PDP: No Alternative To Reconciliation

For the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the road to resolving its self-inflicted crises took a new curve, following the declaration of one of its factions’ conventions as illegal, null, and void. For a party that has walked through the rough road of irreconcilable differences, the party is being turned into a boxing ring that has deeply divided the party.

With the road to the final resolution of the party becoming dimmer, following the resolve of the Kabiru-led faction to reject the judgment of the Court of Appeal that nullified the party’s national convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan, Oyo State, the hope of resolving the issues remains unpredictable.

Cross Fires

Mr. Ini Ememobong, who is the spokesman of the faction, said in a statement that the party has reached out to its legal team to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court. According to him, “The operationalisation of this judgment will, without fail, impose untold hardship on our members. To avert this, while we consult with critical organs of our party on the way forward, we have instructed our lawyers to immediately take the necessary legal steps to appeal to the Supreme Court, the apex court in the land, for a final determination of the matter.”

The strength of the Turaki-led faction has been tremendously weakened, following the defection of many governors to the ruling party. After accusing the FCT Minister of playing anti-party politics to support the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027, most of Wike’s political opponents are in the APC to do what they accused him of doing.

Lifted by the Monday’s Court of Appeal ruling that affirmed the current caretaker leadership structure, and duly recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Wike’s faction, led by Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed (Chairman) and Senator Sam Anyanwu (Secretary) has maintained that, while it is favourably disposed to reconciliation, it will only do so as the central force.

In the words of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Barr Nyesom Wike, “PDP will never die. There comes a time when you face crises, but those crises are meant to put you in order. Life is in stages. For me, what is happening is a natural process that we must pass through as humans. We are for reconciliation, but genuine reconciliation”.

Known for his bluntness and speaking his mind, no matter whose ox is gored, he warned against the nebulous intentions of politicians whose disposition to current moves for reconciliation and challenged those opposed to him to desist from clandestine manoeuvres. In his words, “I don’t like those who go to negotiate at night and come out to shout in the day. Let those coming for peace come in the daytime and not at night.”

Elderly Partisanship

When the crisis started, the decision by the party elders, including former Senate President Adolphus Wabara and Professor Jerry Gana, to play a partisan role made it impossible for the party to resolve the crisis, which was a complete fallout of the 2023 primaries.   The ambition of the governors’ forum, which is now a mere husk of its former self, refused to set apart their political ambitions to unite the platform that gave them power.

However, famed among the pro-reconciliation voices was the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki. In the early days of the crisis, Saraki had opted for a peaceful resolution, but Wabara and other elders chose to stand on a factional platform, thereby obliterating hope of reconciliation.  Less than a year to the 2027 elections, the party that once boasted it would rule Nigeria for 60 years has been weakened and turned into a ghost of its former self. Apart from muddying and slowing down reconciliatory moves, the need to hasten up and do what is needful remains imperative for now. Most of the PDP governors, who led the forces against Wike and accused it of anti-party, are now members of the APC, with Governors Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara now being the latest entrants.

The crux of the PDP quagmire lies in greed for control and the ultimate deployment of personal ambition for power acquisition. The 2022 presidential primaries that produced Atiku Abubakar as the PDP presidential candidate marked a turning point in the party’s destiny. Before the polls, certain elements had sworn that it was either Atiku or no one. When the former vice president finally emerged as the presidential candidate, his refusal to nominate Wike as his running mate, coupled with the speech he delivered explaining why he chose Okowa rather than the former Rivers governor, was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. While there were feeble efforts to reconcile the Wike to his old party, he had managed to give it oxygen; it was clear that the Rubicon had been crossed.

Salvaging What Is Left

Amidst the clamour for resolution of the feud before it snowballed into a gnawing crisis, there had been calls from prominent Nigerians to ensure that unity of purpose was brought. However, the bitter disagreement, anchored primarily on the role of Wike, swung the pendulum among most governors, who felt that allowing reconciliation to take place was akin to acknowledging the importance of the former Rivers governor. With Monday’s court verdict, the Wike faction has now been recognised and, while awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision, if the Turaki-led faction eventually goes to the Apex Court, it will be the recognised PDP. Nothing more, nothing less.

The drumbeats of 2027 are sounding louder, and the need for the PDP to put its house in order is gradually assuming an urgency. While the faction, led by Wike, has set the end of this month for its convention and the month of May for its presidential primaries, the decision by the Turaki-led faction to head to the Supreme Court is a needless distraction.  What is now imperative for the Turaki faction, which has been declared illegal, is to negotiate.