…ratifies Damagum as substantive National Chairman
The Peoples Democratic Party took a firm stand on Saturday as its National Convention in Ibadan moved decisively against what party leaders described as years of “relentless sabotage and constitutional violations.”
In a heavily charged hall where delegates murmured, sighed and applauded in turns, the party announced the expulsion of former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike and current minister of FCT, former Ekiti State governor Ayo Fayose, former Imo PDP governorship candidate Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and nine others.
The decision arrived under the fifth motion of the day, moved by elder statesman and Lagos PDP leader, Chief Bode George.
It was seconded without resistance by the Bauchi state chairman, Samaila Buga
marking what several insiders quietly admitted had been brewing for months.
The list of expelled members included Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Ayo Fayose, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Hon. Umar Bature, Adeyemi Ajibade, Mohammed Abdulrahman, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa,
Hon. Austine Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah, George Turner, and Chief Dan Orbi.
According to the motion, their offences ranged from open support for opposition candidates to repeated defiance of party directives. The party hinged its decision on Articles 10(6), 58(1)(b), (c), (f), (i), (j), (l) and 59(1)(g) of its constitution.
Chief George, reading the motion slowly and deliberately, reminded the hall that the National Convention sits at the top of the party’s hierarchy, empowered by Articles 33(2)(1), (2)(j), (n) and (r) of the PDP constitution to decide all disciplinary matters.
He noted that no organization can function when key members act in ways that contradict its survival.
He added that the party had reached the limit of internal tolerance. “A political party is voluntary. People join because they believe in its values. If those values no longer matter to them, they should not remain,” he said, drawing a long wave of applause.
Delegates were told that the expelled individuals had been repeatedly warned but persisted in actions that directly undermined PDP candidates during crucial electoral contests.
The mood in the hall shifted from tension to release once the vote of adoption passed. By evening, the decision had begun rippling across state delegations, with many viewing it as the boldest disciplinary move since the party’s founding.
In a similar development, the Convention also ratified Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum as the substantive National Chairman of the PDP.
His confirmation brought a sense of closure to a leadership question that had lingered since the last electoral cycle.
Damagum, in a brief remark, called the moment a reset for the party. He urged members to rebuild trust, recommit to internal discipline, and prepare for the political battles ahead.
For a party long weighed down by factional fights and public disagreements, Saturday’s decisions suggested a resolve to reclaim coherence.
Whether this marks a fresh start or the beginning of another storm remains to be seen, but for now, the PDP has drawn a clear boundary and asked the country to take note.