The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has once again been thrown into chaos following a clash between two factions over "warning letters" issued by the camp of acting National Chairman Ambassador Umar Damagum to National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu and National Organising Secretary Capt. Umar Bature. The letters, dated September 30, accused the two officials of anti-party activities and actions that brought the PDP into disrepute
The allegations included fraternizing with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), disobeying party directives, and fueling disunity withing the PDP. The letters were signed by Damagum and other factional leaders, including Chief Ali Odefa and Chief Emmanuel Ogidi, both of whose leadership claims were recently invalidated by a Federal High Court ruling.
Rejecting the warning letters, Anyanwu and Bature described them as baseless and unconstitutional. Anyanwu dismissed the move as “nonsense,” insisting no factional group had the authority to discipline him. Bature similarly stated that the purported signatories lacked the constitutional power to issue such letters or suspend any National Working Committee (NWC) member.
Adding fuel to the crisis, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose declared that the PDP was in “terminal coma” and had lost all hope of recovery. He lamented that internal divisions, poor leadership, and self-interest had reduced the once-dominant party to a mere shadow of itself.
Fayose likened the PDP to a patient on life support, saying the party could only survive through a radical overhaul. He expressed disappointment that key leaders and governors were defecting while those left behind appeared indifferent to the party’s decline.
Commenting on Damagum’s suspension and the emergence of Alhaji Mohammed Abdurahman as acting national chairman, Fayose said the change was “long overdue.” He accused Damagum of incompetence and manipulating his way into office, saying his removal was necessary for the party’s survival.
The ex-governor urged Abdurahman to prioritise reconciliation, conduct long-overdue state congresses, and organise a national convention in line with the PDP constitution. Only through genuine leadership and unity, he said, could the party begin to recover.
Fayose warned that if the new leadership fails to act decisively, the PDP risks becoming politically irrelevant. He described the current NWC members as “undertakers” presiding over the party’s burial.
He concluded that the time for blame games was over, urging all stakeholders to focus on rebuilding the PDP’s lost glory. According to him, with top leaders and presidential candidates from the 2023 elections already gone, what remains of the PDP is “the carcass of a once-great party.”
