By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagum, has warned party leaders against prioritizing their personal ambitions over the party’s unity.
Damagum ascribed the festering crisis rocking the party to the clash of inordinate and selfish ambitions of most of leaders of the party.
He maintained that keeping PDP alive and well should be the priority of the leaders as without the party their ambition can’t be realized adding that, ” you don’t ride on a dead horse to reach your destination.”
The acting chairman spoke on Wednesday at a meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT) at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
He said Nigerians were looking up to the PDP to provide an alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) amid ongoing economic hardship.
Damagum accused party leaders of bypassing his authority by engaging members of the national working committee (NWC) without his knowledge.
“I want to use this opportunity to assure the BoT just like the (BoT) chairman has reiterated: there is a crisis within the national working committee (NWC). It is normal,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I want to say this with a high sense of responsibility, most of these crises that you see today within the NWC are propelled by our leaders who are supposed to unite us.
“It is very unfortunate. I would say it the way it is. We all know the workings of the NWC. Some of you here have been members of the NWC members.
“I’m sitting down here as the chairman only to see my members called by certain leaders to visit certain places without even my knowledge.
“I want to use this opportunity to caution us and our leaders. You may have ambition but you don’t ride on a dead horse to reach your destination.
“If you create a crisis simply to further your ambition, you may get what you want but your dream will not be realised because you have injured the horse you are going to ride to your destination.
“As the conscience (BoT) of this party, some of us are also complicit. We should look inward, and search our conscience. This party is dear to all of us. It is the only thing we have.
“The hope of Nigerians today is in this party. So, we should sheath our swords and work towards uniting ourselves so that they would have a credible vehicle that can challenge what is bedevilling us.”
He added;”The last meeting we had with the governors, we all agreed that we would have the NEC. And I want to assure you that we would do everything possible to have the NEC this February,” he said.
“You are all aware that we have started the process of zonal congresses. Even at that, I enjoin our leaders to also be mindful of doing anything that can mar these congresses. It is very important to sound this note.
“We have had congresses in almost 28 to 29 states. We have problems in a few states. I think we are getting there.”
