Damagum, Kogi Party Leaders Urged To Review Melaye Utterances, Apply Appropriate Sanctions

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amb. Umar Damagum, the Chairman of the party’s disciplinary committee, Tom Ikimi, and party leaders in Kogi state have been asked to review Senator Dino Melaye’s recent remarks against the PDP and impose severe sanctions.

A Coalition of PDP Professionals issued the call on Wednesday, claiming that the new National Disciplinary Committee established by the PDP could begin to make a positive impact on the party’s rapid recovery from current crises by focusing on people like Senator Melaye.

Meleye recently criticised PDP leaders, accusing them of destroying the party.

The Coalition of PDP Professionals, in a statement issued by its President, Engineer Abdulraheem Ilyasu Garba, and its Publicity Secretary, Mr Gabriel Segun Adekoya, revealed that they are working on a memorandum that will include Senator Dino Melaye on the list of those recommended for sanction by the National Disciplinary Committee.

The group also stated that those who continue to feel no sense of remorse require a constant reminder to change their attitude towards good behaviour.

“Few days ago, Melaye whimsically launched a mischievous accusation against the trio of acting National Chairman, Ambassador Damagum, PDP Secretary, Sam Anyanwu, and National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, alleging grievous wrongdoing all because of their resolve to adhere to the PDP constitution and CINEC’s guidelines; his regular resort to theatrics, along with misinformation, mudslinging, and innuendos on social media and in real life all singularly recommend Dino Melay

“As for the Kogi PDP congress, which the three PDP officials stopped from being manipulated, thereby triggering bitterness as well as vicious social media attacks on Damagum, Anyanwu, and Bature; party chairmen in 19 out of 21 LGAs firmly backed the PDP NWC position on the ad hoc congress, but Melaye, who appears to have sensed defeat, asked his few supporters to abandon the exercise while subsequent efforts to get the PDP NWC leaders to re-write what happened at the congress

“Turning down overtures for manipulation and upholding the very credible results of a free, fair process led to vengeful attacks on the credibility of Damagum, Anyanwu, and Bature who upheld the results; therefore, we seek the invocation of necessary structures within the party to discipline Melaye, review past cases of his group’s predilection for cooking up crises within the PDP, and vigorously apply all fitting and proper sanctions that will serve as timely notice to

Emphasising the need for the PDP Disciplinary Committee to also ensure a retrospective review of various expressions of Senator Melaye’s ego-driven tendencies, the group noted that, “he saw no cause to vilify PDP leadership in 2023 when they had to bend backwards on the ‘prodding and harassment’ of Atiku Abubakar to give him the governorship ticket – a situation that led to the defection of all but one of PDP’s governorship aspirants, and a gale of defections in the party.

“He did not call these party leaders ‘transactional and commercial’ when the process was skewed in his favour, but rather, the Senator who was singing the praises of Damagum, Anyanwu, and Bature subsequently raised humongous amounts through PDP governors, NWC, influential party members, and other unsuspecting party faithful, but took personal ownership of all, with the running mate, campaign teams, and party polling agents being starved of funds before his departure.