Sixty members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party have demanded the resignation of the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.
The lawmakers led by the PDP member representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency, Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere made the call on the premise that Damagum had allegedly handed the leadership structure of the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress.
This is just as the opposition lawmakers accused Damagum of plotting to use the Federal High Court to legalise the extension of the tenure of Rivers State Local Government Areas Chairmen.
Ugochinyere added that Damagum’s resignation would also pave way for the North Central to produce the Acting Chairman as clearly stated in the PDP Constitution.
He said; “It is our call on Damagum to immediately resign so that the party can midwife a process and hand over to someone from North Central in line with the provisions of our great party. It is also our call to the leaders of our party from the North Central, Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, Senators David Mark, Bukola Saraki, Abba Moro, Gabriel Suswam and Babangida Aliyu, to rise up now and save the soul of the part,” Ugochinyere said on behalf of his colleagues.
Describing Damagum as unfit to lead the party to battle, the lawmakers said the Yobe politician “Was only constitutionally allowed to step in, hold the fort and midwife the process through which the North Central zone where the chairmanship of the party was originally zone to present another person who would complete the slot of the North Central,” adding however that “Not only did Damagun hold tight unto the seat for well over a year now, he has abdicated every responsibility of the office of the chairman of PDP and is very comfortable serving APC interests.
Addressing the National Chairman frontally, Ugochinyere said, “You have a chance to resign immediately, leave, or be embarrassed out of the party. At least 60 of us in the PDP in the National Assembly will severe all relationships with the Damagun leadership until he leaves office. At the scheduled National Executive Committee meeting, if Damagun by any maneuvering however conjectured, remains in office with the help of his APC friends at the end of the day; the party is now heading to the final slaughter shed.”
