The 2023 Kogi State governorship candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dino Melaye, has claimed that the party has been “commercialized and privatized,” losing its once prominent position in Nigeria’s political landscape.
In a post on his X handle on Saturday, the former Kogi West Senator accused the PDP of losing its relevance and blamed the party’s leadership for its decline. Melaye pointed fingers at the acting PDP national chairman, Iliya Damagum, the national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and the national organizing secretary, Umar Bature, accusing them of irreparably damaging the party.
He wrote, “It’s the end of the road for PDP as Damagum, Bature, and Anyanwu have irredeemably destroyed the party. We will discuss the commercialization and privatization of PDP. The party is now just a shadow of its former self.”
Melaye’s remarks come amidst growing tensions within the party, as PDP lawmakers in the House of Representatives have leveled serious allegations against Damagum and Anyanwu. Under the banner of the Opposition Coalition, these lawmakers accused the party’s leaders of covertly working to undermine the PDP by supporting defected former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly in their legal attempts to impeach Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara.
Ikenga Ugochinyere, the spokesperson for the coalition and a member of the House of Representatives representing Ideato Federal Constituency, outlined what he described as a deliberate strategy by Damagum and Anyanwu to weaken the PDP from within.
In response, during the inauguration of the PDP National Reconciliation and Disciplinary Committees in Abuja on Thursday, Damagum dismissed the allegations and warned that no one could pressure him into resigning. He criticized those spreading what he called misinformation about the party’s operations, asserting that calls for his resignation only serve to increase his popularity.
