Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has declared that his the party will give the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) a big fight in the 2027 general election.
The governor spoke on behalf of his colleagues during the opening session of the 101 National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP in Abuja on Thursday.
This comes as the PDP NEC has fixed November 15 and 16, 2025 for an elective national convention of the party in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The NEC also directed the National Working Committee (NEC) to recover the National and State Assembly seats lost to the APC due to the defection of PDP members.
The communique was read by the PDP’s national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, after the NEC meeting.
However, speaking earlier at the gathering, the Bauchi governor said that the PDP had shown resilience in spite of the challenges it faced.
He added that the party leadership was working behind the scenes to ensure that the party remained intact to create a viable platform for Nigerians.
“Now with the necessary recognition by the regulator INEC, at the end of the day, we’ll give the APC political running for their money in terms of contest that will be given on a level playing field with a party that is intact, and also give an answer to our people wishing to come in,” Bala added.
We won’t lose sleep over ADC coalition – Damagum
On his part, the PDP acting national chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum, described the opposition coalition riding on the African Democratic Congress (ADC) platform as a political experiment that is not worth worrying about.
He said, “I must address the matter of a so-called coalition recently formed, which includes some defecting members of our party.
“On this issue, I am pleased to report that this political experiment is nothing to lose sleep over. They say, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Some people have recently learned this truth in the most uncomfortable way.”
According to him, some PDP members who joined the coalition movement have returned to the PDP.
“Many who jumped on the coalition bandwagon have already returned to our fold. Some even claim they never left and merely attended a meeting; we accept their confessions without prejudice.
“Let me add that this reversal is not limited to PDP members alone. Individuals from other political parties who initially joined this coalition have realised that the venture is ill-fated and their swift return is proof of this,” he said.
He also claimed that the PDP was the only party poised to take back power.
“To close this matter, I believe that all of us look forward to the total dismantling of this ill-fated coalition, even as we extend our best wishes to those involved.”
Defections to APC unfortunate – Abba Moro
Minority leader, Senator Abba Moro, said the party remained the only option for Nigerians.
He, however, decried the defection of PDP senators to the ruling party, saying it was unfortunate.
Referring to members who have left the party, Moro said some people get into politics by accident, while others do it for conviction.
He said politicians who have left the PDP for another party are politicians by accident, while those who have remained in the PDP are politicians by conviction.
He appreciated the efforts of the party leaders, governors, and members who supported the party through tough times.
We are not perturbed, defector will return – Chinda
Minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hon Kingsley Chinda, dismissed the defection of PDP members to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying such movements are not new.
He said, “What we are seeing in the National Assembly isn’t new; we have seen worse than that.”
He recalled that a presiding officer once left the party with over 80 members, but that the party was able to win many seats in the House in the next round of elections.
“We are not perturbed. We know that over time they will come back”
However, he charged the party to “look inward and rejig to keep our seats in the parliament safer.”
He paid tribute to the founding fathers of the party for their intervention through a conference held on Wednesday.
He said the success of the NEC meeting had shown that PDP had an in-house cleaning mechanism, adding that it was a signal that the party would emerge stronger after the national convention.
Six INEC officials were present at the NEC meeting.
PDP Elective Convention Slated For Nov 15-16
Yesterday, the PDP NEC approved the 2025 Elective National Convention Schedule of Activities and Timetable.
According to the communique, it said, “Under the approved timetable, the elective national convention to elect the next set of national officers of our party will hold on Saturday, 15th to Sunday, 16th November 2025 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Consequently, the party’s NEC directed the national chairman, Amb. Iliya Damagum and the national secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu to officially write to inform the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the time, venue and agenda of the elective national convention in accordance with the requirement of Section 82 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and Part 2(12) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, 2022.
Defectors Have Lost Their Seats – PDP
On reclaiming of legislative seats lost to APC because of defections, the NEC said: “In its determination to preserve all the electoral mandate given to our party by Nigerians across the country, NEC directed the National Working Committee to take immediate legal action to recover the seats of all serving members of the National and State Assemblies elected on the platform of the PDP but defected to another party.
“By virtue of the self-executory provision of Sections 68 (1) (g) and 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), such defectors have irredeemably lost their seats, there being no division or merger with regard to the PDP.”
The NEC also expressed concern and frowned at the reported participation and involvement of some party members in the activities, meetings and gatherings of another political party.
“NEC calls on these members to reconsider their actions and show loyalty and commitment as members of the PDP, especially as the law does not permit membership of two political parties at the same time.
Governors Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Adamu Fintri (Adamawa), Barr Muftwang (Plateau), and Kigbu Kefas (Taraba) are among other party leaders at the meeting.
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