The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amb. Umar Damagum, has said he won’t allow critics of his leadership style to intimidate him into abdicating his responsibilities.
Damagum said this in response to Chief Edwin Clerk, and a former Party Spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, who both criticized his handling of the party’s affairs in Rivers State and allegations of anti-party activities levelled against the former Rivers State governor and now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike.
The PANDEF leader, E. K. Clark, had earlier accused Damagun of indulging Wike, whom he accused of working with external influences to weaken the PDP to pave the way for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to continue in office.
The elder statesman was particularly miffed that despite Wike’s alleged anti-party activities, the PDP Ag. National
Chairman hasn’t dared to take disciplinary action against .
But Damagum, while reacting to the elder statesman’s accusation during the inauguration of the PDP’s National Disciplinary and Reconciliation committees, said, “I want to use this opportunity also to address a letter from our elder statesman that has been brought to my attention. I don’t intend to speak much on it.
“I will borrow Olisa Metuh’s remarks from 2015 when Edwin Clark left the party. There’s no doubt that he is an elder statesman. But I thought that when you reach that age, God has given you the opportunity and wisdom to be a father to all, not to engage in public arguments.
“He has all it takes to do the needful, not by taking a sentimental approach to the situation. I was not raised to be disrespectful to elders, so I don’t intend to dwell on this further.”
