for leadership and direction within the party, as various regional blocs, particularly the southwest, northeast and north-central regions, insist on postponing the conference.
A source who spoke to Panch about the PDP crisis said: “The current position on Damagum is much more complex than when we first started.Complicating matters is the fact that There are too many court orders and judgments that have not been done.It is too troublesome for political parties to act as if they can do something despite court orders and judgments.
“The second problem is that the PDP governors are still not on the same page, which makes it much more difficult to decide this issue. The extent of its powers is also ambiguous: although it had the power to immediately dissolve the state, the NEC's powers were not beautiful and comprehensive. But still, it’s a little restrained.
“The reason why we set up a quota of two national vice-chairmen is to eliminate the drawback that if something happens to a national chairperson from a zone, the zone will not run into the problem of not being able to complete its term. It might have been Arapaja. But it wasn’t Arapaja, because he had to stay in his original zone. Now, the argument is neither here nor there.
“There is no room for interpretation on something like that, and we have gone to the courts to get the proper interpretation. And the court has ruled that he has the authority to serve out his term. Revoke the judgment. So, to be honest, it’s a little complicated. There are conventions, there are laws. By convention, if Damagun agrees, they can do it, but if Damagun doesn’t agree. You can’t do anything beyond the law.”