The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagum, has berated the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, over his comments on the party.
Kwankwaso had in an interview on the BBC Hausa Service on Monday slammed the PDP and its leaders for trying to manipulate the people of the Northern part of the country in a bid to secure their votes in future elections.
He also listed a series of events that led to his exit from the PDP in 2015.
However, Damagum in an interview with the same BBC Hausa Service said the party played a key role in shaping Kwankwaso’s political career.
He boasted that even if the NNPP merges with three other parties, they would not win an election without the PDP.
Damagum noted that despite the challenges the PDP has faced, the party is still very much alive.
Damagum said: “People are entitled to their opinions, but I want to remind him of the past. When they left the PDP in 2015, if the party didn’t die back then, during a time they thought they had weakened it, I don’t see why anyone would claim it is dead now.
“Let’s not forget that the PDP remains the only party capable of winning elections if you exclude the ruling APC.
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“That said, there is no party better than the PDP for Kwankwaso. The party nurtured his political career and brought him to where he is today. We still hope he will return to work with us to rebuild our party and confront this oppressive government.
“The PDP is the only party that has consistently won elections without being in power. Senator Kwankwaso may have left, but how many states did he win with his new party? The facts speak for themselves.
“For over two decades, the PDP has remained steadfast, maintaining its identity and producing governors and lawmakers in every part of the country.
“Even if four parties merge without the PDP, they cannot win an election. We’ve seen this play out repeatedly. Where are those parties now? Even their alliances with other parties have not delivered the desired results.
“I admit that some of his claims about the challenges we faced back then are valid. As the Deputy National Chairman (North) at the time, my powers were limited. But we tried to resolve the issues. Unfortunately, those efforts fell short. He himself acknowledged this in previous interviews.”
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