Former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, has announced that the party’s leadership has resolved that the North-Central region will produce the next substantive national chairman. This decision will take effect in November, replacing Umar Damgun, who has been serving as acting chairman since the removal of Iyorchia Ayu by a court ruling in 2023.
Ologbondiyan stated that the decision was a consensus among PDP leaders who met in Abuja on Tuesday. During the meeting, the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) session, initially scheduled for October 24, was postponed to November 28, 2024. The North-Central zone, where Ayu also hails from, will select his replacement.
“The reason for the postponement is to enable the leadership of the party lead the party to win election in Ondo State,” Ologbondiyan said on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Wednesday.
“And for that singular reason, members are calming down since it is certain now that after the victory in Ondo that on November 28, we will have a NEC meeting where the North-Central will have the opportunity to produce its replacement for Senator Iyorchia Ayu.”
Probed further whether the leadership of the party which has been in disagreement on the chairmanship position all agreed that the North-Central should produce a candidate for that position in November, Ologbodiyan said, “part of the discussion and decision reached last night is that come November 28 the North-Central will produce a replacement to Ambassador Iliyasu Damagum, I can say that anywhere.”
The rescheduling of the PDP National Executive Council (NEC) meeting was announced in a communiqué issued by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, following a consultative meeting of various party organs held on Tuesday at the Bauchi State Governors’ Lodge, Tatari Ali House, Asokoro.
Governor Mohammed explained that the postponement aims to ensure the party enters the upcoming Ondo gubernatorial election, scheduled for November 16, 2024, with the unity and strength necessary to “unseat the floundering All Progressives Congress (APC) government in the state.”
The meeting also focused on resolving internal disunity within the party. Attendees included members of the PDP Governors Forum, the Board of Trustees, the National Working Committee (NWC), the National Assembly Leadership of the PDP Caucus, and the Forum of Former Governors.
This gathering comes amidst an internal crisis within the party. The PDP Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, and National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, had recently suspended the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, and the National Legal Adviser, Ajibade. In retaliation, Ologunagba and Ajibade suspended Damagum and Anyanwu, leading to a stalemate, which was ultimately resolved by the intervention of the PDP Governors Forum.