Amb. Umar Damagum, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) acting chairman, has cautioned bloggers and social media handlers against spreading lies that could incite discontent among party members.
The party’s support organizations organized a two-day capacity building on “Effective Media Awareness and Peace in the Political Arena for Social Media Handlers from Northwest States” on Wednesday in Birnin Kebbi, where Damagum delivered the charge.
Damagum urged attendees to continue spreading the party’s manifestos and vision, as represented by Alhaji Yusuf Dingyadi, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications.
The party chairman reassured fans and loyalists that “there is no vacancy in the party’s leadership positions,” while praising the organizers for their thoughtfulness.
He denounced individuals who exacerbated internal divisions within the party, particularly those interested parties who were more focused on fanning the flames of hatred and division than on fostering unity, peace, and progress inside the PDP.
The chairman pleaded with them to refrain from sowing discord and political instability that could undermine the party’s founding fathers’ objective.
In contrast to injustice and propaganda, Damagum reaffirmed that the current leadership would continue to tolerate and inspire the PDP to become a party of forgiveness, unity, and cohesiveness.
Carrying everyone along at all levels will accomplish this, he claims, adding, “I will not allow myself or any of the disciplined members into disreputable position of injustice.”
He urged the nation’s party leaders and elites to put up great effort in creating a party that values harmony, order, and advancement rather than attempting to undermine the founding fathers’ noble vision and political goals.
In order to prevent the party and its reputation from being destroyed, the chairman advised them to refrain from using them as instruments of character assassination or spreading lies, animosity, and mischief against one another.
Overheating internal conflicts and leadership discord due to specific personal interests are similar to contaminating the party’s unity, cohesiveness, and advancement, which will negate everything the PDP stands for.
“The National Working Committee (NWC), which is under my leadership, and other party organs are much more interested in offering practical solutions to our survival in the leadership than they are in resolving our scores or differences with lies and mischief that can exacerbate issues of disunity and hatred in our affairs,” he stated.
Unity of the Party
Dr. Suleiman Aliyu-Gafai, the Head of Media Mobilization and Political Awareness for the PDP Supporters Group in Nigeria, had earlier stated that the workshop was designed to improve the ability of social media handlers and streamline their efforts toward party unity and cohesion in accordance with the goals of the founding fathers.
According to Aliyu-Gafai, the party’s leadership issues are a letdown that contradicts the founding fathers’ goal of creating a foundation for Nigeria’s political growth, togetherness, and cohesiveness.
Sen. Adolphus Wabara, the BOT Chairman, recently made a diversionary comment endorsing party chairmanship from a specific zone.
He explained that such actions were an unjustified and inappropriate means of causing division.
While guaranteeing their allegiance and support Aliyu-Gafai urged social media handlers to continue spreading the party’s goals, ideas, and manifestos to the PDP leadership, which is led by Amb. Umar Iliya Damagum and the NWC.
Northern Professionals in Politics and Development (NOPDE) provided the forum for the program, which focused on leadership and the difficulties of digitization.
For the capacity building, more than fifty participants were selected from Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara States.