Nigerians on Friday woke to a dramatic video post by Isaac Fayose, a younger brother of a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, in which he declared himself the new National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In the video, which is trending virally, Isaac also announced the suspension of some senior chieftains of the party, notably the party’s presidential candidate in the last general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, his brother, Ayo Fayose, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, former governors Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuadu and Okezie Ikpeazu who, with Wike and Makinde, formed the powerful G5 govs, who derailed Atiku’s victory at the polls.
The younger Fayose said that anyone who feels agitated by his decision should challenge it in court.
He declared, “It’s official, now I’m the new National Chairman of the PDP. The current (Acting) National Chairman, Mr Damagum, has been suspended and I’ve asked the security at Wadata House to keep the key with the Secretariat.
“If you’re not happy, please, we don’t want you to come to the secretariat to make trouble. You can go to court. And the NWC, some of you have been suspended, drop all the PDP stuff with you at the security at Wadata gate. The former G5 has been suspended. Wike has been suspended.
“Fayose has been suspended. Governor Seyi Makinde has been suspended. All the people doing anti-party have been suspended. Atiku too has been suspended because his ambition is giving us a headache.”
The development is coming on the heels of an earlier report that a faction of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), had suspended Damagum and the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu.
The factional NWC also suspended the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, and the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade.
However, the Abuja Federal High Court restrained the National Executive Committee (NEC) and PDP’s Board of Trustees (BoT) from removing Damagum as the party’s Acting National Chairman.
The court ordered that no other person must be recognized as PDP national chairman other than Damagum until the national convention of the party scheduled for December next year.
