As political activities gather momentum and political parties gear up, intensifying their efforts toward the primaries to determine who will fly the flags of their various parties in all elections, especially the governorship, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is still in limbo across the states of Nigeria.
The party has gone to pieces in virtually all the states, leaving it to two governors, one of whom is Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who is battling to get his house in order on how to handle the party in view of the controversies that have trailed the PDP generally in recent years.
It is no longer news that the PDP has been factionalised along two known leaders – Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State – whose faction is still battling for recognition.
What has worsened the headache of the Makinde faction was the latest verdict of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which authenticated Nyesom Wike’s faction. Ever since that judgment was delivered, it has dealt a big blow to the Makinde faction across the states in Nigeria, leaving members and aspirants who intend to contest the 2027 general election more confused.
Battle Begins at Home
Already, the state where confusion and uncertainty among members – particularly aspirants who have been spending millions on their ambitions – is most intense is Oyo.
This is because Governor Makinde, as the leader of his faction, despite the law not being on their side, has refused to give up the fight and is still holding on to the leadership of the party in the state, which he has dominated and where he has been calling the shots for the past seven years.
Since the lower court first declared the Wike group as the recognised PDP faction, the former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi – also one of the henchmen and close confidants of the late strongman of Ibadan politics, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu – was picked as its leader.
While Governor Makinde was issuing orders on one hand, Alhaji Gbolarumi was also in command on the other, a situation that brought more confusion as to who should be obeyed within the party.
Shortly before the Appeal Court order, Governor Makinde had directed that aspirants who wanted to contest under the platform of the PDP should be bold and not shy or afraid to use his picture and the PDP logo on their posters, handbills, and billboards.
However, things suddenly changed with the Appeal Court’s verdict, as aspirants began pledging their loyalty to Gbolarumi after realising that their allegiance to Makinde, for now, might not favour them, especially considering the resources they had already committed to securing the party’s ticket.
The sudden switch of allegiance to Gbolarumi, it was argued, prompted those loyal to the Makinde faction to allegedly attack his house in Bodija, Ibadan, where properties worth several millions were vandalised.
Although it was claimed that hoodlums acting on other motives carried out the destruction, those in Gbolarumi’s camp insisted they were convinced it was the Makinde faction that was responsible.
They alleged that vehicles and other property worth millions of naira were destroyed when suspected political thugs reportedly attacked Gbolarumi’s residence.
Internal Factions
Gbolarumi himself said that a faction of the PDP attacked his house shortly after the conclusion of the congress held by the Wike faction.
He revealed that several PDP members sustained varying degrees of injuries during the attacks, which spread across the state in places where the Wike faction held its congresses. The former deputy governor insisted that Governor Seyi Makinde engineered the attacks.
“That is what Seyi did. He is an opposition in the same PDP. We finished our congress and were going home when those boys came with guns and cutlasses to attack us, and we have videos of the attack.
“We videoed them. They also attacked our people in Igbo-Ora, Ibarapa, Iseyin, Shaki, and other places. The camera will reveal the truth of the matter. They came to my house with about 15 buses and close to 200 thugs,” Gbolarumi alleged.
Despite Gbolarumi’s conviction that the attack was carried out by the Makinde faction, those loyal to the governor claimed that the mainstream of the party knew nothing about it.
The Public Relations Officer of the Oyo PDP, Michael Ogunsina, said the main body of the party in the state was not involved in the incident.
He suggested that the violence might have resulted from a disagreement between Gbolarumi and individuals allegedly hired for what he described as a “fake congress.”
“We don’t know about it. It is unfortunate what has happened to him,” Ogunsina said.
“I understand that Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi was supposed to pay some of the people he hired for the purported fake congress. I think issues arose between them. Maybe he didn’t pay them the agreed amount, and those people may have resorted to destroying things in his house.”
Tit for Tat
Gbolarumi immediately debunked Ogunsina’s claim, arguing that if that were the case in Ibadan, “what about Ibarapa, Oke-Ogun, and other places where our members in the Wike group were attacked simultaneously? Makinde is just wasting his time; he has lost out of the game.”
However, as the incident is still being investigated by the Oyo State Police Command, the political scenario in the PDP has shifted to aspirants struggling for survival—deciding where to pitch their tents and who will succeed Makinde at the Agodi Government House.
Although debates and arguments continue over the attack on Gbolarumi within PDP circles, what has also emerged as the crux of the matter is Governor Makinde’s leadership style toward members, leaders, and stakeholders.
He is accused of running the party as personal property and being dictatorial. It is argued that his leadership style has discouraged unity among party leaders and stakeholders, adversely affecting both the party and the governor, and diminishing their standing in the eyes of the public.
Succession Blues
Another source of division within the party is Governor Makinde’s attempt to break the jinx of installing a successor—something no sitting governor in Oyo State has achieved since the current political dispensation began in 1999.
Since then, no sitting governor has succeeded in this bid. The late Alhaji Lam Adesina of the Alliance for Democracy failed, as he could not secure a second term. Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, now the Olubadan of Ibadanland, also failed to return for a second term. He was followed by the late Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, who equally failed in his re-election bid.
The late Senator Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi, who successfully completed two terms as governor, also failed to install a successor. This has led many to believe that Makinde’s ambition may be a wild goose chase.
Some party members argued that instead of learning from past experiences, Makinde remained convinced he could succeed, but recent developments have shown otherwise. They noted that his recent declaration that all aspirants are free to contest under the PDP without a preferred candidate was an attempt to save face amid the current crisis.
However, it is believed he is still quietly pursuing his succession plan, extending his political manoeuvres beyond the PDP to other parties.
One of the key figures leading the Wike faction in Oyo State, Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi, explained that his fallout with Makinde stemmed from the governor’s insistence on handpicking a successor.
He said the disagreement began when Makinde announced he would single-handedly decide his successor without consulting party leaders and stakeholders.
Speaking while hosting the Executive of the Oyo State Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), led by Yinka Adeniran, to an Iftar during Ramadan in Ibadan, Gbolarumi said many citizens were surprised by the fallout.
“I must confess that the disagreement started when Makinde said he would single-handedly announce his successor without consulting PDP leaders in the state,” he said.
“He is supposed to sit down with PDP leaders for discussion. To show that he has been taking decisions on his own, look at his commissioners, special advisers, and local government chairmen—there was no input from party leaders in those appointments.”
Gbolarumi added, “I am one of the founding fathers of the PDP in the state—the platform Makinde used to become governor in 2019. One of the things I am not happy about is his claim that he has no godfather in politics. I told him I do not believe in that principle.”
Divisions from Interest
The former deputy governor noted that the crisis within the PDP is driven more by political interests than outright conflict, insisting that the Wike faction he leads is in control in Oyo State.
Meanwhile, political observers believe Makinde’s challenges stem from his inability to carry party leaders along in decision-making. They argue that broader consultation could have prevented some of the decisions that have now backfired.
It is also argued that since Wike supports President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid, he would ensure that candidates emerging from his faction align with that interest.
With Tinubu now in the equation and Wike’s group gaining ground, analysts say the PDP may end up fielding a placeholder candidate who could work in alignment with the APC to influence Oyo State politics.
Consequently, observers believe that Makinde’s influence may ultimately diminish ahead of the 2027 elections.