• NEC meets Wednesday, August convention date uncertain
• ‘Door not closed on coalition; we’ll weigh all options’
From Ismail Omipidan and Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The People’s Democratic party (PDP) says it is embarking on a process of bouncing back from its recent setbacks occasioned by a myriad of in-house crises among its leaders and members, leading to several cracks within the fold of Nigeria’s major opposition party.
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Barring any last minute change in plans, the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting is expected to hold this Wednesday, July 23, 2025. But there is no certainty with regards to its earlier scheduled August convention date.
The proposed NEC meeting, Sunday Sun gathered, is expected to discuss a suitable date for the national convention, as the initial August date may no longer be feasible following recent developments in the party.
The 99th PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting had adopted the proposal of the PDP Governors’ Forum that the party should hold its convention from August 28 to 30 in Kano State.
But one strong source in the party revealed that at the time the convention date was fixed, the thinking of the party leaders was that all contentious issues, including the issue of the National Secretary, would have been decisively resolved. But as it is, one cannot say these issues have been resolved, the source added.
Reminded that Senator Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to continue to function as National Secretary, effective from the last NEC meeting, the source said that it does not in anyway mean a resolution of the crisis.
“Don’t forget that the NEC meeting you referred to was meant to discuss the formal position of the South-East, asking that their nominee to replace Anyanwu be recognised in line with the resolution of the leaders of our party after our visit to INEC.
“And you saw how that group attempted to frustrate that meeting from holding. It started with conflicting meeting notices. Then came police trying to prevent us from meeting. In the end, the governors met and thereafter the NEC meeting eventually held. But we could not discuss the South-East matter. Instead, there was an announcement that Anyanwu should continue. Is that how to resolve a matter? We cannot throw an entire zone under the bus because of some people’s interest.
“The convention date you are talking about was fixed in April by the governors after their meeting in Ibadan. At that meeting, they fixed NEC meeting for May 17. But it was that NEC meeting that was eventually held last month. So, it is July meeting. We pray it holds; that will decide a new date for the convention. So, I believe that Atiku’s exit and the issue of coalition will also come up for discussion. The way the chairman and other leaders are talking about his (Atiku) exit may spark up another round of crisis, “ the source added.
On his part, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, told Sunday Sun that after the last NEC meeting, the party leaders have been working hard to unite its members.
Asked whether the national convention would hold as originally scheduled for August, he said: “These are all issues of NEC. NEC will consider and when I brief you, these questions will be ripe enough for a response. Because there are on-going conversations and discussions around those issues, and it will be premature for me to give you a position right now. “
Sunday Sun gathered that the July NEC meeting date was fixed last month at the end of its 100th NEC. Before the meeting, and following the crisis over the contention for the position of its National Secretary, some of the party leaders had proposed that the embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, be allowed to remain in office till August when a proper convention would be held to usher in a new set of National Working Committee (NWC) members. But the proposal was opposed by the South-East caucus of the party who argued that Anyanwu was no longer their candidate for the position, having resigned to contest a governorship election, to which a formal request was made to the zone to send in a replacement, in the person of Sunday Udeh-Okoye.
Also speaking on Atiku’s exit, Alhaji Umar Sani, a former presidential spokesman in the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration under the vice president’s office, noted that rather than celebrate Atiku’s exit, the PDP should focus on “rebuilding and reuniting. The party must reach out to its founding fathers and restore the values upon which it was built. That is the only path to redemption and future victory.”
While attempting to dissect the PDP’s road to troubled waters, Sani said: “Atiku Abubakar is not just any member of the PDP. He is a founding father who won the Adamawa governorship in 1999 before being selected as Vice President. He served two terms and emerged as the party’s presidential candidate through a transparent and competitive primary process. It is unthinkable to brand his exit as inconsequential. He has helped to promote the party and expended funds during elections, which were mismanaged or misapplied by recipients. Most of the funds were diverted to fund gubernatorial elections instead of the presidential election for which the funds were meant. That position reflects a worrying trend in the PDP, a culture of denial, ingratitude, and complacency. Even other party leaders like Governor Seyi Makinde and Chief Bode George have made uncharitable comments about his departure. While Atiku has left the PDP, he has not joined another party. Those who schemed to push him out are now openly advancing their agenda.
“Let it be stated clearly, Atiku is a convener, not a joiner in the PDP. No one has the moral authority to lecture him on the party’s history or structure. He helped build it. Samuel Ortom’s public confession that they did everything possible to install Wike as the presidential candidate in 2022 but failed speaks volumes. The infamous G5 plotted to deceive Atiku into helping them remove Uche Secondus. They promised him the presidential ticket in return but never intended to keep that promise. After removing Secondus, the G5 met and agreed that one of them must emerge as the presidential candidate. Atiku’s points man, Seyi Makinde, suddenly went cold. Atiku called him several times, but he refused to pick up. Eventually, Col Austin Akobundu, then National Organising Secretary, managed to reach Makinde, who shockingly dismissed Atiku, calling him ‘a stupid old man who will go to Dubai and expect us to hand him the ticket.’
