Mohammed Abdulrahman, the factional acting Chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), appointed by a bloc loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, resumed duty on Monday.
Mr Abdulrahman arrived at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja at about 12 noon, accompanied by a crowd of supporters who hailed and chanted his name as they moved through the premises.
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The faction that produced Mr Abdulrahman as chairperson is led by Samuel Anyanwu, the embattled national secretary who was suspended on Saturday by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) after an emergency meeting.
Mr Abdulrahman arrived at the secretariat shortly after Mr Anyanwu who had already taken his seat in the office despite his suspension.
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Meanwhile, some staff members of the PDP secretariat were attacked by supporters of the faction, who allegedly feared the workers might prevent Messrs Abdulrahman and Anyanwu from accessing the offices.
The factional leaders and their supporters, however, gained entry into one of the offices in the building. It was unclear at the time whether it was the office of the national chairperson or that of the national secretary.
They subsequently held a brief closed-door meeting.
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As the drama unfolded, armed security operatives were stationed at strategic points within the party’s premises.
As of the time of filing this report, the mainstream PDP faction, led by Umar Damagum, had yet to respond to the development. The PDP Governors’ Forum and the Board of Trustees (BoT) also remained silent.
I’ve officially resumed
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Mr Abdulrahman said he had officially assumed office as the acting national chairman of the opposition party.
“I have accepted to become acting national chairman at this difficult time through the mercy of God and instrumentality of very critical stakeholders of this party,” he said.
He pledged to heal and reposition the PDP into a formidable opposition and promised to organise an all-inclusive national convention.
“My job here as acting national chairman is simple: Heal the party of its wounds and end factionalisation. Reposition the party and make it Law abiding. And to plan an all-inclusive national convention, and hand over to a properly elected National Working Committee (NWC), after concluding all the outstanding congresses at the zonal, state, local government and ward levels and hand over this our beloved party back to her true owners, the Nigerian people,” Mr Abdulrahman said.
Plans for NEC meeting
Mr Abdulrahman also announced that consultations were ongoing to convene a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
“I want to assure all PDP faithful’s, critical stakeholders and Nigerians at large, that a new dawn has come and with it the Renaissance of the PDP.
“I cannot do this seemingly difficult job alone. I will need all your support, prayers and genuine commitment to join hands in lifting our party the PDP upwards. Consultations are already ongoing and in due course we will have our NEC meeting,” he said.
What prompted the faction
Since the 2023 general elections, the PDP has been engulfed in a series of internal disputes, with the party now split into two major factions with one loyal to the FCT minister.
Mr Wike, though a member of the PDP, serves as a minister in the All Progressives Congress (APC) federal administration of President Bola Tinubu, a situation many within the opposition have described as anti-party activity.
The emergence of the factional leadership originated from disagreements over the PDP’s forthcoming national convention scheduled for 15 and 16 November. The convention is expected to produce new national leaders and potentially set the tone for the selection of the party’s 2027 presidential candidate.
The Wike-led faction opposes holding the convention, arguing that the party failed to conduct valid state congresses, a requirement under the PDP Constitution before convening a national convention.
This dispute led to a court case in which the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered the PDP to halt the planned convention. The judge, James Omotosho, said proceeding without valid state congresses would violate the Nigerian Constitution, INEC guidelines, and the PDP Constitution.
He, therefore, directed the party to meet all prerequisites and issue the statutory 21-day notice before proceeding with the convention.
Despite the ruling, the PDP leadership said it had directed its legal team to immediately appeal the judgment.
After the news of the court order went viral, Mr Wike convened a meeting of PDP stakeholders and former governors loyal to him, where he celebrated it. Mr Anyanwu attended the meeting.
In response, the NWC held an emergency meeting and suspended Mr Anyanwu as national secretary, along with Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), the national legal adviser; Okechukwu Osuoha, deputy national legal adviser; and Umaru Bature, national organising secretary.
Although the party’s spokesperson who announced the suspension did not specify the offences committed by the suspended officials, the action is generally believed to be connected to alleged anti-party activities.
Mr Anyanwu, in retaliation, later led his faction to announce the suspension of Mr Damagum and five other NWC members.
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