PDP in disarray: Damagum, Anyanwu’s letter reignites crisis in Rivers State

By Christiana Ekpa

A letter by Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Damagum, disowning the party’s National Legal Adviser, Mr. Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), in a suit has reignited the crisis in the Rivers State branch of the party.
Damagum and PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, had written to the Deputy Chief Registrar, Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, stating that the party did not authorize the filing of a Notice of Discontinuance in a case involving the party at the Appeal Court.
The move has been met with outrage from some PDP members of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, led by Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere who accused Damagum and Anyanwu of plotting to sabotage the party’s interests in the ongoing legal tussle involving state lawmakers loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
The lawmakers alleged that Damagum and Anyanwu were plotting to hand over the party to the APC in Rivers State, with a view to impeaching Governor Siminilaye Fubara.
They called for immediate action, including reaffirming the authority of the National Legal Adviser and convening a disciplinary committee to investigate Damagum and Anyanwu’s actions.
“The National Legal Adviser, constitutionally empowered to protect the interests of the PDP, had already moved to withdraw the appeal on July 24, 2024, recognizing its potential harm to the party,” Ugochinyere stated.
“However, in a shocking turn of events, on August 15, 2024, Damagum and Anyanwu sent a letter to the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, dissociating themselves from the withdrawal, effectively undermining the Legal Adviser’s authority.”