The acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Umar Damagum, has postponed the party’s National Working Committee meeting until next week due to rising tensions between former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike and the PDP Governors Forum over the status of Rivers State party congresses.
During the protracted political dispute between Wike and Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the PDP governors sided with Fubara, requesting that the governor be accepted as the PDP’s leader in Rivers State.
The governors’ declaration infuriated Wike, who warned them to stay out of the Rivers state matter or he would ‘put fire’ to their states. But on Tuesday, the PDP Governors’ Forum criticised Wike, calling his warning reckless.
They insisted on maintaining their position, reminding Wike that as Rivers governor, he had the same privileges as the party’s head.
The PDP governors have demanded that the ward and local government congresses held in Rivers State, which provided Wike with the party’s structure, be invalidated and new ones held.
The PDP NWC meeting, which was scheduled for Wednesday and would have allowed for further discussion of the differences between Wike and the governors, did not take place.
Chronicle NG reported that despite a court injunction stoping the PDP’s congresses in Rivers State, the Damagum-led NWC proceeded with the congress, which handed control of the party structure in Rivers State to Wike.
On August 24, the PDP Governors’ Forum expressed support for Fubara, requesting the NWC to accept him as the state’s party leader and hand over control of the party structure to him. Among reactions, Wike vowed to cause turmoil among PDP state chapters if they supported Fubara.
The Governors’ Forum denounced Wike’s threats as irresponsible and reiterated its support for Fubara.
According to reports, Damagum postponed the NWC meeting set for Wednesday to next week due to rising tensions and to avoid a conflict.
On Wednesday, our reporter was at the party’s national headquarters, Wadata Plaza in Abuja, and observed Damagum, the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, the Deputy National Chairman South, Taofeek Arapaja, and the Deputy National Secretary, Setoji Kosheodo, in the office between 1:05 pm and 3:10 pm.
A senior NWC member who was present with them revealed that they had met at the party headquarters to discuss the Kaduna chapter situation.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said, “There is no need for an NWC meeting at this time. The meeting will be held next week. We only convened to discuss the Kaduna State chapter (issues). There was an issue in Zango Kataf, but it has been resolved.”
Another senior PDP NWC member, who also requested anonymity, informed me that Damagum postponed the meeting due to concerns that it could escalate to a clash.
According to the source, other NWC members were uninformed of any Kaduna-related discussions; instead, Wike’s NWC followers gathered only to finish their plans.
He stated, “They are only playing games with the party members and its future. Those present at the secretariat today are part of their team.
“They postponed the meeting because they were afraid of the potential outcomes. If we had met today (Wednesday), we would have discussed the Rivers and other states’ congresses. The NWC needs to approve everything. Pressure from Wike and from governors to the entire NWC led them to delay the meeting to buy time.
“They were at the Secretariat to plan their next move. That is why some of us are not aware. With the governors having taken an open stance, they are trying to delay things to achieve their objectives. Thus, they deliberately postponed the meeting.
“On our side, we can’t call for an NWC meeting because Wike’s faction is in the majority. But let’s see what they will do next.”
Damagum responded to the inquiry, saying, “Ask the secretary if he has scheduled any NWC meetings for this week; it appears that you are the one suggesting the meeting.”
Ibrahim Abdullahi, the PDP’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, refuted that the NWC meeting was postponed mainly due to the Wike-governors conflict.
In response to the accusation that the conference was postponed for fear of a clash between Wike and the PDP governors, Abdullahi said, “Not exactly. We simply decided to address the items for the meeting differently.
“The NWC couldn’t have been suspended owing to this singular Wike-governor’s imbroglio.”
