Damagum Dispels Resignation Rumours, Says “I Am Still In Charge”

The beleaguered Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Damagum, claimed yesterday that certain ‘highly-placed individuals’ are attempting to oust him from his position through deceitful means. He specifically pointed to a rumor suggesting that he had resigned from his role, which he firmly denied, urging those responsible for the rumor to cease their actions.

In a statement released by his aide, Nuru Shehu Jos, Damagum stated, “The anonymous creators of this false information have incorrectly cited a television station as their source.” He admonished these troublemakers to immediately stop disseminating falsehoods aimed at tarnishing the reputation of a committed and diligent Acting National Chairman.

Damagum emphasized that the party’s constitution guarantees the chairman a four-year term. “To clarify, Ambassador Umar Damagum has not resigned from his position; the PDP constitution provides for a four-year term for the National Chairman initially. We assert that the malicious claims against Ambassador Damagum are unfounded, defamatory, and constitute a serious offense.”

He urged all PDP members, including party elders, stakeholders, and youth and women groups, to disregard the false information. Damagum assumed the role of acting national chairman following Dr. Iyorchia Ayu’s departure after the PDP’s loss in the 2023 presidential election and has faced significant pressure to resign.

In October of the previous year, a Federal High Court in Abuja issued an injunction preventing the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) from removing him from his position as acting national chair. In a judgment delivered via Zoom, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that, apart from Damagum, no other individual should be recognized as the PDP acting national chair until the party’s convention scheduled for December 2025. Lifu affirmed that party members are obligated to adhere to Articles 42, 47, and 67 of the PDP constitution, which stipulates that national officers can only be elected during the party’s national convention.