No Nigerian party ever faced magnitude of crisis bedevilling PDP’

The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has said the level of leadership crisis within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has never been witnessed by any political party in Nigeria.

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Mr Makinde, the only PDP governor in the South-west, said the party’s current crisis cannot be compared with challenges previously experienced by political parties in the country.

The governor said he had consulted individuals familiar with past political developments in Nigeria to determine whether any political party had faced a similar situation, but found none.

He made the remarks while speaking at a meeting of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) in Abuja on Tuesday.

“I have been talking to people of knowledge, people who have been involved in the political evolution of this country, and none of them have seen a political landscape like what we are witnessing today,” he said.

Political parties in Nigeria have historically experienced internal crises, particularly those in opposition.

The PDP, Nigeria’s former ruling party, has been engulfed in a deep factional crisis that could threaten its survival in 2027 general elections if reconciliation efforts fail.

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The crisis has produced two main factions within the party, one aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the other led by Kabiru Turaki, who emerged from the national convention held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in November last year.

The faction backed by Mr Wike argued that the convention was not conducted in line with the party’s constitution and subsequently appointed a caretaker committee chaired by Abdulrahman Mohammed to manage the affairs of the party.

The leadership dispute was challenged in court. In January, the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan nullified the party’s national convention which produced Mr Turaki as national chairperson.

In his ruling, the judge, Uche Agomoh, held that the caretaker committee led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, with Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary, a faction backed by Mr Wike, remained the only recognised National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP pending the conduct of a valid national convention.

The judge ruled that the Ibadan convention was held in flagrant disobedience of two subsisting court judgments and barred Mr Turaki and other officials elected at the convention from parading themselves as national officers of the party.

Mr Turaki subsequently appealed the ruling. On Monday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal upheld the Federal High Court’s decision, invalidating the convention.

The appellate court also barred the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising the outcome of the convention, including the emergence of Mr Turaki’s leadership of the party.

Mr Turaki has, however, indicated interest in challenging the ruling at the Supreme Court.

Party leaders, including a former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, have urged Mr Turaki’s faction not to further challenge the court’s decision, warning that prolonged litigation could prevent the party from fielding candidates in future elections.

Defections

Currently, only two governors remain in the PDP, Mr Makinde and his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed. Both governors are serving their second terms.

READ ALSO: Wike’s former deputy dumps PDP, joins APC

Speaking on the defection of some governors to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Makinde said he was not worried that only two PDP governors remain.

“I can only say we are only two remaining, but we are not bothered,” he said.

The governor also urged party leaders to be mindful of their actions during the crisis, noting that history would judge them.

“So, whatever role we want to play as individuals and collectively as a party, we must be conscious of what history is going to record against or for us for this period,” he said.