The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is heading for a major showdown ahead of its November National Convention scheduled to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State, as two opposing camps dig in for a battle over the party’s future.
On Monday night, a group of PDP heavyweights led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, met in Abuja and rolled out a six-point demand to the National Working Committee (NWC). The group, which also includes former governors Samuel Ortom, Ayo Fayose, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, warned that the convention would be rendered “invalid” if their demands were ignored.
Their demands include:
- Fresh congresses in Ebonyi and Anambra states in line with court rulings;
- A new South-East zonal congress;
- Immediate conduct of Ekiti LGA congresses;
- Respect for court-upheld South-South congress results;
- An end to micro-zoning beyond the NEC’s approved formula;
- Retention of the national chairmanship position in the North Central.
Wike’s camp insisted that the party must return to equity, fairness, and inclusivity if it is to remain credible. A communiqué signed by Ortom after the meeting stated: “Unity cannot be built on disenfranchisement, exclusion, or the neglect of valid judicial pronouncements.”
But the PDP leadership has taken a hardline stance, pushing back against what it called attempts to “blackmail or hijack” the party.
At the inauguration of the 2025 National Convention Organising Committee in Abuja, National Chairman Umar Damagum declared that the party “will not buckle under pressure.” He insisted: “The PDP is not broken, the PDP is not defeated. We are marching forward stronger, more determined, and better prepared to reclaim the presidency of this country.”
Damagum also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of sponsoring internal saboteurs to destabilise the opposition.
Bauchi State Governor and PDP Governors’ Forum Chairman, Bala Mohammed, echoed the warning, saying: “We are not cowards; we are not afraid of anybody. But we will not allow people to drag this party to the slaughterhouse.”
Representing the PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, former Kaduna governor Ahmed Makarfi urged restraint but stressed that the majority would not be held hostage by a few. “A convention is not about 100 per cent agreement, but about the overwhelming majority,” he said.
