Damagum claimed that the APC was never ready for governance, noting that those who traded their votes for rice and spaghetti during the election are feeling the worst hardship now.
The embattled acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, has reacted to economic hardship and hunger crisis in Nigeria.
Damagum, who spoke after a closed-door meeting with PDP stakeholders on Friday, October 11, 2024, poked fun at those Nigerians who supported President Bola Tinubu during the election.
He claimed that the President’s supporters are the ones enduring the worst consequences of their decision, especially those who traded their votes in exchange for items like spaghetti and wrappers.
“The APC was never ready to govern, so what good could possibly come from them?
“Those who accepted spaghetti and wrappers to bring in this government are suffering the most, and this should serve as a lesson.
“We must seek credible, proven, and tested leaders who are genuinely prepared to govern, not those who simply say, ‘Emilokan,’” he said.
Damagum’s remarks came after a faction of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) suspended him and the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, on Friday.
The group also announced the suspension of the party’s national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba and national legal adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade.
However, a Federal High Court in Abuja later restrained the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) from removing Damagum as the acting chairman.
The judgement delivered by Justice Peter Lifu ordered that no other person must be recognised as the party’s national chairman other than Damagum until the national convention of the party, scheduled for December 2025.
