A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has scheduled emergency meetings of the party’s Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee for Tuesday, November 18th, in what appears to be a direct response to last weekend’s national convention held by a rival faction.
The faction, led by Mohammed Abdulrahman as factional National Chairman, announced the meetings through a notice issued by its factional National Secretary, Sam Anyanwu.
According to the notification, both the Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee sessions will convene at the PDP National Secretariat located at Wadata Plaza in Abuja.
“Attendance is very important as crucial matters will be discussed and addressed,” Anyanwu stated in the notice circulated to party stakeholders.
The scheduled meetings come just days after a rival PDP faction loyal to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde conducted a national convention on Saturday in Ibadan, during which sweeping disciplinary actions were announced against Wike and his supporters.
The Ibadan convention, presided over by immediate past acting national chairman Umar Damagum, announced the expulsion of several prominent party figures including Wike, former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, Samuel Anyanwu, and Dan Orbih, among others.
In what observers described as an aggressive reorganization effort, the convention also dissolved the State Working Committees in Abia, Imo, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River states.
The Saturday event drew attendance from five sitting PDP governors: Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, alongside other influential party leaders.
However, the expulsion decision has already generated controversy within the party, with Governors Fintiri and Mutfwang publicly distancing themselves from the disciplinary actions taken against Wike and his allies.
The removal of the FCT minister and his associates represents the latest and perhaps most dramatic escalation in the prolonged power struggle that has fractured the main opposition party along factional lines.
At the center of the crisis is a bitter rivalry between Wike, who continues to serve in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet despite being a PDP member, and the PDP Governors’ Forum leadership comprising Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
The internal conflict has raised questions about party discipline, with critics arguing that Wike’s position in an APC-led administration while maintaining PDP membership represents a fundamental betrayal, while his supporters contend that his expulsion was procedurally flawed and politically motivated.
Tuesday’s scheduled meetings by the Wike faction will likely serve as a platform to reject the legitimacy of the Ibadan convention and to consolidate support among party members who remain loyal to the FCT minister.
The deepening schism within Nigeria’s main opposition party has sparked concern among political analysts who worry that the internal warfare could further weaken the PDP’s capacity to provide effective opposition and mount a credible challenge in future elections.
Legal battles over which faction legitimately controls the party’s structures and national secretariat are widely expected to follow, potentially dragging the PDP crisis into the courts for resolution.
The parallel meetings and competing claims to party leadership have effectively left the PDP with two rival camps, each asserting authority and organizing separate activities—a situation that threatens the party’s organizational coherence and electoral viability.
