In the midst of the leadership crisis rocking the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), especially concerning the Acting National Chairman of the party, Amb. Umar Iliya Damagum, a group in Bauchi State has thrown its support behind him.
The group, known as the ‘Bauchi State PDP Coalition Youth Stakeholders,’ declared that it will continue to endorse the leadership of Umar Damagum as the National Chairman of the PDP beyond the present.
Addressing journalists in Bauchi on Tuesday, the group, led by Sagir A. Sardauna, declared, “We are behind him and hereby declare our total support for our great party’s acting national chairman, H.E. Ambassador Umar Iliya Damugum.”
According to the group, “Damugum has been a member of the PDP since 1998 and remains consistent and totally committed to the success of the party. It is on record that Damugum supported the 2023 PDP presidential candidate wholeheartedly before, during, and after the primary elections against all other aspirants.”
It added, “Damugum won Yobe State for PDP, and for the first time in history, PDP won the state. All those who are shouting at Damugum now lost their polling units; some even supported the Labour Party candidate while some supported APC candidates in their respective states.”
The group stressed that “the same people who are attacking Damugum today supported and lobbied for either ministerial positions or other heads of government parastatals under the present administration.”
The group further alleged that “some governors submitted names; the PDP BoT Chairman has endorsed LP’s Alex Otti for reelection in 2027. Atiku’s loyalists supported APC candidates in Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Rivers, Oyo, and many other states during the last general elections.”
“It is on record that Wike didn’t support Atiku, Asue in Edo, Dino in Kogi, or Diri in Bayelsa, but Damugum supported them wholeheartedly, which they can attest to. The chairman is supporting the Edo candidate right now in court,” the group added.
According to the group, “Some individuals with faded and zero political influence in their states are unfairly targeting Ambassador Umar Damugum, simply because he has shown that he is committed to the unity of the party and has resisted those who wanted to destroy the party and merge or hand over the party to individuals for 2027 ambition. They are sponsoring propaganda against Damugum on the pretext of antiparty.”
“Going forward, we will not allow any individual or group to attack the personality or disrespect our National Chairman. We will resist any attempt to remove him unconstitutionally. The recent Abuja Federal High Court judgement must be respected,” the group declared.
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