Tag: Umar Damagum

The acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Damagum, has said the party is alive.

He said the PDP was responsible for the political status the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, now enjoys.

Damagum, who was responding to Kwankwaso’s statement that the PDP was dead, said the former Kano State governor should be grateful to the party, despite its internal challenges.

Kwankwaso had spoken in an interview with the Hausa Service of the BBC on Monday while the PDP acting national chairman issued his response in a separate interview aired on the same radio station yesterday.

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He said: “It (PDP) nurtured him (Kwankwaso) and contributed significantly to his political success. We still hold hope that he might return to the party and contribute to its rejuvenation, so we can collectively address the injustices of the current government.

“Every member has the right to express his opinion. But let me remind him (Kwankwaso) that when he left the party in 2015, despite the challenges we faced then, the PDP was not ‘dead.’ If the party could survive his exit then, why would anyone think it is irrelevant now?”

Damagum also queried the impact of Kwankwaso’s move to other political platforms.

He added: “Senator Kwankwaso may have left, but how many states did he win with his new party? The facts speak for themselves. For over two decades, the PDP has remained steadfast, maintaining its identity and producing governors and lawmakers in every part of the country…”

The acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Damagum, has assured that the party will recapture power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

Damagum who was the guest of honour at a grand civil reception in honour of the former Senate President and incumbent Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman of the PDP, Senator Adolphus Wabara.

The event was held at the Trademore Event Centre, Umuahia, the Abia state capital yesterday. 

Describing the Southeast as a deeply rooted PDP zone, Damagum thanked the people for their support for the party despite the loss that the party suffered in the zone and country in the 2023 general elections.

He boasted that the party will come back sound, strong and healthy, charging members to be resilient in their support for the party.

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He noted that those who defected from the party will come back in 2027 as he appealed to the members to also stand solidly behind the BoT chairman who is poised to ensure that the party succeeds.

Earlier in their speeches, the host governor, Peter Mbah, of Enugu State and only PDP governor in the Southeast and governor Seyi Makinde, who was the chairman of the occasion described the former Senate President who also used the civic reception to mark his 76th birthday as a democratic icon, astute politician, stabilizer and one that has served the state and country diligently at various positions where he has had the opportunity to serve.

While Governor Mba expressed the hope that Wabara would use his wealth of political experience to redirect and lead the party to victory in 2027, Gov. Makinde, thanking Wabara for leading a PDP BoT with conscience, said that he was happy that the occasion gave them (PDP) to once again come together after their 2023 poor outing.

He charged members of the party not to lose strength, adding that the best of the party lies ahead.

In his speech, the former Senate President who said that he was overwhelmed with the reception in his honour, promised to ensure that the BoT under his watch would live up to the expectations of members of the party.