A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, has debunked claims that the party is dead.
He explained that the main issues plaguing the party are the controversy over the tenure of the party’s Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, and the struggle for party’s ticket for the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, he explained that the first mistake the PDP made was making Iyorchia Ayu the national chairman of the party.
He said “In fact, some people say that our party is dead but our party is not dead. Discussions are ongoing and, like you also observed that there are three major groups: The group of Damagum, the group of Atiku, and some other groups. As a life member of the Board of Trustee, BoT, I want you to look at our role in the management of the party. BoT is the custodian of the assets and liabilities of the party and it is also the mediator when we have crisis like this.
“There were mistakes that were made. This is a national party, not a private enterprise. The first mistake that was made was that Iyorchia Ayu was the National Chairman… Fine, he appointed the Chairman of that convention, a former Senate President who is also from Benue State. So, he concentrated that decision on the Chairman, David Mark, and himself. And, I said, “Look, this doesn’t go well”, and then you made a promise.
“There were reasons why we allowed every zone to contest. Have people forgotten what happened on that convention floor? These are serious issues and we must ensure they don’t happen again. We accepted that because of the reasons they gave. Now, everybody seems to believe and behave as if that doesn’t matter, including what Damagum is doing. Something leads to something and that’s why we found ourselves where we are. Let’s be honest with ourselves.”
