PDP State Chairmen Back Damagum, Reject Abdurahman Factional Leadership

The Forum of State Chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has formally thrown its collective weight and loyalty behind the embattled National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagum. The Forum, which comprises 29 state chairmen, reaffirmed their support at a meeting on Thursday, while dismissing the rival faction led by Abdulrahman Mohammed as illegitimate.

Dependable NG reports that the deepening leadership crisis within the main opposition party has led to rival claims for the national chairmanship, following a recent attempt by a faction to suspend Damagum and install Mohammed. The State Chairmen, however, declared that Damagum remains the only recognized national chairman of the party under the PDP Constitution (2017, as amended).

In their statement, the chairmen emphatically dissociated themselves from the purported leadership of Abdulrahman Mohammed. “The forum in the same vein dissociates itself from the purported Abdurahman leadership and wants to categorically say that the PDP has only one National Chairman, His Excellency Umar Damagun,” the Forum stated.

The body also applauded what it termed the effective collaborative leadership currently existing between the National Working Committee (NWC) under Damagum, the PDP Governors’ Forum led by the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, and the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) chaired by Adolphus Wabara. This united front from the state level signals strong support for the forthcoming National Convention, which the Damagum faction is mobilizing for, despite opposition from the rival group.