By Jimmy Arch
The PDP is still mired in internal strife over convention arrangements, zonal leadership, and control of organizations. Some disgruntled party members went to court to prevent the party’s national convention, which was set for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State. The Damagum-led administration has been accused of bias and ineptitude by the followers of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who point to unresolved problems in the South-South zone and claim contempt for micro-zoning principles.
When the Federal High Court in Abuja issued an interim injunction prohibiting the party from having its convention until it complied with its constitution and the Electoral Act, tensions increased on Friday, October 31.
The PDP is now further divided as a result of Justice James Omotosho’s decision to compel the party to halt all convention preparations until further notice.
National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, National Legal Advisor Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), Deputy Legal Advisor Okechukwu Osuoha, and National Organising Secretary Umar Bature were all suspended by the Damagum-led NWC on November 1st for alleged anti-party conduct.
The opposing group, led by Anyanwu, swiftly responded by counter-suspending Damagum, Deputy National Chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja, National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, and others on charges of ineptitude and financial malfeasance.
In response to the situation, former Benue governor Ortom attributed the PDP’s chaos to incompetent leadership and exclusionary tactics. A member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Ortom said that the leadership disregarded his cautions on the importance of inclusivity and reconciliation. Regretfully, he remarked, some people have tried to manage the party without using group consultation.
Ortom characterized the appointment of Abdulrahman Mohammed as acting National Chairman as a new chance to mend internal divisions and restore confidence, and urged all party organizations to embrace reconciliation. Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti, also supported the Mohammed-led faction’s decision to suspend Damagum, calling it an essential step to prevent the party from collapsing completely.
According to Fayose, the NWC, led by Damagum, is the undertakers who have come to bury the PDP since it is in a hopeless state. He charged Damagum with being conceited and incompetent. He claims that Damagum created confusion and made false promises to help Abdulrahman reposition the PDP, fix the state chapters, and get ready for the convention in order to stay in power.
Former governors Samuel Ortom and Ayo Fayose have thrown their support behind the Nyesom Wike-led section of the party’s National Working Committee, further widening the already developing conflict inside the Peoples Democratic Party.
Ahead of the party’s national convention, supporters of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and other governors are rallying to rally support and oppose the Wike camp.
Ortom and Fayose, in separate remarks on Sunday, 2/11/2025, blamed the party’s deepening internal conflict on acting National Chairman Umar Damagum and supported the PDP group headed by National Vice Chairman (North Central), Abdulrahman Mohammed.
Amidst the leadership turmoil, a protest has broken out at the PDP secretariat. On July 3, a demonstration by members of the faction supporting National Vice Chairman (North Central) Abdulrahman Mohammed heightened tensions at the PDP’s national secretariat in Abuja, Wadata Plaza. Chanting songs of togetherness, the group called for the National Working Committee (NWC), headed by National Chairman Umar Damagum, to be dismissed immediately.
Protesters pledged to retake the secretariat under Abdulrahman’s direction and charged that the current leadership was mishandling party matters. As conflicting factions fight for control of the party headquarters, security forces have been called in to keep the peace.
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