By Eric Elezuo
It appears that the more remedial intervention is applied to the myriad of crises bedeviling the erstwhile major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the more the ugly heads of conflict arise.
The battle for the soul of PDP has remained a recurring decimal since the party held its primaries to elect the presidential candidate for the 2023 General election at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja. The said election Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who defeated other aspirants including the former governor of Rivers State and presently the Minister incharge of the Federal Capital Territory.
However, the outcome of the election did not do down well with Wike, who revolted when the party failed to yield to his demand of changing the then party Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, citing the fact that the flag bearer and the Chairman cannot come from the same region (North). He consequently broke away with four other governors in a bid to frustrate the candidacy of Atiku and work against his party to favour the eventual winner, President Bola Tinubu. The other governors were Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State. The quintet became to the PDP, the infamous G5 Governors.
Much as only Seyi Makinde managed the retain his position for a second term in office, the three others lost their bid to serve in the Senate while Wike was compensated with the Abuja ministerial job; a position he holds till date, and from where he continues to supervise the activities of the PDP with his loyalists constantly at loggerheads with the leadership. And with his public declaration to support Tinubu in the forthcoming 2027 election, Wike has been described as a mole practically enjoying PDP’s membership in name with the sole intention of destabilizing and destroying it for the benefit of the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party had wondered why someone, who had sworn to lead the campaign for the reelection of Tinubu of the APC will be insistent on controlling the machineries of the PDP, if not for the intent to weaken its structures. The feud pitched Wike against Atiku, causing the former Vice President to decamp to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) with other heavyweights including David Mark, Dele Momodu and others.
Recall that Wike has fought the party over the position of The National Secretary. While he preferred Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the party and the South East settled for Sunday Ude-Okoye. The party feared that the retention of Anyanwu would derail their peace chances, growth and 2027 election prospects.
But with the various legal tussle here and there, causing the mass defections of elected officers under the party’s umbrella, including the governors of Akwa Ibom and Delta states; Umoh Eno and Sheriff Oborewhori, the party succumbed and reinstated Anyanwu.
Wike’s insistence at having his way in all things led to things falling apart between him and his 2023 election period ally, Seyi Makinde. Many has also said that Makinde’s interest in contesting the presidency in 2027 under the PDP platform may have formed part of the reasons for the no love lost situation between him and Wike
With the Oyo State Governor backed by his Bauchi counterpart, Bala Mohammed, and the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, and Wike allegedly enjoying the support of Governors Caleb Muftwang (Plateau) and Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), the party continually polarize.
So as it stands, and despite all the entreaties, reconciliatory efforts of former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, uhuru is still far from PDP, and the battle for the soul of the party is now between the Oyo State Governor and the Federal Capital Territory Minister.
The two political gladiators used to be good friends and played a key role in the victory of President Bola Tinubu in 2023, following their resolve to work against the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as it stands now, are arguably the most powerful entities in the PDP. While Makinde is insistent on Convention for November as agreed by the National Executive Council (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC), after the August date failed to hold, Wike is doing all within his powers to ensure that convention never holds (at all).
The rift between Makinde and Wike reportedly reached its crescendo when, at a meeting in Ibadan, earlier in the year, the PDP governors rejected the planned reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu by the Bukola Saraki-led reconciliation Committee; a move seen by Wike as a betrayal by the Oyo State Governor.
Makinde had worked in synergy with the party’s national leadership, which earlier fixed June 30 for the PDP’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting and August 2025 for its convention, hut events truncated the efforts, forcing a new November date
Reports available to The Boss says that Wike and his loyalists are pushing for a postponement of the convention, apparently to get a stronger hold of the party ahead of the 2027 election, a move Makinde is vehemently opposing to gain ground for himself.
Earlier in June, Wike, Ortom, Ikpeazu and Ugwuanyi had converged on Abuja to deliberate on the state of affairs of the PDP, giving conditions for peace and progress of the party.
