The acting National Chairman of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Iliya Damagun, has been accused by the PDP Stakeholders Forum of allegedly receiving the sum of $2m along with the party’s National Legal Adviser on behalf of the National Working Committee (NWC) so that the party will allow the lawyers of the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, led by Dr. Joshua Musa, SAN to file secret processes to stop the Court from declaring vacant the seats of the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who left PDP to APC.
In a statement by Mallam Abubakar Isa, Publicity Secretary of the group, it alleged that one of the members of the NWC who was privy to the deal confided in him that though he has received his own share of the money, he was not happy with the way the party was drifting.
Isa further alleged that the processes will be filed by Dr. Joshua Musa, SAN, a well-known Wike’s lawyer on behalf of PDP and will vehemently maintain that the Court should not sack the Rivers lawmakers, who defected to another political party in violation of the law.
“This might have been the reason Wike boasted on Saturday to the member of the House of Assembly from Ogu-Bolo State constituency, Hon. Davids Okobiriari Arnold that nobody would remove him and declare his seat vacant in the Assembly. The court action is to allow the 27 defected lawmakers time to impeach Governor Fubara and restore the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike as the leader of the Party in the State with unfettered access to the Rivers treasury,” the statement further alleged.
But, reacting to the news of this revelation, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) declared that if this was the current modus operandi in the PDP where the leadership will support members of another party to remove a governor elected on its platform, then that would be the official end of the PDP as a political party.
The coalition, in a statement on Thursday, urged PDP leaders to reconvene if the alleged court papers are filed on Friday and force Damagun-led National Working Committee out before they bury the PDP.
CUPP said, “The FCT Minister’s behaviour is getting out of hand. This unruly behaviour shouldn’t be allowed to persist. If what we are hearing is the current modus operandi in the PDP where the leadership will support members of another party to remove a Governor elected on the platform of their party, then that would be the official end of the PDP as a political party.
“We urge PDP leaders to reconvene if the ”evil court” papers are filed tomorrow and force Damagun National Working Committee out before they bury the PDP.”