By Luminous Jannamike
IN spite of reconciliation efforts by critical stakeholders, a fresh crisis has erupted in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, after a powerful bloc aligned with Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, yesterday, rejected plans for tomorrow’s national convention by a camp loyal to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The rejection sparked confusion within the opposition party as the Wike-backed camp said the convention would go as planned because the Turaki-led National Working Committee, NWC, does not exist.
The faction aligned with Wike has fixed March 28–29, 2026, in Abuja to elect a new National Working Committee after conducting congresses at ward, local government and state levels, and insists the process will go ahead despite internal opposition and ongoing court cases.
Party sources familiar with the plan say the Wike-aligned camp has already stepped up its mobilisation across several states, reaching out to delegates and stakeholders to secure buy-in ahead of the convention.
The faction is said to be positioning the exercise as a reset moment for the PDP, one that would produce a leadership it considers more assertive, structured and electorally competitive heading into 2027.
Beyond the convention itself, the crisis reflects a deeper battle over who controls the party, who holds legitimacy and where the PDP is headed. Both camps remain at odds over leadership authority, reconciliation efforts and whether the party can truly come together in time for 2027.
The tensions came to a head at the party’s 103rd National Executive Committee, NEC meeting held in Abuja, yesterday, where the fault lines were laid bare.
In attendance were National Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN; Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara; House of Representatives caucus leader, Hon. Fred Agbedi; Chairman of PDP State Chairmen, Hon. Tony Aziegbemi; and National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong.
Among state party leaders, opposition to the convention plan was swift and unmistakable, reflecting deep unease over how decisions are being taken within the party.
“You must have consultation. You must bring more people to the table when you are sharing those positions. And here we are, with just one person, or at most two people, presenting us with a list of members of the National Working Committee of our great party.
“Will you allow that to happen? And now we hear they say they are going for a convention. Which convention? Where did we decide that we are going for a convention? Who agreed to go to that convention? So, for us at the level of state chairmen, we want to assure you that we will go nowhere, that we will stand with you, that we will remain with you, no matter what happens, no matter what is thrown at us,” Aziegbemi said.
For many within the party, that position speaks to a wider fear that key decisions are being taken without consultation, threatening the internal democracy the PDP claims to represent and raising fresh questions about legitimacy.
At the end of the meeting, the party’s leadership doubled down on that stance, while also outlining steps already taken to steady the party.
“Talking about the convention, there’s no convention coming up to our knowledge. But we will not begin to deconstruct that because that would be an inconvenient truth, and we cannot be saying those inconvenient truths at this point in public,” Ememobong said.
On reconciliation, he made it clear that talks are ongoing, even if the destination is still some distance away. “Yes, like we said, we do know that reconciliation is a journey towards a destination, and so you measure it by movement. So movement is being made along that line. The destination of reconciliation will be met, and you can bear with me that we have a situation of negative peace at the moment, at least a cessation of hostilities.
The NEC meeting itself had been delayed for weeks, as leaders sought a clearer picture of the crisis before coming together, amid parallel consultations and mounting pressure from party elders to avoid a full-blown split. “We felt it was important to examine these developments microscopically so that we can take informed decisions, not only to save and strengthen our party, but to ensure that multi-party democracy survives. All hope is not lost. Indeed, no hope is lost,” Turaki said.
Turaki added that the leadership is working round the clock to keep the party viable and ready to contest and win again, stressing that rebuilding efforts are already underway across multiple fronts.
From the Board of Trustees came a mix of caution and urgency, with reconciliation still incomplete and time slipping. “Time is of the essence; we must move on to take decisions that will advance the party. I weep when I see people jumping from pillar to post,” Wabara said.
His remarks captured the anxiety over defections and shifting loyalties that have steadily weakened the party, as well as concerns that prolonged uncertainty could further erode its standing as a credible opposition force.
At the National Assembly, lawmakers acknowledged the shrinking ranks but insisted those who remain are not backing down. “Our numbers are waning, but those of us left are holding on. We are ready to stand with the party; nothing good comes easy. When the battle gets tough, only the tough keep going,” Agbedi said.
Despite the turmoil, the NEC ratified key decisions taken by the party’s leadership, including the push for reconciliation, the appeal against a recent court judgment and the ongoing electronic membership registration.
Reacting to the stance of the Turaki-led NWC, the National Caretaker Working Committee aligned with Wike, dismissed the Kabiru Turaki-led bloc of the party as non-existent and insisted that the party’s planned national convention will go ahead as scheduled, despite the rival group’s rejection.
Speaking to Saturday Vanguard on Friday night, a highly placed source within the Wike camp, alongside Mohammed Haruna Jungudo, spokesman of the National Caretaker Working Committee, set out the camp’s position, with Jungudo saying a formal response would follow.
“That is their business. Maybe they do not want to participate in the convention; that is left to them. Do not forget the fact that the Turaki group no longer exists,” the source said.
The camp’s position rests heavily on recent court rulings, which it says nullified the rival leadership.
“Both the Federal High Court in Ibadan and the Court of Appeal have set aside that convention in Ibadan and declared it unlawful. Even in Ibadan, it was pronounced that they should stop parading themselves as the National Working Committee,” the source stated.
On that basis, the camp insists preparations for the convention are lawful and firmly on track.
“So, the process towards the convention is ongoing. It is lawful. NEC has been notified and they are going to observe it,” he added.
Despite the hard line, the source signalled that the door remains open.
“If they do not want to come, we are open to dialogue and reconciliation. I do not know why they would say they do not want to attend. We have invited them. The convention is for the PDP. The PDP is one,” the Wike ally said.
The source also argued that the courts have already settled the question of leadership.
th the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal have ruled that the National Caretaker Committee is the authentic leadership of the PDP. We are proceeding to conduct a valid convention that will produce national officers. You must look at this from the point of law. Because Nigeria is not a banana republic; it is a democratic society. Democracy must thrive on the rule of law,” he added.
He then questioned the basis of the rival bloc’s actions, especially its continued meetings.
“The court of first instance said there was no valid convention. They went on appeal, and the appellate court also ruled that there was no convention. Where then do they derive the power to hold a NEC meeting or whatever?” the source asked.
He added: “Imagine, the purported convention held last year has still not been recognised by NEC. Yet they continue to hold NEC meetings. What kind of NEC meeting is that?”
Even so, the Wike-aligned camp made clear it is moving ahead regardless.
“As far as we are concerned, the convention will hold on the 29th and 30th. If they want to come, if they accept reality, we have given them an olive branch to participate,” he said.
Placing the dispute in a wider context, the source pointed to the courts as the final arbiter.
“Any aggrieved person in Nigeria seeks redress in a court of law. The matter was before the courts… so I do not know. Nigeria has been reduced to a society where anybody does anything they like,” the source maintained. He also dismissed actions taken outside what he described as legally recognised structures.