The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition party, saw a new turn in the battle for its survival late last week. A series of court orders, suspensions, and countersuspensions ensured that the party effectively split into two factions: one group was loyal to Atiku Abubakar, the party’s former vice president and presidential candidate in the most recent election, and the other group was loyal to Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State and minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to sources, the Wike campaign is most likely supporting Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde in the 2027 presidential election. Broadly speaking, it is a fight between those who want the PDP to continue as an opposition party capable of running for office in 2027 and those who want the party to only function as an APC pawn in order to facilitate President Bola Tinubu’s resounding win in that year.
Ikenga Ugochinyere, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ideato Federal Constituency, stated, “The act of betrayal that the FCT Minister has been committing against the party for the last year was possible, because he had an acting national chairman and secretary, and few others who have been politically compromised.”
As an APC employee, the FCT minister’s agents are exactly like them. As you can imagine, there was a court order to prevent a state congress in Rivers, but the national leadership proceeded with the congress, crushing the state structure of the party in the process and the supporters of the FCT minister. And these are the individuals who have already sworn loyalty to the APC’s goal of holding onto power until 2027.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, which is loyal to Wike and is chaired by acting chairman Umar Damagum, suspended National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba and National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade on Thursday and continued to do so on Friday, citing anti-party activities. Both men had made a strong case for the acting chairman to make sure that the party followed its charter in day-to-day operations.
In retaliation, the Atiku-supporting Ologunagba group declared that Damagum and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the National Secretary, would be suspended due to similar anti-party activities.
The party had been in disarray for years, but the most recent development, which puts its survival as a political force in jeopardy, started after the Rivers local government election, in which supporters of Wike and Atiku naturally took opposing stands.
As a devoted follower of President Bola Tinubu, Wike utilized his connections within the NWC to seize control of the party’s Rivers structure, leaving his political rival and successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, in a precarious position. Perhaps the plan within the Wike camp was to use the PDP apparatus to seize control of the state’s grassroots political system in advance of the recently held local government election. Fubara, though, had other plans. His supporters shifted to the Action Peoples Party (APP), his proxies.
The Wike camp filed a lawsuit to stop the election because they sensed what was going to happen. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was unable to grant the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) access to the voter register for 2023 as a result of an order they were able to obtain from Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The police promptly complied with the court’s order prohibiting the inspector general of police and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the exercise. But Fubara and RSIEC both pledged that the election would go forward as planned, citing previous rulings from the Rivers State High Court as well as constitutional clauses.
During this back and forth, the governor—who was backed by Ologunagba, the national publicity secretary—conducted the election, which saw Action Alliance win Etche local government and APP win 22 out of 23 local government councils. The PDP NWC, which was loyal to Wike, released a statement criticizing Fubara’s decision.
At the party’s NWC meeting on Thursday, a member brought up the issue during the AOB period. According to Ologunagba’s statement on the situation in Rivers, the party is pushing PDP members in the state to vote against the NWC’s stance in the state’s local government election.
In addition, Mr. Ali Odefa, National Vice Chairman of South East, who was suspended by a party faction in Ebonyi State, claimed that Ajibade was aiding those who were opposing him.
According to sources, the argument became heated at this point, and Ologunagba was not present while Odefa and Ajibade were asked to leave the venue. Members were asked to vote on a motion to suspend them after it was alleged that some palms had been greased when they left.
After the vote, Ologunagba and Ajibade were both suspended by the Damagum-led NWC.
Ologunagba’s faction retaliated by announcing the suspension of Samuel Anyanwu, the national secretary, and Damagum. and then declared Yayari Mohammed to be the acting national chairman of the party. The NWC of the party essentially divided into two groups.
The camp of Damagum and Anyanwu later obtained a court order prohibiting the party from dismissing them. The PDP was prevented from suspending Damagum and Anyanwu by a decision made by the same Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja. Additionally, it prohibited the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) from interfering with each other’s positions until the current exco’s term ends in December 2025.
However, Ugochinyere, who is associated with the Ologunagba group and serves as the spokesperson for the opposition Federal Lawmakers Coalition, maintains that they should stay suspended.
Contrary to Justice Lifu, Ugochinyere stated in a coalition post on X on Friday that the court order did not prevent the NWC from suspending Damagum because the suspension had already been in place when the order was issued.
He said, “The court order did not stop NWC before they fired Damagum.” Following the suspension of Umar Damagum, the PDP NWC named Yayari Ahmed Mohammed as the acting chairman and granted the Pro-Wike, APC-backed PDP faction leadership by Damagum the firing, an order was made by Justice Lifu in favor of this faction.
