PDP crisis takes new dimension

By Philippine Duru

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Nigeria’s main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has plunged deeper into chaos as a powerful faction staged a dramatic takeover bid in Abuja—unveiling a new interim leadership and declaring the party’s existing structure effectively dead.

At a charged and defiant National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at the Yar’Adua Centre, the  faction announced former minister Tanimu Turaki as interim national chairman and Toafeek Arapaja as interim national secretary—setting the stage for a high-stakes internal showdown ahead of 2027.

The meeting, convened by the faction’s Board of Trustees under Adolphus Wabara, did not just install new leaders—it detonated the party’s recent past. In one sweeping stroke, the group nullified the controversial Ibadan convention that produced the former National Working Committee, declaring all its decisions void.

Backed, they claim, by two-thirds of NEC members, the faction moved with the urgency of a party on the brink—insisting its actions were not rebellion, but rescue.

Heavyweights flooded the hall: Seyi Makinde, Professor Jerry Gana, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, Jonah Jang, and other party elders—each lending weight to what looked less like a meeting and more like a political insurrection.

In his acceptance speech, Turaki struck a confident tone, vowing that the PDP would not only survive the storm but field candidates across the board in the 2027 general elections.

But it was Makinde who brought the fire.

In a speech laced with urgency and defiance, the Oyo governor described the moment as the party’s “darkest hour”—yet insisted it was also the dawn of a new order. He likened the PDP’s struggle to a bird forced to fly without landing, warning that its adversaries are sharpening their aim.

“This is a battle for democracy,” Makinde declared, urging members not to flinch.

He also took a swipe at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing it of acting with alarming haste by updating its records on another party without waiting for the Certified True Copy of a Supreme Court judgment.

“What it means,” he warned, “is that someone can simply whisper a judgment—and institutions will act.”

Makinde insisted the faction’s NEC meeting was constitutionally grounded and promised that INEC would be formally notified of the newly constituted interim leadership—challenging the electoral body to “redeem its image” by respecting due process.

But as one faction raised a new banner, another fired back.

The rival camp loyal to Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike dismissed the entire exercise as illegal theatre—void, baseless, and riddled with contradictions.

In a scathing rebuttal, the group described the meeting as a “charade,” accusing its organisers of hypocrisy for now embracing a caretaker arrangement they once condemned. It also argued that the gathering violated the Electoral Act by failing to give INEC the mandatory 21-day notice.

The faction went further, questioning Wabara’s legitimacy, citing his alleged expulsion at the ward level, and warning that the Board of Trustees has no executive powers to impose leadership.

As accusations of judicial compromise, political sabotage, and institutional bias flew across both camps, one thing became clear: the PDP is no longer battling external opponents—it is at war with itself.

Yet, amid the wreckage, Wabara struck a note of defiant optimism, insisting the party would rise from the brink.

“The PDP will never die,” he declared, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of orchestrating efforts to cripple the opposition and plunge Nigerians into deeper hardship.

For millions watching from the sidelines, the crisis is more than an internal feud—it is a test of whether Nigeria’s leading opposition can steady itself, rebuild, and remain a credible challenger in 2027.

Right now, the PDP stands at a crossroads—fractured, embattled, and fighting for its very soul.