*Controversy rages on whether constitution allows Damagum to continue in acting capacity
*Senate caucus dismisses call for acting national chair’s resignation
*Says APC doesn’t know what to do with power
Chuks Okocha and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Projecting ahead of Thursday’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam,has begun to push to complete the tenure of the suspended chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu.
Suswam said that he eminently qualified to step into the national chairmanship position of the PDP, having served the party in various capacities as two-term governor of Benue, senator and a member of the House of Representatives at different times.
But there is a raging controversy on whether the PDP constitution still allows the acting National Chairman, Amb. Illya Damagum, to continue in his acting capacity, or be replaced by someone from North Central.
This was as the Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, has described the call for the resignation of Damagum as ill-timed and inappropriate.
Suswam pointed out that since the PDP had zoned the chairmanship position to the North Central and micro zoned it to Benue State, it would make political sense to allow him as an experienced Benue political leader from the preferred zone to step in and complete Ayu’s tenure.
He maintained that it was only by allowing him to continue from where Ayu stopped that the state and the zone would be compensated for their numerous contributions to the stability of the PDP.
The former governor said, “We, at the party level, believe that the North Central should produce the next president as stipulated by the PDP constitution to complete its tenure. The North central should not be shortchanged going by the precedent that has already been set by the party.
“I believe that it is important to hear from me. It is just for me to let you know that I have consulted with people in the zone to complete Ayu’s tenure.”
Asked if he had cleared with Ayu, who was surreptitiously removed from the post through a court order, the former governor confirmed that he had consulted with Ayu and that he was not in court to challenge his removal from office.
“Ayu is not in court and I’ve spoken with him extensively and he said he is no longer interested. He is not in court to challenge his ouster,” Suswam claimed.
He dismissed the notion that there were many camps in PDP, arguing that all well-meaning PDP members recognised that Atiku Abubakar remained the leader of the party, having emerged as the presidential candidate of the party.
“I don’t think there are camps in PDP and we have one PDP. I don’t think Wike has a camp. Atiku was our presidential candidate and automatically the leader of the party. I don’t think that G5 exists since they are no longer governors but ex-governors. It can now be referred to Ex G5,” the former governor said.
Suswam said he would use his vast political experience to resolve the challenges of PDP and reposition it as a strong and feared opposition party in Nigeria to save the country from the current economic and financial crises induced by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“We need a party to offer a better alternative to what we are facing in Nigeria today,” Suswam said.
But, according to the PDP constitution, the party that deals with the resignation or removal of national chairman – Section 45 (2) – was amended in 2017, when Uche Secondus was national chairman.
“In the case of the National Chairman, he shall hand over to the Deputy National Chairman from his own region/part of the country, who shall, without prejudice to Section 47 (6) of this Constitution, act as the National Chairman pending the election of a replacement. In the case of National Secretary, he shall hand over to the Deputy National Secretary.
Also, in Section 47 (6) the same constitution said, “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the party, the Executive Committee at the appropriate level shall appoint another person from the area or zone where the officer originated from to serve out the tenure of the officer.
Meanwhile, Moro in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja, reacted to the call for Damagum’s resignation by the member representing Ideato Federal Constituency in Imo State, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere.
The House of Representatives member had accused Damagum of allegedly working for the APC. He also accused him of not calling a NEC meeting since he replaced Ayu.
Moro said the call for Damagun’s resignation was a personal opinion of Ugochinyere as it does not reflect the opinion of PDP federal lawmakers, especially PDP senators.
He said the call, coming a few days to the long-awaited and most anticipated NEC meeting of the party, was a needless ruffling of feathers.
On the scheduled NEC meeting, Moro said it would afford members of the NEC to ventilate their opinions on the goings on in the party.
He said they were looking forward to a very robust discussion on the issues concerning the party and Nigeria in the meeting, adding that the vacant national chairmanship seat was a very crucial issue.
He said there was no basis for anyone to suggest that the seat be thrown open or zoned to any other region apart from North Central stressing that, the PDP had a constitution, the grundnorm of its existence, which provided for two deputy chairmen.
“Where there is vacancy, the deputy chairman of the zone where the embattled National Chairman comes from will act. I won’t subscribe to any call for the seat to be thrown open or zoned to any region aside North Central.
“If the party must regain its lost glory and remain formidable as the biggest political party in Africa, then NEC members must go into the next meeting with some level of circumspection so that the baby is not thrown away with the bath water.”
Commenting on APC government, Moro said the strange bedfellows that seized power in 2015, seemed not to know what to do with power.
He said everything had gone haywire in the country, adding that, everything about governance in the country at the moment is wrong.
On disciplinary measures against erring members of the party, Moro said NEC would not sit in Abuja and compile names of members who acted in ways and manners that undermined the party in the last elections.
“Relevant organs of the party have relevant responsibilities to discharge to the party. NEC cannot sit in Abuja and write names of party member A or B that acted to undermine the party in the last elections, that’s the duty of the various ward EXCOs,” he said.
In another development, an aspirant for the position of the national chairmanship of the PDP Hon. David Ombugadu, has pledged to abide by the decision of the National Working Committee and Board of Trustees on the issue.
The former member of the National Assembly who represented Akwanga/Nasarawa Eggon/ Wamba Federal Constituency from 2011 to 2019, stated this in a statement he made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday.
