Opposition lawmakers Coalition under the main Opposition Coalition umbrella the CUPP have raised allegations against the party’s acting National Chairman, Mr. Umar Iliya Damagum, and National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
The lawmakers accused the two party leaders of a covert plot to sabotage the PDP’s interests in an ongoing legal battle involving defected former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Speaking on behalf of the Opposition Coalition, their spokesperson and leading member of the House of Representatives representing Ideato Federal Constituency, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, detailed a series of events that he described as a calculated attempt by Damagum and Anyanwu to weaken the PDP from inside and undermine its legal standing in a high-profile court case that will see pro-Wike sacked APC lawmakers gaining legal ground to attempt to force PDP government out of office.
The opposition spokesman alleged that Damagum and Anyawu are opposing the move of the National Legal Adviser to ensure that the pro-Wike sacked APC lawmakers who decamped from PDP are stopped from doing any harm to PDP interest.
The case, marked PHC/2177/CS/2024, centres on a dispute over the defection of 27 PDP members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 11, 2023.
Ugochinyere explained that the Rivers State High Court had previously issued an ex parte order on July 8, 2024, restraining key state officials from interacting with the defected lawmakers.
However, he alleged that former Governor Nyesom Wike, in what he described as an “anti-party” manoeuvre, retained Dr. J.Y. Musa, SAN, to file an unauthorized appeal against this order, despite opposition from the PDP’s National Legal Adviser, Mr. Ajibade, SAN.
“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.”
The Opposition Coalition lawmakers argue that this action by the party’s leadership is part of a broader scheme to destabilize the PDP in Rivers State and pave the way for the APC’s political ambition.
They claim that this is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of interference by Damagum and Anyanwu in several other legal cases in Abuja and Port Harcourt, all allegedly aimed at weakening the PDP.
Neither Damagum nor Anyanwu had responded to Ugochinyere’s claim as of the time of filing this report.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
