PDP crisis deepens as Makinde bloc names interim NWC, Wike camp claims legitimacy

The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has worsened, with rival factions taking fresh steps to assert control of the party structure ahead of the 2027 elections.

The faction aligned with Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and led by the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Adolphus Wabara, hlon Monday announced the appointment of a 13-member interim National Working Committee (NWC).

Wabara said the decision followed the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which upheld the nullification of the party’s Ibadan convention, thereby creating what he described as a leadership vacuum.

According to him, the interim committee, headed by former National Chairman Tanimu Turaki, was constituted in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution.

The resolution was reached at a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting convened by the Turaki-led bloc at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, underscoring the determination of the Makinde-aligned group to reposition the party’s leadership structure.

However, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had insisted that the PDP remains united under a single leadership.

Reacting to the same Supreme Court judgment, Wike maintained that it had effectively ended all factional disputes within the party.

“Today, the Supreme Court has brought to an end the so-called factions of the PDP. There is no more faction in the party. There is only one PDP,” he said during a press briefing in Abuja.

The minister rejected claims that the ruling created any leadership vacuum, stressing that his camp remains the legitimate authority within the party.

Wike also dismissed suggestions that the apex court ruled on the suspension of the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, noting that no such issue was before the court.