The Board of Trustees Intervenes
Amid the back and forth, the NWC factions were urged to desist from taking any further actions that could worsen the opposition party’s crisis by the party’s board of trustees (BoT), which is presided over by former senate president Adolphus Wabara.
In the statement released on Friday, Wabara stated that the board and NWC would be meeting to discuss the party’s internal crisis.
The BoT requests that all NWC parties put down their swords and reduce hostilities. The statement says, “To maintain the unity and stability of our great party, the warring parties must, in the best interests of the party as a whole, return to the status quo.
“As a party with a long history of internal democracy, we acknowledge that disagreements may occur, but we must not allow these obstacles to derail our shared goals.
“To ensure that normalcy is restored in the NWC of our Great Party, the Board of Trustees will meet with the members of the NWC to intervene, foster reconciliation, and ensure.”
Makinde’s 2027 plan
With Nigeria experiencing an unparalleled economic crisis under the Bola Tinubu administration, many had anticipated that the PDP would be alert and provide a competitive alternative by 2027. However, the party has not only miserably failed in this role as it carries on with internal strife, but it also seems that the ruling party has taken over the party’s entire organizational structure, with Wike at the head.
According to sources close to the FCT minister, the plan for 2027 is to field Gov. Seyi Makinde, the current governor of Oyo State, as the PDP’s candidate, with the understanding that he will not seriously jeopardize Tinubu’s chances of winning a second term. This information was provided to Business Hallmark.
“It is likely that Makinde will run as the PDP candidate in 2027,” an anonymous source stated. “In 2027, he will conclude his term. The plan is to pit him against Tinubu in the 2027 election, but he will already be so compromised that there will not be a challenge if the APC rigs the results.
Wike had defected from the PDP, the party he had led Rivers State under for eight years, in order to support Tinubu and his APC against Atiku, the candidate flying the flag for the main opposition party in the election.
He had lost PDP’s presidential ticket to Atiku in 2022, lobbied to get the vice presidential slot, but was denied, as Atiku opted for Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, then Delta State governor. Wike dumped the PDP campaign and supported Tinubu, ensuring that the APC emerged victorious in Rivers ahead of the Labour Party – under questionable circumstances – as Tinubu himself went on to win the presidential election.
What followed has been a battle for the control of the party between Wike, and Atiku, its most influential figure since then, with Wike now clearly having the upper hand.
The NWC, under the leadership of Wike-loyal members Damagum and Anyanwu, was at the center of the conflict. The Wike camp has pushed for their continued presence despite Atiku and his camp’s push for their removal, creating a standoff that has prevented the party from holding its 99th National Executive Committee (NEC). It has been rescheduled for October 24th, for the ninth time.
The NEC meeting, which was originally set for August 15 to discuss matters like Damagum’s replacement, was first rescheduled for September 26. The reason given was that members were going on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. However, there was an additional delay to October 24, which some members perceived as a calculated ploy to sabotage the endeavor to replace Damagum.
Wike had tightened his grip on the party and assumed control of its structure as a result of Damagum’s prolonged presence in both Rivers, his home state, and Adamawa, the home state of Abubakar.
In opposition to Atiku’s stance, the party’s Adamawa branch recently supported Damagum’s leadership with the support of the state governor, Umaru Fintri.
Another PDP governor in Atiku’s North East geopolitical zone, the governor of Bauchi State, has also thrown his support behind Damagum. He met with him on Friday while rumors of his suspension were circulating.
Following their meeting, the governor sent out a statement via his X account, @SenBalaMohammed, stating that his visit was significant and causing concern within Atiku’s camp.
“It was a pleasure to greet People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Acting National Chairman Ambassador Umar Damagun at Government House in Bauchi today. He wrote, “Amb. Damagun’s visit was significant, focused on talks about crucial Party issues and ways to further strengthen the PDP as we continue to chart the path forward.
“Amb. Damagun reiterated the PDP’s unwavering standing as Nigeria’s most tenacious and trustworthy political organization. He also acknowledged my efforts to the party’s success, especially my promotion of cohesiveness and unity. His words emphasized the PDP’s dominance as the nation’s sole tried-and-true political party.
Their visit was intended as an opportunity for us to discuss important matters as a united front. I conveyed my sincere appreciation for this visit and gave our fantastic party’s leader high marks. I also used the occasion to draw attention to the northeast’s political power, a region home to powerful figures who have contributed significantly to the continued success of our party.
As participants in the PDP Governors’ Forum, we are still dedicated to promoting harmony and cooperation within the party. I reaffirmed our commitment to the goal of national development and promised to keep interacting with my PDP Governors’ Forum colleagues in order to keep our party looking forward, especially as we get ready for the 2027 elections.
Party leaders allegedly have a plot to prevent Alhaji Abubakar from flying the party’s presidential flag in 2027, according to observers.
