BY UCHECHI OKPORIE
Nigeria’s main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), is embroiled in a deepening internal crisis as rival leadership factions clash over control of party structures and plans for its national convention ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A faction aligned with Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, which says it currently leads the PDP through a caretaker committee, has announced changes to the party’s organisational setup and moved the date of its national convention to March 29–30.
The group also dissolved key regional party committees in the South-West, North-West, and Plateau, saying the changes will help deliver an “inclusive and transparent” convention.
However, a bloc of PDP governors loyal to National Working Committee (NWC) leader Tanimu Turaki has rejected the caretaker committee’s authority, insisting it lacks constitutional power to alter party structures or set convention dates.
These governors, including Oyo State’s Seyi Makinde and Bauchi State’s Bala Mohammed, continue to recognise the NWC elected at a November 2025 party convention in Ibadan.
The factional tensions follow a ruling by the Federal High Court in Ibadan that annulled the party’s November 2025 convention and ordered Turaki and his leadership team to cease acting as national officers.
Both sides have appealed court decisions and are seeking legal clarity on who legitimately controls the party apparatus.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has so far refused to recognise either faction, leaving the PDP’s internal leadership dispute unresolved and raising concerns among political observers about its preparedness for future elections.
