A pro-democracy group, Conscience of Democracy in Nigeria, has called for the arrest of Ambassador Iliya Umar Damagum, Acting National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), over his support for the planned nationwide protest against President Bola Tinubu’s government.
The group at a news conference in Abuja on Sunday , described Damagum’s endorsement of the protest as “shocking” and “inciting,” and accused him of working to destabilize Nigeria.
Led by Adamu Kabir Matazu, the grou claimed that Damagum’s actions were not surprising, given his loyalty to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who they alleged was his “paymaster.”
The group argued that the PDP, under Damagum’s leadership, was responsible for the current economic crisis facing Nigeria, having laid the foundation during their 16-year rule.
They also accused Damagum of ignoring the terrorism and foreign interest links of some of the protest organizers.
“We wish to remind Damagum and those for whom he runs errands that the log is in their eyes. They should first look at what they contributed to the cost of living and economic crisis facing Nigeria today,” the statement said.
“President Bola Tinubu’s administration may be incumbent today, but the foundation for what we collectively experience today was laid by the PDP’s 16 year-rule, which was fortunately truncated since the party had anticipated it would have 60 years to destroy Nigeria.
“Furthermore, with the appellation of “Ambassador,” he parades, Damagum is aware that Nigeria is a federating entity with 36 states and the FCT, out of which the PDP controls 13 states.
“The implication is that the PDP is still responsible for how one-third of the country is governed so if there is bad governance Damagum and his allies should accept part ownership instead of pretending that they made no contributions to the current state of affairs, which the incumbent Federal Government is trying to remedy by the way.
“The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation to states has almost tripled since the latest 2023. So far in the year, states have received N379.41 billion, N366.950 billion, N398.689 billion and N403 billion as statutory allocations from FAAC for January, February, March and April respectively, amounting to a total of N1.548 trillion disbursement to state governors alone in the first four months of the year.
“Similarly, the local government areas (LGAs), which operate more like state appendixes, have received N278.04 billion, N267.153 billion, N288.688 billion and N293 billion, amounting to N1.126 trillion yet 55 per cent of food perish no rural roads in states, including those controlled by the PDP, because the right things are not done.
“Has the PDP been able to point out that the states it controlled fare differently? No. Instead, the PDP has deepened the culture of perverted godfathers cornering state resources as Nyesom Wike is attempting to do in Rivers State.
“Why did the PDP not lead a protest against hardship in the 13 states it controls and see the outcome of effectiveness as a precursor to such campaign on a national scale?
“Another area we think Damagum deliberately played the ostrich with is ignoring the terrorism and foreign interest links of some of the organizers of the planned protests and how these same groups were behind the #OccupyNigeria protests and later the #EndSARS protests.”
The group said that the ultimate goal is an interim government, which according to them, Damagum is planning to put forward the name of the PDP member in the current government as a suitable interim leader of the country.
“We all know that person is Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, on whose behalf Damagum is running the PDP, hence his haste to endorse, back and support the planned protests. We call this playing with fire,” the statement added.
“We are further concerned by the revelation that Damagum and his associates, as sponsors of the planned protests, have engaged the services of Western media organizations and neocon international NGOs to demonize the Federal Government with a focus on claiming that it has lost legitimacy if the protests are allowed to go ahead.
“The PDP has reportedly lined up people to grant interviews to these media organizations to deepen the warped narrative that the protests should automatically be taken as a citizens’ referendum to sack the government. Again, playing with fire.
“Arising from the foregoing, the Conscience of Democracy in Nigeria hereby demands the resignation of Ambassador Iliya Umar Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of the PDP having confirmed that he holds that position to undermine and sabotage Nigeria.”
The group, therefore, called on the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to immediately set up an inquiry into the activities of Damagum and his links to the planned protests.
They also urged the Department of State Services (DSS) to invite Damagum for questioning to shed light on certain meetings he has had with protest organizers and the funds he disbursed to them.”
The group warned that Damagum’s actions were “playing with fire” and could lead to violence and destabilization of the country. They urged Nigerians to reject the planned protest and instead engage in constructive dialogue with the government.
“We see Damagum’s support for the protest as a ploy to overthrow the government,” the group said. “We will not allow this to happen. We call on all Nigerians to stand against this attempt to destabilize our country.”