There was a time in Nigerian politics when the Peoples Democratic Party did not merely compete for power; it seemed to regard power as its natural habitat From 1999 to 2015, the party controlled the federal government for sixteen consecutive years, produced four presidents and built a political network that reached from the presidency to state governments, the National Assembly and the grassroots. It described itself as the largest political party in Africa, and for much of that period, its dominance appeared so deeply rooted that defeat seemed almost unimaginable.
Today, the same party is struggling with a question that would once have sounded absurd Can the PDP still function as a serious national political machine?
The question has become increasingly difficult to ignore as the country moves towards the 2027 elections The party has spent enormous political energy dealing with disputes over its leadership, its structures and the legitimacy of competing factions. Prominent members have departed, others have threatened to leave, and even attempts to resolve the crisis through a national convention have been followed by fresh disagreements. The Supreme Court’s intervention in the dispute surrounding the party’s 2025 convention has not brought the internal struggle to a definitive close.
For a party that once seemed almost synonymous with political power, the contrast is remarkable
Losing an election does not necessarily destroy a political party Parties can lose presidents, governors and legislators and still remain formidable if they retain a coherent organisation, a clear political identity and enough confidence among their members to rebuild. Electoral defeat can even become the beginning of renewal when a party is willing to examine what went wrong and make the difficult changes that follow.
The more serious danger comes when the organisation becomes consumed by an internal struggle that leaves little room for the larger political contest outside its walls When politicians spend more time deciding who controls the party than deciding what the party should say to millions of Nigerians about their lives, the organisation gradually loses sight of the reason political parties exist in the first place.
That appears to be where the PDP finds itself
The party has experience that most of its competitors would envy It governed Nigeria for 16 years and therefore possesses a record that can be examined, defended, criticised and learned from. It also knows what it feels like to lose power after assuming that victory was almost guaranteed. The 2015 election should have provided the foundation for a serious political reconstruction. Instead, the years that followed produced another defeat in 2019 and then a deeply disappointing presidential performance in 2023.
In 2023, Atiku Abubakar carried the PDP presidential ticket, but finished behind Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC The PDP’s share of the presidential vote fell significantly from its 2019 performance. More importantly, the election revealed how much the political environment had changed around the party. Millions of voters who might once have regarded the PDP as one of the two principal vehicles for national power were now willing to look elsewhere.
That should have forced an uncomfortable but necessary conversation inside the party about its message, its leadership and its relationship with voters
Instead, much of the public story surrounding the PDP has continued to revolve around internal control
This matters because Nigerian voters are dealing with problems that cannot be solved by winning an argument over which faction occupies a party office Families are struggling with the cost of food and transportation. Young Nigerians are looking for employment and opportunities. Businesses are trying to survive rising costs, unreliable infrastructure and an uncertain economic environment. Communities continue to worry about insecurity, while parents want better schools and more dependable healthcare.
A political party seeking to return to government must convince these people that it understands their frustrations and, more importantly, that it has credible answers to them The PDP cannot build that argument simply by reminding Nigerians that it once governed the country. Political memory has a short shelf life, particularly when younger voters have little personal connection with the party’s years in power.
Nor can opposition to the current administration become the entire political identity of the party If the PDP wants Nigerians to entrust it with the country again, it will have to explain what it learned from its own 16 years in government, what it would do differently Today and why its leadership deserves another opportunity.
That requires more than rearranging familiar political faces
The party needs a genuine conversation about generational renewal, internal discipline and the kind of political organisation it wants to become It needs to rebuild structures that work beyond the immediate ambitions of individual politicians and reconnect with communities where politics is experienced through everyday realities rather than Abuja calculations. It also needs to create enough confidence among its members that political disagreements can be settled without repeatedly threatening the survival of the organisation itself.
This is particularly important because the political landscape confronting the PDP Today is very different from the one it dominated for 16 years The APC remains the governing party and has built a formidable national structure of its own, while figures such as Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi continue to command attention within a fragmented opposition space. New alliances and political movements are also likely to emerge before 2027, making the competition more unpredictable than a simple PDP-versus-APC contest.
The PDP therefore cannot afford to behave as though history has preserved its old position for it
Its greatest asset is also its greatest burden Everybody knows what the party was capable of at its height. Nigerians remember when PDP candidates controlled the presidency, governors’ mansions, the National Assembly and much of the political machinery across the country. That history gives the party name recognition and institutional memory, but it also makes its current condition more conspicuous.
The old PDP was powerful because its interests, however complicated, were ultimately organised around the pursuit and preservation of political power The present party often appears to be struggling with the more basic question of how its competing interests can coexist under one roof.
That is why the image of the lion remains difficult to dismiss
A lion does not remain powerful simply because it was once feared Its strength depends on whether it can still move with purpose, organise itself and hunt effectively. The PDP still has experienced politicians, established networks and a national identity that many newer political organisations would spend years trying to build. What it has struggled to demonstrate is that these advantages can still be brought together around a common political purpose.
The 2027 election will eventually provide the verdict, but the more important judgment will be made before Nigerians enter the polling booth It will be made in the way the party resolves its internal disputes.
The PDP can still recover Nigerian politics has a long history of parties appearing finished and then returning to relevance. But recovery will require the party to recognise that its greatest challenge is not simply defeating the APC or finding another presidential candidate. It is rebuilding the organisation itself and giving Nigerians a convincing reason to believe that the party has changed enough to deserve another chance.
Shaakaa can be reached via shaakaastephanie02@gmailcom