PDP’s reconciliation suffers setback as Wike pulls out

• August convention may be postponed

Efforts by the leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to reconcile aggrieved members ahead of the 2027 general election yesterday suffered a setback as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, pulled out of the party’s peace deal.

Wike, in a statement, announced that he had pulled out of all reconciliation agreements previously reached within the party.

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Daily Trust reports that since the change of guards on the political scene in 2015, observers expected the PDP to have some bite by effectively checkmating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) because of its longstanding might while it held sway as the ruling party between 1999 and 2015.

But pundits have argued that the PDP has remained comatose to the extent that when it is now in the news, it is mostly when its notable members are fighting, defected to the APC or when tongues are wagging over its protracted leadership tussle, making it difficult to do anything a potent opposition should be doing.

Wike expressed concerns that the party has declined into “Dishonesty and lack of trust amongst its key stakeholders.” He also accused key party leaders of betrayal, dishonesty, and serial violations of mutual understandings.

“Since after the 2023 general election, the PDP has been wantonly swinging from one part of a slippery precipice to another,” Wike said, noting that several efforts had been made to “Arrest this pernicious virus of dishonesty and treachery,” he said.

Wike, who was the leader of the influential G5 group within the PDP, also blamed Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State for allegedly sabotaging reconciliation efforts.

“I made it clear to the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, that he was the architect of our problems, pointing out to him that non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party, and that he was the chief culprit of this anomaly,” Wike said.

He disclosed that during a G5 meeting in Lagos, the governors had resolved to bury the hatchet and move forward.  He added that this was followed by a broader meeting in Abuja at Senator Bukola Saraki’s guest house, involving other top PDP figures, including Governors Bala Mohammed, Umaru Fintiri, and Makinde, alongside Saraki himself.

The Rivers former governor said the Abuja meeting yielded a set of clear resolutions, including recognition of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary in line with a Supreme Court judgment, the withdrawal of all court cases relating to Rivers State by the party’s national legal adviser, and an end to cases about state of emergency in Rivers.

“To my chagrin, Seyi Makinde had connived with Peter Mba of Enugu State to orchestrate the summoning of the meeting of so-called South-East leaders to recommend that if Ude Okoye was not adopted as secretary, they would pull out of the PDP,” Wike alleged.

Wike also accused party officials of attempting to sideline Anyanwu by presenting the deputy national secretary as acting national secretary, and using a letter from him to call for a National Executive Committee meeting, moves Wike said were “In complete violation of the agreements reached.”

He cited an incident on May 24, 2025, in Jos, where a PDP zonal elective congress was aborted because INEC refused to attend. The reason, he said, was because the letter of invitation was signed by the deputy national secretary, not the duly recognised national secretary.

“This is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least,” Wike added.

Reflecting on his long association with the PDP since 1998, Wike expressed dismay that those he helped to rise to political prominence had turned against him. “It is on record that none of these persons have done anything close to what I have done to sustain this party,” he said.

“What is more painful is that I contributed substantially to most of these governors winning their elections, yet I have not made any personal demands on any of them and I would never do so,” he added.

The minister said he has lost faith in the trust and camaraderie that once existed among party stakeholders and would no longer participate in any further reconciliation deals.

“I have now firmly decided to pull out of all agreements hitherto reached. I have decided to fight on until justice is attained,” the minister said.

But when contacted, the Special Adviser to Governor Makinde on Media, Sulaiman Olarenwaju, declined to comment on the allegations against the governor.

Wike’s action won’t distract us – Saraki

Reacting to the development, the former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said Wike’s action will not deter or distract the reconciliation committee led by him.

The spokesman to Senator Saraki, Yusuph Olaniyonu, told Daily Trust yesterday that “Dr. Saraki is a mediator that all the parties have confidence in. The same thing applies to other members of the committee.

“The committee will be undeterred by any development and continue the engagement towards building a new consensus around charting the way forward for the party.”

The PDP Governors’ Forum had suggested that the convention be held in Kano during their meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State.

But a member of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) told Daily Trust yesterday that while stakeholders are committed to ensuring the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting holds tomorrow, there is the possibility that the convention would be postponed due to unresolved issues in the party.

“The NEC will decide on the national convention. But I can tell you that the August date is too close. Also, there are so many issues that need to be settled even after the NEC for the convention to take place in August. So it’s likely to be in October.

“Let me tell you that the date for the NEC was just a recommendation to NWC, and it was accepted. Also, the date for the national convention is a recommendation to NEC. NEC will decide that one.

“But based on what is on ground, I can tell you that the national convention cannot hold in August,” he said.

NEC meeting

Meanwhile, another top source in the PDP told Daily Trust that the NEC would tomorrow deliberate on the contentious issues in the party, including the issue of national secretary being contested by Anyanwu and Ude-Okoye.

He also disclosed that the NEC would discuss the issues of zoning and the national convention, among others.

Daily Trust reports that this is not the first time the PDP has rescheduled its NEC meeting in recent times. The party had rescheduled its NEC meeting for May 15, 2025, but didn’t hold.

The crisis within the PDP, especially over NEC had intensified following the assumption of office by Umar Damagum as acting national chairman after the suspension of Senator Iyorchia Ayu.

During the 98th NEC meeting on April 18, 2024, party leaders failed to resolve several critical issues. As a result, the crisis had deepened, affecting state and zonal chapters and causing disaffection within the NWC.

The 98th NEC meeting had initially set August 15 for the 99th NEC meeting to address unresolved matters, including getting a substantive chairman from the North Central to replace Ayu.

However, the meeting was first postponed to October 24, 2024, then again postponed to November 28, 2024, before being postponed indefinitely.

The inability to convene NEC, Daily Trust gathered from party sources, was to prevent the removal of Damagum, who was initially asked to act for three months.

Following the delay, the PDP Governors’ Forum, led by Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, directed the NWC in December 2024 to ensure the NEC meeting was held by February 2025.

On December 5, 2024, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT), Adolphus Wabara, raised concerns that continued delays were eroding the trust and confidence of not only members, but other Nigerians.

To ensure the meeting was held, the PDP Governors’ Forum, during their last meeting in Asaba, Delta State, on January 31, proposed March 13 for the NEC meeting.

However, the party later announced that the 99th NEC meeting was postponed for the fifth time to May 15. At their last meeting in Oyo State, the PDP governors again slated May 27 for NEC.

Following the protracted crisis in the party, governors who are members of the PDP had convened to resolve some of the contentious issues in the party before the NEC meeting slated for May 27 and the convention.

Among those invited to the meeting were former governors who are still members of the PDP and members of the NWC.

However, the meeting was unable to resolve the issues on the table, a development that led to the putting together of the ad-hoc reconciliation committee led by former Senate President Bukola Saraki to reconcile the warring parties.

The committee was mandated to resolve the lingering issues to enable the party to have a rancour-free NEC and the national convention.

PDP mum

Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of the PDP on Wike’s action were unsuccessful as the spokesman for the party, Debo Ologunagba, neither answered his phone call nor responded to a text message sent to him for comment on the matter.

Responding to the issue of the national convention earlier, Ologunagba said he would not like to pre-empt the NEC. He, however, said the August date is a suggestion and would be debated by members and an agreement reached in the interest of the party.

He also denied speculations that the NEC might not hold as scheduled, stressing that NEC will resolve some of the issues during their meeting tomorrow.