The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deepened, as the faction backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, declared that its proposed national convention will go ahead as planned, despite ongoing court cases and internal opposition.
The Wike-aligned camp announced that the convention is scheduled to hold in Abuja on March 29 and 30, stressing that it has already notified the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in line with the law. The faction said it remains focused on electing new national officers to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP National Caretaker Committee, Jungudo Mohammed, alongside committee member Okechukwu Osuoha, maintained that the party’s leadership was not distracted by the legal tussles. They insisted that preparations were ongoing and that the exercise would be conducted in accordance with the PDP Constitution and the Electoral Act.
However, the rival faction loyal to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and led by former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), has rejected the planned convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Turaki-led group, Ini Ememobong, described the move as baseless and without legal standing.
“They lack the capacity and the locus to do so. They have been expelled from the PDP, so any gathering they hold in the name of the party will be an exercise in futility,” Ememobong said.
The internal conflict stems from a Federal High Court judgment delivered on January 30 in Ibadan, Oyo State, which nullified the PDP national convention held on November 15, 2025, in Ibadan. The court also directed Turaki and several others to stop parading themselves as national officers of the party.
Before the court ruling, PDP governors led by Makinde and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed had endorsed the Ibadan convention. That gathering produced Turaki as national chairman along with members of the National Working Committee for a four-year tenure.
In the lead-up to the crisis, the governors had facilitated a transition from the former Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, to Turaki before Damagum’s tenure expired on December 9. But a day earlier, on December 8, the Wike-backed bloc constituted a 13-member National Caretaker Committee. The committee appointed Mohammed Abdulrahman as Acting National Chairman and Samuel Anyanwu as Acting National Secretary, giving them a 60-day mandate to manage the party’s affairs.
Tensions escalated on November 18, 2025, when members of both factions attempted to access the PDP National Secretariat at Wadata Plaza in Abuja. The confrontation turned chaotic, with reports of physical clashes, prompting police intervention. The police subsequently sealed off the party’s national headquarters, which has remained shut since then.
Both factions later approached INEC seeking official recognition as the legitimate leadership of the PDP. However, the electoral body declined to recognise either side, a development that further intensified the legal battle. The matter is currently before the Court of Appeal, with a judgment still pending.
Despite the uncertainty, the Wike-aligned caretaker committee reaffirmed that the March 29–30 convention would proceed.
“Well, the convention is going to hold as scheduled. INEC has been duly informed,” Mohammed said.
“Our party is determined to elect a new set of leaders who will pilot the affairs of the party. We are not distracted by the ongoing litigation. We are optimistic that it will be resolved in favour of our leadership. The convention will hold, and the ongoing litigation will not affect our activities.”
Osuoha also assured party members that the process would be transparent and inclusive.
“The national convention is scheduled, and the party is preparing to follow all the steps as stated in the PDP Constitution and the Electoral Act,” he said.
“It is going to be an all-inclusive exercise. Those who are still members of the party know that it will hold as planned. The PDP remains the only party in Nigeria with functional structures across all 774 local government areas, and we are determined to preserve that legacy.”
