Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Damagum, has dismissed allegations that he is secretly collaborating with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting his loyalty to the PDP has never wavered since 1999.
Speaking in a BBC Hausa interview, Damagum confronted the accusations head-on, particularly claims that he met President Bola Tinubu in England and was working against PDP interests.
“May God judge us, if I am working for the APC,” Damagum declared, calling the claims baseless and politically motivated.
He reaffirmed his long-standing commitment to the PDP, stressing: “I have a history, since I joined the PDP in 1999, I have never defected. Those who dislike me will have to find ways to either praise or criticise me to get what they want.”
Damagum also addressed mounting criticism over his relationship with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who has frequently clashed with the PDP establishment.
“For all those who accuse me of having links with the Minister of FCT, I know him or have had links with him, and many of them have had links with him. My only fault here is that I did not allow them to do what they wanted with him,” he explained.
Expressing disappointment over the wave of defections from the PDP to the APC, Damagum described it as a blow to the party’s strength and unity.
“We must be sad. Whenever you lose someone, you don’t feel happy, even if it’s just one person you’re grieving for,” he said, adding that none of the defectors could claim they were pushed out unfairly.
He acknowledged that the PDP is facing internal tensions but insisted the party remains intact.
“PDP is one. There are internal problems, because a party never lacks problems because its leaders are people, and people are in it, and everyone has their own interests,” he noted.
Damagum’s comments come amid growing pressure within the party to clarify his stance, as the 2027 political landscape begins to take shape.
