Elements within the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) opposed to the leadership of the party’s acting National Chairman, Ambassador Illyasu Damagum have expressed resolve to leave the former ruling party, opting instead to be part of the proposed merger arrangement that would birth the envisaged ‘Mega Party’.
Many sources within the PDP told Saturday Telegraph that the plan is ‘a done deal’ as many of the leaders opposed to the continued stay of Damagun on acting capacity have ‘moved on’ and are discussing merger plans with ‘like minds’ from other opposition parties.
“As I speak with you today, PDP is like a portfolio on the outside but the contents have been removed, so it is an empty portfolio with nothing inside it except for the likes of jobbers who are merely using it as a meal ticket,” a source within the party who pleaded not to be named said.
Damagun from Yobe State replaced former National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, in March last year after Ayu withdrew his suit marked MHC/85/2023 dated April 15, filed at the Appeal Court in Makurdi, Benue State, challenging his suspension by the leadership of the APC in his ward.
Since then, Damagum has been leading the party in acting capacity as the national chairman despite pleas with him to step aside coming mainly from the North Central zone of the party who had continued to argue that the office be filled by a member from that region.
On its part, the National Executive Committee of the party had tried in the past to resolve the logjam within the party by prevailing on Damagum to give way but all the efforts have remained largely unsuccessful.
The last ditch efforts took place in October last year but the meeting ended in stalemate as further deliberation on the issues was finally deffered to February this year with many within the anti-Damagum faction insisting that nothing significantly different will happen during the meeting scheduled for next month.
As a pre-emptive measure, the faction is said to have reached out to some elements within the other opposition parties such as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) being led by the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, the Obedient Movements in the Labour Party as well as the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP).
“The PDP is now like a basket. When you put water in the basket, what happens? It is now like a portfolio whose content has been taken away. All the people with content have all left the party, they have left the party for Damagum and his people and they are joining the merger arrangement.
‘The only people still left in the PDP are those who are still there for what to chop and not for the interest of the party. The PDP is now a ghost of its old self, everybody has left,” the source who pleaded not to be named said.
Another source in a chat also stated that virtually all the governors elected on the platform of the PDP have left the party except for a few left.
Though, the source was not sure what is in the offing, he said the ongoing discussion could come in form of merger, alliance or coalition just as he also added that the immediate past Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami is leading some members of immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet into the talks.
“Buhari’s former ministers and many of his supporters are being led into the arrangement by (Abubakar) Malami with intention of merging with the Atiku (Abubakar) group. Their talks have been concluded. The Peter Obi camp is also there. The (Nasir) el-Rufai’s camp in the SDP is also working to come together by March this year,” he said.