Their communique made it clear that the decision of the PDP governors to back Sunday Ude-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary against Senator Samuel Anyanwu was a recipe for chaos and upheaval in the party. He had his way, and claimed victory against Atiku, whose subsequent departure from the party allowed Wike a free hand.
“In the spirit of fairness, inclusion, federal character principles and respect for our party constitution, the party must make an unequivocal announcement, zoning its presidential candidate to the South in the 2027 general election.
“That to finally arrest the inexorable drift towards extinction in our party, the party must, without further delay, respect the judgment of the Supreme Court. We, therefore, unequivocally reaffirm Senator Sam Anyanwu as the duly elected and substantive National Secretary of our great Party.
“In line with the provisions of our party constitution, only the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, can issue notices of meetings of the National Convention, National Executive Committee, National Caucus and the National Working Committee and to this end, all notices not issued by him and actions founded on them, including correspondences to the Independent National Electoral Commission, are null and void and of no effect whatsoever,” the communique had read.
But what Wike did not ancipate was the roadblock in form of Seyi Makinde after achieving most his demands and chasing Atiku away from PDP.
Also, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Olabode George, had warned Wike and his group to know that nobody, no matter their status, could hijack the party.
“As an elder, I am a custodian of the rules and regulations governing our party. I want to advise this young man (Wike) to know that the only authority that can make a comment on this issue (convention) is the NEC. I want to advise them (G-5) that if they have any issue that will be of support to the party, or even if they are against the direction of the party, it is morally expedient to talk about it within the family.
“These guys (Wike-led group) should calm down. They will not dare the NEC. Let the decision come from NEC. I spent 10 years in the National Working Committee but I have never seen anything like this before. We will not discuss anything outside of NEC. Whatever the majority says, that is it,” George said.
The party, he further stated, is a collective heritage, saying, “Nobody owns this party, no matter who the heck you are. We don’t have any emperors in our party. We will stick with the rules and regulations as stated. We will be meeting on June 30, and by the grace of God, all this back and forth and innuendos will be put to bed.”
PDP has concluded that the plots by the Wike group to truncate the party’s planned convention cannot be as unacceptable as their utterances and resolve to support President Bola Tinubu.
While acknowledging Wike’s sacrifices after the party lost in 2025, the party warned that “Whoever is in the PDP and expects to hear anything supportive from Wike and his group as regards the NEC meeting or convention must be deceiving himself, adding that having openly admitted to supporting the re-election bid of President Tinubu, Wike has done his worst for PDP.
“Imagine someone who claims to still be in the PDP but intends to support the presidential candidate of the ruling party in 2027; what could be worse than that?” The party noted.
On its part, the Oyo State chapter of the party described Wike’s meeting as alien and strange to the structure of the PDP.
According to the Oyo Chapter, what took place was simply Wike meeting with his “committee of followers and friends,” not a gathering of bona fide party stakeholders.
Also in spite of Wike, a Southern Leaders’ Zoning Consultative meeting was held in Lagos under the chairmanship of the governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri.
But ahead of the National Elective Convention scheduled for November in Ibadan, Oyo State, Wike’s camp rejected the relevance of the Zoning Consultative.
The PDP Governors’ Forum followed up the Lagos meeting with another meeting in Zamfara State three days later.
Reliable source disclosed that the governors’ deliberations were on pressing issues that must be resolved to ensure a smooth national convention in Ibadan.
Amid these tensions, the zoning committee of 44-member, led by Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, continued its consultations across all regions as promised at its inauguration on August 14. They are expected to propose a zoning formula for the 19 National Working Committee positions between the North and the South at the 102nd National Executive Committee this Monday.
As expected, a few state chairmen, former governors, National Assembly members, and other key stakeholders aligned with Wike’s camp, publicly distanced themselves from the gathering.
