A former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, has called on the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun, to step down in order to help resolve ongoing internal conflicts within the party.
Speaking in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, Ologbondiyan stressed that Damagun’s resignation would allow for necessary reforms and help restore the PDP’s stability.
His call aligns with previous demands from some party members, including 60 PDP House of Representatives members, who accused Damagun of being too close to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and urged him to resign.
Ologbondiyan blamed Damagun for the party’s current issues, insisting that the acting chairman’s departure is key to ensuring the PDP can function as a strong opposition party.
He also suggested that Damagun should return to his previous role as the Deputy National Chairman (North).
As the former spokesperson for the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization during the 2023 election, Ologbondiyan argued that true reconciliation within the party could only occur if a new national chairman from the North-Central region is appointed.
He noted that the North-Central zone has been denied the chairmanship since Iyorchia Ayu’s suspension.
Ologbondiyan said, “There is no debating the fact that for the PDP to be able to achieve its purpose, the course of justice must be pursued and must be followed.
“Damagum has taken over the responsibilities of a substantive chairman that ought to have come from the North-Central.
“If he had reverted to his own office and allowed the North-Central to produce a substantive chairman, some of the major issues in the party would have been resolved.”