The People’s Democratic, PDP has currently draw battle Line against Wike, and his cohort.
In the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the gloves are off. The two main camps in the PDP are set for a battle for the soul of the party before the November National Convention, fixed to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State.
A camp of the PDP, led by Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, after a late-night meeting on Monday, cited court orders and issued a six-point demand that the party hierarchy, the National Working Committee, NWC, must meet before the national convention.
In a quick counter, the party, has taken a hardline stance against former Governors Wike (Rivers), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ayo Fayose (Ekiti), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) over their six-point ultimatum, declaring that the party will neither be blackmailed nor hijacked.
The clash came to a head in Abuja yesterday at the inauguration of the 2025 National Convention Organising Committee (main committee), where PDP National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum; Bauchi State governor and chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Bala Mohammed; Chairman of the Convention Committee and Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri; and former Senate President and Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, represented by former Kaduna governor, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, openly confronted the threats to the party’s cohesion.
Six demands by Wike’s camp
Wike and his allies had demanded:
Fresh congresses in Ebonyi and Anambra states, in line with court rulings;
A new South-East zonal congress;
Immediate conduct of Ekiti LGA congresses;
Respect for South-South congresses’ outcome upheld by the courts;
An end to micro-zoning beyond the NEC’s approved formula; and,
Retention of the national chairmanship position in the North Central.
They warned that failure to comply with these demands would render the forthcoming convention invalid.
PDP govs’re not cowards, not afraid of anybody – Mohammed
However, Bala Mohammed was blunt in his response, warning that PDP governors will not allow the party to be dragged into self-destruction.
We are not cowards; we are not afraid of anybody. But we cannot continue to keep quiet and allow people to take us to the slaughterhouse. That is their job. Our job is to make sure we don’t go to the slaughterhouse. We will not allow it.
“Accommodation does not mean stupidity. If anybody wants to form a faction of fools, we will allow him to go and do so.
“We are working with the National Working Committee to ensure discipline is maintained. PDP is the only party that has remained consistent since 1999, and we will not allow anybody to take it for granted. Enough is enough,” he declared, sending a direct shot at Wike and his camp.
We won’t buckle under pressure – Damagum
The National Chairman, Damagum, reinforced the defiance, declaring that the party will not buckle under pressure.
He said: “Today, I say with conviction that the PDP is not broken. The PDP is not defeated. The PDP is marching forward stronger, more determined, and better prepared to reclaim the presidency of this great country and rebuild Nigeria from the mismanagement of the current ruling party.”
Accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of backing internal saboteurs in order to destabilise the PDP, he said: “The ruling party has shown no regard for democracy. Their only interest lies in disenfranchising voters and stealing mandates.
“Just as our founding fathers once challenged the military, we too must rescue Nigeria’s democracy from undemocratic forces.”
Few can’t hold majority hostage – Wabara
Senator Ahmed Makarfi, who represented Senator Wabara, appealed for restraint but also warned that the majority will not be held hostage by a few.
“The work of the convention planning committee is quite challenging. It is not about excluding anybody, but it is also not about denying the majority their right to prevail because that is what democracy is about.
“A convention is not about 100 per cent agreement, but about the overwhelming majority. That is what must be reflected at the convention,” he said.
Nobody’ll derail convention – Fintiri
Convention Committee Chairman, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, vowed to deliver a free and fair convention, making it clear that no amount of pressure from within or outside the party will derail the process.
“I will not place our relationships above this party. I will deliver on my assignment. Nobody will be denied the chance to contest any position. Buy the forms, submit them, and test your popularity before the delegates. That is how democracy works,” he declared.
Fingering PDP members who frequently escalate issues to the press, Fintiri lashed out: “Let us not take all our matters to the media. It is becoming too embarrassing. If you are a party man, you settle issues within the party. We will not allow indiscipline and blackmail to derail this process.”
He assured members that his committee will deliver ‘the fairest and most credible convention ever’ and called on them to rise above selfish interests.
“The secretariat is open, the work begins now, and I call on all members of the committee to sacrifice personal comfort to ensure that we deliver a transparent, successful convention that will send a clear message: PDP is alive, PDP is united, and PDP is ready to take power,” Fintiri said.
Party leaders made it clear they will no longer bend to threats. While Wike and his allies may have set demands, the PDP leadership insisted the party’s future will be guided by discipline, majority will and readiness to return to power.
How Wike’s camp raised fresh hurdles
At a high-powered stakeholders’ meeting held at Wike’s Abuja residence on Monday night, Ortom, Fayose, Ikpeazu and Ugwuanyi declared that the PDP must return to the path of equity, fairness and inclusivity if it hopes to remain a credible alternative for Nigerians.
Also present at the meeting was National Secretary of the party, Senator Sam Anyanwu.
In a communique issued in the early hours of yesterday on behalf of the group and signed by Ortom, the stakeholders warned that failure to meet their demands will “render any purported national convention invalid, as legitimate members of the party will be disenfranchised.”
The leaders stressed that the PDP is at a “defining crossroads,” and that any attempt to sideline valid members or ignore judicial rulings will only deepen divisions.
“Unity cannot be built on disenfranchisement, exclusion, or the neglect of valid judicial pronouncements,” they said, adding that only transparency and fairness would guarantee a credible convention. The stakeholders cautioned the PDP leadership that ignoring these resolutions could plunge the party into further crisis.
“The PDP was built on the foundation of inclusivity, fairness, and justice. To reclaim its pride of place as Nigeria’s true opposition, the party must now rise above narrow interests and embrace collective responsibility,” they contended.
~Opera
….stay tuned for more!