The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has updated its official records to reflect a new leadership structure within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), recognising the faction backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
A review of the commission’s website shows that Abdulrahman Mohammed is now listed as the National Chairman of the party, alongside other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) elected at the PDP’s national convention.
The convention, held on Sunday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium velodrome in Abuja, produced a leadership team aligned with Wike’s faction amid ongoing internal disputes within the party.
The PDP has remained divided into rival blocs, with a parallel faction led by Kabiru Turaki previously seeking judicial intervention. Turaki’s group had approached the Supreme Court in a bid to restrain the Wike-backed camp from proceeding with the convention.
Addressing delegates at the convention, Wike said the party had overcome a prolonged leadership crisis that threatened its cohesion.
“Together we fought against proponents of ethnic and geographic divisions; we trounced the naysayers who abandoned the core values upon which the party was built and, in the process, arrested the party from the vice grip of those who abhor internal democracy and shun adherence to the rule of law,” he said.
“More importantly, we fought and returned the party to its rightful owners, the people, an accomplishment which speaks to the fundamental principle upon which the party was erected.”
Wike also credited grassroots members for sustaining the party through the internal turmoil, noting that despite “the infidelity of opportunistic elite,” ordinary supporters remained committed to the PDP.
The development signals a significant step in the party’s ongoing leadership contest, with INEC’s updated listing likely to shape future political and legal engagements involving the PDP.