Tension within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has increased as more than 3,000 delegates are set to gather in Ibadan, Oyo State, for the party’s national elective convention scheduled for November 15 and 16, 2025.
The convention, aimed at electing new officials to crucial positions such as the National Chairman and National Secretary, is unfolding amid a deepening dispute between two opposing factions.
The group headed by acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, which enjoys the backing of the PDP Governors’ Forum, the Board of Trustees, and the Forum of State Chairmen, maintains that the convention will go ahead as planned.
This faction contends that a recent ex parte ruling by Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court legitimises the convention, enabling the party to proceed with elections and restructure its leadership in preparation for the 2027 general elections.
According to a senior official aligned with the Damagum camp, the convention will include both super-delegates, composed of former national and state leaders, and elected delegates from all states of the federation, ensuring broader representation and compliance with party rules.
The official added that the party has the legal discretion to follow the most recent court order when there are conflicting rulings and dismissed claims that certain states were disenfranchised as politically motivated.
The opposing faction, led by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, challenges the legitimacy of the convention, citing an earlier ruling by Justice James Omotosho that restrained the party from proceeding and barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from monitoring the event.
Senator Samuel Anyanwu, National Secretary suspended by the Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC), has warned that the convention would amount to contempt of court and that INEC would not recognise it.
In a telephone interview, Anyanwu insisted that communication with INEC, which must occur at least 21 days before a convention, has not been complied with, making any electoral outcome from the convention legally questionable.
The legal and organisational disputes have been compounded by reciprocal suspensions. The Damagum-led NWC suspended Anyanwu, National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade, and National Organising Secretary Umar Bature for alleged anti-party activities, while the Anyanwu and Wike-aligned camp in Abuja responded by suspending Damagum and the entire NWC, appointing Deputy National Vice Chairman (North Central) Abdulrahman Mohammed as acting National Chairman.
The result has been a deepening leadership vacuum and a proliferation of claims to authority, leaving ordinary party members uncertain about which faction represents legitimate leadership.
The crisis reflects deeper issues within the PDP, including zoning disputes, internal democracy, and the ambition of influential figures ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
Timothy Osadolor, Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP and Wike-aligned leader, accused Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of exacerbating the conflict for personal presidential ambitions and criticised efforts to proceed with the convention without reconciling aggrieved party members.
Osadolor described the planned convention as “an early Christmas party” rather than a legitimate national event and called for adherence to Justice Omotosho’s ruling that the party first put its house in order.