The PDP leaders, in a statement jointly signed by party chairmen from Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states, alongside National Assembly leaders and other stakeholders, on Thursday, dismissed “any resolutions, communiqués, or outcomes” purportedly emanating from the meeting as “neither binding on, nor reflective of the collective will and aspirations of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria.”
They condemned the Lagos gathering, described as the “PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,” insisting it was convened without proper consultation.
“The attention of the undersigned state chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party from the South and some critical stakeholders has been drawn to a meeting ‘Nicodemously’ summoned in Lagos today, 21st August 2025, by some persons purporting to do so on behalf of PDP members of the South tagged ‘PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit,’ convened by the Admin Secretary, Zoning Committee of the PDP, at the behest of the Chairman Zoning Committee (H.E. Senator Duoye Diri) at the Legend Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
The said meeting, tagged a summit, was allegedly convened in the name of the three geopolitical zones of Southern Nigeria — South-East, South-South, and South-West.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we categorically dismiss any resolutions, communiqués, or outcomes purportedly emanating from this meeting as neither binding on, nor reflective of the collective will and aspirations of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria. Decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus,” the statement partly read.
The statement noted that the meeting, allegedly summoned by the Zoning Committee’s Administrative Secretary at the behest of Chairman Diri, was “deeply disturbing” because several state chairmen, national officers, principal lawmakers, and former governors were excluded.
“It is highly regrettable and indeed deeply disturbing that such a meeting was convened without the courtesy of inviting several state chairmen from the South-East and South-South, as well as the duly elected National Secretary and Deputy National Legal Adviser of our great party.
“Even more troubling is the inexplicable exclusion of several national officers, eminent leaders, and critical stakeholders of the PDP. Such a brazen disregard for established structures and statutory organs of the PDP not only offends the spirit of collective decision-making but also risks undermining the very foundation upon which our party was built,” they said.
The signatories, including Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, O. K. Chinda; Senators Mao Ohuabunwa, George Sekibo, Mike Nnachi; and former National Secretary Onwe S. Onwe, warned that the Lagos parley was “premature and targeted at protecting the interest and selfish ambition of a select few.”
They further urged the PDP National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee to disregard any outcome of the meeting, declaring it “illegal and divisive.”
“We call on the National Working Committee, the National Executive Committee, and all stakeholders of the party to disregard any outcome of the said meeting, which is not only illegal but divisive.
“Take notice that where any iota of regard is given to the outcome of the purported meeting, we shall not hesitate to take appropriate steps in line with our party’s constitution to resist the same with full force,” the statement concluded.
Makinde’s response to Wike was straightforward however, insisting he would not jump into gutter with anybody.
He added that the National Executive Committee would decide on zoning on Monday, stressing that he would not “go low with anyone who decides to go into the gutters.”
He said, “Personally, when people go low or go into the gutters, I don’t go with them. Some people are now going into the gutters. We will reach out to them. That is democracy.
“I can disagree with people, but there shouldn’t be anything personal here. It should be about what we are giving to Nigerians because they are watching.”
The governor noted that despite the challenges, recent elections demonstrated that the PDP still remained a strong and influential party.
On zoning of the PDP presidential ticket to the South, Makinde stated that the party had not reached that stage yet.
“We haven’t even got there. We need to have a party first before you start talking about presidential candidates. If we don’t have a party, anything you are trying to do will fall flat.
“Our efforts right now are directed towards having a vibrant and united PDP that Nigerians will be proud of and believe in again,” he said.
Dignitaries at the meeting included the Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees, Adolphus Wabara, Bayelsa governor, Diri, Governors Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, Peter Mba of Enugu, represented by his deputy, Ifeanyi Ossai, former Osun Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Bode George, and Monsurat Sunmonu.
Stakeholders and observers have agreed that personal ambition is the sole reason for the crises PDP has suffered in the last three years. They also believe that with Wike having one leg in PDP, and the other leg in the APC, the much sought-after peace and unity will continue to elude the party.
The Monday meeting will reveal more as Wike continue to battle Makinde for the soil of the party.