“That betrayal forced Atiku to rethink his strategy. He deployed the late Raymond Dokpesi to rally support across the country and rebuild trust within the party. That tour marked a turning point in his campaign. Still, the seeds of division had been sown. Instead of acknowledging this reality, the PDP continues to blame Atiku for its problems without offering any real proof. The uncomfortable truth is that some members of the National Working Committee are beholden to Wike. That is why a national secretary could violate the constitution by contesting a governorship election without resigning. It explains why only a few people in the NWC were aware that Wike wrote to seek approval to serve in Tinubu’s cabinet. It is why an acting chairman could undermine the party’s legal adviser in court and why internal unity has been sacrificed for political survival. Even the South-East caucus was traded to give Wike a path. And now, Wike dares to make the withdrawal of governors’ suits against Tinubu a precondition for peace. It is painful to see a party I love in this state of confusion. High-profile defections continue, and the reconciliation committee is handicapped,” Sani added.
PDP weighs options
In its immediate reaction to the unveiling of the new coalition platform, African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the opposition platform for the 2027polls, the PDP, which has continually maintained that it is not part of the coalition, dismissed it with a wave of the hand, saying its members that went there would eventually return to the umbrella.
The PDP acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, while speaking at a meeting of the party’ s National Working Committee(NWC) recently, said: “To those that are contemplating, they should know that there is no place and there is nowhere that will be as accommodating as our party. But if they feel… I will wish them good luck. But I know they will run coming back.”
Like Damagum, Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, said the ADC does not constitute any threat to the PDP. Makinde, while reacting to the formal resignation of Vice President Abubakar from the party at an event earlier in the week, posited: “The PDP is an institution. We have freedom of entry and exit. Anyone that will hold the PDP down, it is better for such an individual to quit. I don’t see the ADC as a threat to the PDP.”
But Sunday Sun reliably gathered that the PDP is not altogether averse to being part of a coalition or collaborating with other political parties for the 2027 general elections. A top source at the PDP National Secretariat said the opposition party would weigh all its options for the 2027 general elections after its national convention tentatively slated for next month in Kano.
He said: “Once we are done with our convention, we will weigh our options. Coalition is not completely ruled out.”
Inside sources said the cold shoulder given by the governors elected on the platform of the PDP towards the ADC was part of the fallout of the supremacy battle still on-going within the PDP.
Indeed, in the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, the opposition party has been in turmoil, with three power blocs struggling for the party’ s control in the run-up to the 2027 general elections and beyond.
The blocs are the camp of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, the PDP Governors Forum and the camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The PDP Governors Forum, at its meeting in Ibadan last April, had resolved that the opposition party would not be part of the coalition or go into a merger or an alliance for the next general elections. The chairman and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed said at different fora that they would not allow those who want to do coalition take over the party.
This conflict of interests, insiders said, was responsible for the disposition of both the PDP leadership and the PDP governors to a coalition of opposition politicians championed by Atiku.
Amid concern over what the PDP game plan for the 2027 polls might be, Sunday Sun gathered that the party is at the moment focused on its NEC meeting slated for next week, and finalising arrangements on its forthcoming national convention, after which it would weigh its options on how to prosecute the 2027 general elections.
Sunday Sun also gathered that the party’s leaders were already making moves to unite many of its members who were either sitting on the fence or considering defecting to other parties, notably the ruling APC or the new coalition platform, ADC. It was gathered that a definite path for the party’s future would no doubt be charted during the planned convention.
A member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Eddy Olafeso told Sunday Sun that the opposition party has never said it would not collaborate with other parties for the 2027 polls. He said what the party said was that it would prefer do so after having addressed its internal challenges.
Olafeso said: “Nobody ever said that the PDP will not do coalition. But we said we needed to first of all stabilise our party and unite our people before we take a decision. No single party in the circumstance we find ourselves in Nigeria can defeat the APC’ s brutal machinery. But then, with a coalition, we can begin to deal with them.
“But individuals dropping out of the party and expecting the party to be dragged into a coalition for their own selfish purposes will be resisted,” he added.
The BoT member said anyone thinking he would be in the PDP and working for another political party in 2027 would be joking, adding that “as soon as we are done with all the issues we have, as soon as we are done with our convention, we will begin to rebuild our party strictly on party constitution and discipline. You will see that the future of the PDP from this moment on is going to be glorious. Our leaders are desirous of building a better tomorrow and fulfilling the dreams of the founding fathers of a united Nigeria.”
The deputy national youth leader of the PDP, Timothy Osadolor told Sunday Sun that the opposition party believes it needs to work with other parties in the next general elections. He noted, however, that the PDP must occupy its rightful place in whatever arrangement it enters into.
“We may not be in power, but you cannot say there is any party that has structures in the 774 local government areas in this country more than the PDP. Therefore, amongst all the opposition party, the PDP stands as the most experienced. Therefore, should there be discussions as to a coalition and collaboration, the PDP should have a pride of place in such discussions.
“It will not make sense for the PDP acquiescing to joining baby parties or whatever parties you want to call them. Therefore, we are not trying to disrespect the sensibilities of anybody in any political party. All we are saying is that if we are going to work, let’s sit down on the table and work together and not under terms and conditions,” Osadolor said.
However, In the aftermath of the PDP 100th NEC meeting, where the party returned Senator Samuel Anyanwu as its national secretary and laying to rest the controversies over the position, which paralysed activities at the national secretariat for six months, the opposition party appears focused on reconciling aggrieved members and on its convention. The party is also expected to hold its 101st NEC meting within the next one week to firm up arrangements for the national convention and take decisions on other issues.
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