I was appointed to rekindle hope in PDP, says factional acting chair

Yayari Mohammed, factional acting chair of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says he will work on rebuilding the confidence of party members.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Mohammed said the national working committee (NWC) of the party appointed him to “rekindle the hope and aspirations” of party members.

Mohammed expressed gratitude to the NWC and party members for their “desire and determination” to see a strong and united PDP.

He said the PDP has not been a virile opposition due to “conflict of interests — personal or political” by some leaders in the NWC.

He said these personal interests have been “elevated” above the party’s agenda and continues to affect its ability to perform effectively at the national level.

“This state of affairs continues to affect the performance and viability of our Party to perform its role as expected as a platform which Nigerians have come to admire and look up to in view of the robust Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017) and the monumental achievements of the Party in the sixteen years in government, which period is referred to with nostalgia as the golden years of governance in Nigeria,” the statement reads.

“The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, desirous of revamping the Party in line with the vision of its founding fathers, on Thursday, October 10, 2024 appointed me as the Acting National Chairman to lead the charge to rekindle the hope and aspiration of our teeming members especially the youths, critical stakeholders and generality of Nigerians who wish to see a political Party that is ready and willing to play the role of effective opposition in the quest to develop our democracy and seek for responsible and responsive government in our country.”

Mohammed said he will be “strictly guided” by the PDP constitution, and ensure fairness to all members irrespective of status, position or state.

“Only this will guarantee and engender loyalty and commitment of our teeming members,” he said.

‘”In this regard, my primary goal, focus and mandate in the onerous assignment is to restore the confidence of our members by immediately setting in motion the process to hold the long overdue National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of our Party already scheduled for Thursday, October 24, 2024,” he said.

PDP CRISIS

The PDP has been mired in an internal crisis since 2022.

The internal wrangling in the opposition party has festered, polarising the party and the NWC.

The crisis took a new twist on Thursday with one faction in the NWC suspending Umar Damagum, the acting national chairman, and Samuel Anyanwu, the national secretary.

Another faction suspended Kamaldeen Ajibade, the national legal adviser, and Debo Ologunagba, the national spokesperson.

On Friday, Ologunagba’s faction announced the appointment of Mohammed as the party’s acting national chairman.

Hours later on the same day, a federal high court in Abuja restrained the national executive committee (NEC), the highest decision-making organ of the party, and BoT from removing Damagum as the acting national chairman.

In a judgment delivered via Zoom, Peter Lifu, the presiding judge, ordered that aside from Damagum, no other person must be recognised as the PDP acting national chairman until the party’s convention scheduled for December 2025.