By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iliya Umar Damagum, has expressed confidence in the party’s ability to overcome internal and external challenges, emphasizing the strength of its internal mechanisms.

He made this declaration during the party’s 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday.

The meeting, which was postponed multiple times due to various issues, was convened to address pressing matters within the party.

In his remarks, Damagum acknowledged the challenges but reaffirmed the party’s resolve to move forward.

“We have had to postpone this National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting for a number of reasons. Even now, there are issues that could have, in theory, delayed it further. However, we resolved that this meeting must go ahead, no matter what,” Damagum stated.

He expressed gratitude to the party’s leaders, governors, and the caucus for their efforts in ensuring the meeting took place.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our leaders, the governors, and the caucus for finding a way to ensure this NEC could take place, allowing us to address other pressing matters,” he said.

Damagum highlighted the importance of collaboration in addressing the party’s challenges and announced plans to hold three or four additional NEC meetings before the convention to resolve contentious issues.

“By the end of today, we hope to set a date for another NEC meeting shortly. In fact, from now until the convention, we are considering holding three or four NEC meetings to resolve most of the contentious issues within our party,” he explained.

The Acting National Chairman emphasized the PDP’s resilience in overcoming obstacles, whether self-inflicted or externally engineered.

“The strength of the PDP lies in its internal mechanisms to overcome any obstacles, no matter how challenging. There will always be obstacles, but we will overcome them and show the way forward,” he declared.

The meeting focused on three key agenda items adopted by the caucus.

Damagum also stressed the need for procedural integrity, requesting non-members to exit after the opening remarks to allow formal members to conduct the meeting without concerns about its validity.