The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be holding a meeting tomorrow to address the ongoing factionalization crisis within the party. This move comes after the suspension of key national officers and the emergence of two factions within the party’s leadership.
The crisis began when Yayari Ahmed Mohammed and the acting National Chairman, IIIiya Umar Damagum, each started leading separate factions within the PDP. This led to a series of suspensions and counter-suspensions among top party officials, causing further disarray.
Efforts to resolve the crisis include options such as the removal of the current NWC members and the appointment of a caretaker committee to oversee party affairs until December 2025. Another suggestion is to revert to the original plan of electing a new national chairman at the upcoming NEC meeting on October 24, 2024.
Despite court orders and internal conflicts, there are hopes that the warring parties will maintain the status quo until a resolution can be reached. The PDP governors are expected to play a critical role in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis and restoring unity within the opposition party.
OBSERVERSTIMES recalled that
“Damagum was in Bauchi State to brief the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Bala Mohammed on the outcome of the NWC meeting when his suspension was announced and when the court order barring the PDP from removing him was issued. I am not sure he initiated it. It is expected that he won’t use the court order to scuttle the peace efforts,” the source added.
The source further disclosed that one of the outcomes of Damagum’s visit to Bauchi was that the warring parties should maintain the status quo, pending the meeting of the PDP governors tomorrow.
According to him, Damagum and his NWC were also told that such a crisis was not needed as the party was preparing for the NEC meeting.
According to the source who spoke on anonymity another option is to ask the two factions to return to the status quo and allow Damagum’s successor to emerge at the NEC meeting on October 24, 2024, as originally planned before the factionalisation.
“Ayu’s replacement was supposed to have emerged on the April 18, 2024 NEC meeting but the decision was suspended because many states had not concluded their congresses. When the NEC meeting was rescheduled, it coincided with the period of lesser Hajj and was postponed. Now that all the states have concluded their congresses, a new NEC meeting was scheduled for October 24 to choose Ayu’s successor, whose tenure will expire in December 2025, along with other members of the NWC,” the source explained.
