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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has criticised the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagum, for instructing the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, to resume duties at the party’s national secretariat.
Speaking on Wednesday at the inauguration of the Arterial Road N20 interchange bridge in Abuja, Wike declared that Damagum lacked the authority to issue such a directive.
“I watched on national television and heard the acting national chairman directing the national secretary to resume. The national secretary is not your appointee,” Wike said. “He has been doing his work and will continue to do so. You can’t ask him to resume because of the illegalities you’re perpetrating.”
He further accused Damagum of poor leadership and condemned the PDP’s recent visit to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), calling it “ignorant and shameful.”
“A political party now goes to INEC asking what to do. If, because of your ignorance of the law, you went there, that’s unfortunate. The law doesn’t excuse ignorance,” he added.
Wike urged party leaders to act with responsibility and seek proper counsel rather than be driven by ego or personal gain.
“Don’t let ego or monthly allocations mislead you. If you want to learn, come to us — we’ll teach you how to handle it,” he said.
Earlier, the PDP had reversed its stance on Anyanwu and suspended the planned National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting set for June 30, following discussions with INEC. Damagum admitted the decision was difficult but noted that it was accepted by key stakeholders. He announced that the party would now hold an expanded National Caucus meeting on the same date instead.
