The Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum has instructed conflicting party members to revert to their previous positions, following a meeting that concluded early Tuesday morning.
The directive was announced by the forum’s chairman, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.
Mohammed acknowledged that as a political organization, disagreements among PDP members are expected, but he emphasized that these issues can be addressed and resolved.
“There is no crisis. The Governors, BoT, the National Assembly caucus have agreed that the NWC should revert to status quo,” Mohammed said, according to The PUNCH.
He further stated that all previous suspensions within the party had been nullified.
The PDP has been grappling with an internal crisis since its presidential primary election ahead of the 2023 general election. Following that election, several party stakeholders worked against the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who ultimately lost to the All Progressives Congress candidate, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
As the PDP struggles to reconcile aggrieved party chieftains ahead of the 2027 general elections, some stakeholders have called for the removal of the party’s current national chairman, Umar Damagum.
The situation within the opposition party became even more complicated last Friday when the national leadership split into two factions, one led by Yayari Mohammed and the other by Umar Damagum.
This division followed the suspension of the party’s National Legal Adviser, Adeyemi Ajibade, and National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, during the 593rd meeting of the National Working Committee.
In response to the suspensions, Abdullahi and Okechukwu Osuoha were appointed as acting replacements for the suspended officials.
The conflict deepened further when Ologunagba declared the suspension of Damagum and National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, citing various complaints filed against them.
Complicating matters, a Federal High Court in Abuja issued a ruling on the same day, preventing the National Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees from dismissing Damagum as the acting national chairman.
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the ruling via Zoom, affirming that only Damagum should be recognized as the PDP’s acting national chairman until the party’s convention in December 2025.
In light of the leadership crisis, Governor Bala Mohammed, speaking to journalists on Tuesday morning before departing for Ondo for an important assignment, confirmed that the party leadership had nullified the suspensions of both the acting national chairman, Umar Illiya Damagum, and the suspended officials, including National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba and National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN.
Accompanied by Damagum and other key PDP stakeholders, Bala Mohammed concluded by stating that the party’s status quo would remain for now.
