A member of the House representing Ideato North/South federal constituency of Imo State, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, on Thursday accused the Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagun, of acting out a script to destroy the party and render it incapable of contesting the 2027 elections.
Addressing a news conference in his office at the National Assembly Complex, Ugochinyere also told governors, lawmakers, and other leaders of the PDP to rise up now and speak out with a view to saving the party from those he called agents of the APC.
He said Damagun has gone against the tenets of the agreement reached at the last National Executive Council meeting of the PDP, which allowed him to remain in office until August, when a new chairman will be elected by obtaining a court injunction against his removal.
In addition, he said the PDP, under the leadership of Damagun, has gone to court to file a suit opposing the prayers to declare the seats of the 27 lawmakers from Rivers State who defected to the APC vacant, on the ground that it is only the party that can determine who its members are.
He said that even though the legal adviser of the party initially denied the suit, “we can confirm to you that the processes were filed by Dr. Joshua Musa, even though the party earlier filed a suit asking the court to declare the seats vacant.
He said, “The PDP is now approbating and reprobating at the same time. So, what happened? When was this new alliance forged? When did the PDP start defending the defected lawmakers? What are the terms of that negotiation? Are the terms in the interest of the PDP or APC, the new party of the now-former members?
Ugochinyere alleged that “since after the NEC meeting, which agreed for a peaceful exit for Damagun at the next NEC meeting that will come in a few months, which will see the emergence of a candidate from North Central as PDP Chairman, many strange things have been happening.
“First, they want to secure an ex parte order that Damagun should remain in office using APC members who are parading as PDP members. Now, in an action that looks like payback, Damagun NWC has hired a pro-APC interest lawyer to file court papers seeking to reinstate sacked APC lawmakers to enable them to attempt the impossible task of attempting to illegally remove Gov. . Fubara from the office.
“Also, a strange court action that Damagun NWC is not opposing came out from nowhere, ordering NWC to allow the PDP caretaker list filled with Apc members to be inaugurated; strangely, our PDP now allows APC members to take over our party structures. Now, are you thinking what we are thinking?
“Damagun has dragged the PDP to court and obtained an order restraining the PDP from removing him from office. This was after the NEC of the party had fixed August for Damagun to. democratically leave office.”
The PDP Lawmaker “calls on the National Executive Committee of the PDP, the Board of Trustees, and all other men of goodwill to take another look at the current leadership of the party and agree with us that Damagum is a clear and present danger to the PDP and its survival.
“He has now come out openly and is no longer disguising that his loyalty is with the APC. Urgent action is required now.
“PDP Governors, it is Fubara he wants to remove today; keep quiet about it, and it will definitely be your turn tomorrow. PDP governors, senators, and House of Representatives members who are keeping quiet will cry when they come for the entire party to sink it, and then you will be shedding crocodile tears by the time APC members take over your respective states and federal constituencies.
“This is another early warning for the party and those who believe in it to stand up and save the soul of the party before irreversible damage is done to the party.”
He alleged that all court cases filed by the pro-Wike members of the party have often been assigned to specific judges who grant their prayers for a restraining order within 24 hours after such cases are filed and assigned to them.
He said, “The security agencies need to move in immediately and get to the root of this chain of obtaining ex parte orders and judgments in a defined pattern against all known principles of fair hearing and justice.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria needs to set the ball rolling with the NJC moving immediately to find out what happened without waiting for a petition. This scandal is humongous, and the Council can move on its own. It’s shocking that once the exemption is granted, nothing happens again in most of the cases.
“The Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee needs to immediately set up measures to find out if any person under its authority has done anything warranting its disciplinary actions.
“The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court needs to speak to this issue and save the institution of the Federal High Court from this image-damaging scandal.”
He called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pay close attention to developments within the polity “lest Nigeria’s democracy slip off under his watch.”