*No more crisis, says Damagum
By Folorunso Alagbede, Abuja
The Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors’ Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed said on Tuesday that the leadership crisis rocking the party has been resolved with suspensions and counter suspension within the National Working Committee, NWC, quashed.
Senator Mohammed, who stated that there is no party that does not have its problems, added that the PDP Governors, the Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Assembly caucus of the party have waded into leadership crisis within the party and proffered solution to it.
The acting National Chairman of the PDP, Ambassador Umar Ilya Damagum equally confirmed that there is no more
crisis in the party, adding however that, “but some people want to take advantage of the situation”.
Bala Mohammed and Damagum said these while fielding questions from journalists at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport, Abuja, on their way to Akure, the Ondo State capital for the flag-off of the campaign of the PDP governorship candidate, Hon Agboola Ajayi.
The leadership crisis rocking the PDP, it will be recalled, took a turn for the worse, few days ago as a faction of the National Working Committee, NWC, suspended the acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Ilya Damagum and National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu for anti party activities.
The suspension of Damagum and Anyanwu came few hours after the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon Debo Ologunagba and National Legal Adviser, Barrister Kamaldeen Ajibade were suspended on Thursday night by another faction of the party.
However, Bala Mohammed, on his way to Akure, said, “I want to inform you, on behalf of the PDP Governors Forum, Chairman of the Senate Caucus, and the representatives of the BoT (Board of Trustees) that we had a family meeting, and we wish to reaffirm that there is no faction in the PDP.
“All the suspensions you heard about have been resolved by the Governors, the NWC, the Caucus of the National Assembly, and the BoT. There is no faction.
“Everything has reverted to the status quo under acting Chairman Damagum, pending the time the governors and other organs of the party will sit down and resolve all the issues.
“There is no party that does not have problems. Some of them are legal, and we do not want to preempt the outcome of legal procedures.
“So whatever speculations and perceptions have gone out are wrong. Both parties (the two factions in dispute) have agreed that, in the interest of the party and Nigeria, we should return to the status quo before the suspension and counter-suspension.
“These suspensions have been lifted; there are no more suspensions. That is the resolution of the PDP Governors’ Forum.
“To members of the party, they should remember that it is the PDP we have, and it is the most experienced party that has produced government and good governance since 1999.
“We should make sacrifices and come together. Yes, we may have ill feelings here and there”, he said.
On his part, the acting National Chairman of the PDP, Damagum said, “There is no crisis in the party as far as I am concerned, but some people want to take advantage of the situation.
“I urge the press not to escalate things, even where there is no crisis.
As far as I am concerned, the governors are our leaders and critical organs of this party, and when they speak, we must look at it holistically and also abide by it.”, he said.
