There Are No Constitutional Breaches Against Damagum, PDP Replies Anyanwu

•Insists national convention will go on as planned 

•Dismisses Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast as uninspiring, boring 

•Sacked A’Ibom party chair refuses to vacate office, declares loyalty to APC gov

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Okon Bassey in Uyo

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has insisted that there were no constitutional breaches and violation against the National Chairman, Amb Illya Damagum as alleged by the national secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.

The party, therefore, insisted that the train of the November 16 and 17 national convention was already in progress as it was sacrosanct despite some perceived distraction in some quarters.

The PDP further berated the Independence Day speech by President Bola Tinubu, describing it as uninspiring and boring.

Addressing the media on the position of things in the party, National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said by the constitution of the party as amended in 2017, the national chairman remained the chief executive officer of the party.

To this end, he said he, by constitutional demand, had the rights to delegates duties and responsibilities to other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) for the smooth day-to-day running of the PDP as a political party.

According to Ologunagba, “Section 35 of the PDP constitution as amended in 2027, the national Chairman is the chief executive officer of the party. He summons and presides over the affairs of the party and delegates duties to other members of the party as the case may be.’’

He stated further that by section 29 of the party’s constitution that all meetings are at the instance of the national chairman, and that this could be over ruled by a two third members of the NWC.

He further explained that section 29 of the party constitution made it more explicit that the national chairman of the party should provide leadership or delegate.

Ologunagba dismissed the position of Anyanwu that the chairman was in breach as contained in section 36 subsection B and C of the party’s constitution.

‘’By our constitution, the national secretary is the Chief Administrative officer, who takes responsibilities from the National Chairman. He cannot act unilateral. He cannot summon a meeting, unless so directed by the national chairman,’’ he said.

The national secretary had Wednesday issued a statement accusing the national chairman of breaching and violating the party’s constitution, especially section 36.

But the November 16 and 17 dates of the national convention of the party, Ologunagba said were sacrosanct as they were destined to take place for the general purpose of reinventing the party.

He acknowledged that the party was aware of distractions from some quarters against the national convention, but said, “We won’t be distracted. The convention train has since left Abuja and will soon be landing in Ibadan.”

On the independence day speech of President Bola Tinubu, Ologunagba described it as uninspiring and boring as it was merely cosmetic

‘’The speech of the president to mark the 65th independence of Nigeria is uninspiring, boring and full of propaganda. It dashed hopes with false statistics.

‘’It did not address the rising youth employment, high cost of living and the growing level of insecurity in the country. One wonders how the President could say that the economy is improving.

“The All Progressives Congress, APC has taken Nigeria down the lane of bandage and servitude. The president should endeavour to humanise governance for the general welfare and wellbeing of Nigerians,” Ologunagba stated.

In a related development, the sacked chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Aniekan Akpan, who has openly declared loyalty to Governor Umo Eno of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has denounced the dissolution of the State Executive Committee by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

The PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, announced the dissolution of the Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State Executive Committees.

In a statement, the PDP also announced the composition of a caretaker committee to oversee activities in the two states for the next three months.

But Akpan told journalists at a press conference at the PDP State Secretariat, that he would resist what he described as “impunity’.

He declared that the National Working Committee of the party was acting outside its powers, stressing that no formal meeting was convened to approve the dissolution.

Akpan particularly cited a letter by the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, which he noted “affirmed that no decision was taken to disband the Akwa Ibom executives.

He, therefore, described the dissolution as “false”, saying, “The PDP in Akwa Ibom is intact, right from the state down to the ward level. We will resist any impunity.

“We have it on good authority that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party that claimed to have dissolved the state executive council did not convene any formal meeting to take such a decision.

“The National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, has issued a press release and conveyed a letter to us showing that there was no such meeting and affirmed that no formal NWC meeting was held to dissolve the state executives of the party in Akwa Ibom,” he said.