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Umar Damagum, the acting Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party has rejected the advice of those asking him to sanction ‘disloyal’ members of the party, saying the party’s National Working Committee under his leadership won’t suspend anyone.
Some stakeholders are said to have been advising Damagum to sanction former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and others for alleged anti-party activities during the last election.
Rather than sanctioning erring members, the chairman, while addressing the PDP Mobilisers Group in Abuja, said the NWC has already set up a committee to reconcile all aggrieved members.
He said sanctioning party members for alleged anti-party activity may destroy the PDP, adding that his leadership of the party was more interested in reconciliation.
“They are always telling you these people are not doing the right thing. But when you are in a position of leadership, you are bound by a set of rules, and these rules even though they are itching you, you don’t apply them; not because of anything, but so that you don’t destroy the house.
“I have been seeing the agitations within our platforms saying the NWC was not doing this or doing that. This is an opportunity for me to explain.
“Somebody has said sometimes when you are not knowledgeable about certain things and you go on saying about your thinking, it will always injure the sensibility of others to understand you,” he said.
He said if he has to sanction members for anti-party activities in the last general election, he would have to suspend many party members because many of them played anti-party games.
“If I said we should start suspension, I will end up suspending many people because they were involved in anti-party activities. So, please bear with us. We intend to keep this party together and to manage it. This is my mandate,” he said.
On the 2023 presidential election, Damagum described it as “most painful” while urging party members not to trade blames over the party’s loss in the election.
During the build-up to the last election, Wike, a strong member of the opposition party, who currently serves as a minister under the ruling All Progressives Congress was accused of working against the PDP.
Ahead of the election, the former governor openly hobnobbed with the APC members, invited them to commission projects and also criticised the leadership of the PDP.