Gabriel Suswam resigns from PDP over deepening leadership, ideological rifts

Former Governor of Benue State and ex-Senator, Gabriel Suswam, has formally resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing deepening internal crises and the party’s inability to regain stability.

Suswam announced his decision in a letter dated Wednesday, February 4, 2026, addressed to the PDP Chairman in Mbagber Council Ward, Logo Local Government Area of Benue State. The letter was later shared on Facebook by his Chief of Staff, Moses Ukeyima.

In the letter, Suswam said the decision followed prolonged internal disputes within the party that have continued without resolution, affecting its leadership structure, discipline, and ideological clarity.

“I write to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with effect from the date of this letter,” he stated.

He recalled the opportunities the PDP afforded him over the years to serve in various public offices, expressing gratitude for the platform the party once provided.

“For decades, the PDP provided me with a platform to serve the Nigerian people in various capacities; as a Member of the House of Representatives, as Governor of Benue State, and as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. For these opportunities and the trust reposed in me at different times, I remain sincerely grateful,” he said.

Suswam, however, lamented that the party had strayed from its founding ideals of internal democracy and cohesion, becoming consumed by unresolved conflicts.

“However, the party that once stood as a symbol of cohesion, internal democracy, and progressive opposition has, regrettably, become plagued by persistent and unresolved internal conflicts,” he wrote.

He added that repeated reconciliation efforts had failed to produce any meaningful progress, leaving the party in what he described as a cycle of crisis with no clear pathway to stability.

Suswam said he could no longer reconcile his continued membership with his desire to contribute meaningfully to national development through a stable political platform.

“I believe that political parties must serve as platforms for ideas, discipline, and constructive engagement, not arenas of endless internal warfare. Regrettably, the current state of affairs within the PDP no longer aligns with these ideals,” he added.

He expressed hope that the PDP would eventually find the resolve to address its internal contradictions, even as he chose to step aside.