By Amah
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The internal crisis within the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has escalated following a letter by the acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, and National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, disowning the party’s National Legal Adviser, Mr. Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), in an ongoing legal matter. The letter, dated August 16, 2024, and addressed to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, claimed the party did not authorize a Notice of Discontinuance filed on July 24 in a case involving 27 defected lawmakers from the State House of Assembly.
According to THE NATION reports, Damagum and the PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, had in an August 16, 2024 letter to the Deputy Chief Registrar, Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, said the party “did not authorise the filing” of a Notice of Discontinuance on July 24 in respect of a case involving the party at the Appeal Court.
The legal battle centers on the lawmakers who defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in December 2023. The appeal, numbered CA/PH/307/2024, seeks to challenge their defection.
However, Damagum and Anyanwu’s intervention has sparked outrage within the party, with some members alleging a conspiracy to sabotage the PDP’s interests in Rivers State.
Pro-Wike lawmakers
Addressing journalists in Abuja, a group of PDP members in the House of Representatives from Rivers State, led by Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, accused Damagum and Anyanwu of plotting to hand over control of the party to the APC in the state. They alleged that the two leaders are working to undermine the legal efforts aimed at protecting the PDP’s position and supporting pro-APC elements loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike in an attempt to impeach Governor Siminilaye Fubara.
The lawmakers called for immediate action, including reaffirming the authority of the National Legal Adviser, restraining the national leaders from further interference, and convening a disciplinary committee to investigate their actions. They warned that if the alleged plot succeeds, it could lead to the destruction of the PDP in Rivers State. Newsdirect
