The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reached a new climax on Thursday as the faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, officially represented the party at a crucial consultative meeting hosted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.
The delegation, led by the factional Acting National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, and Acting National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, attended the high-stakes session while the rival camp, led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, was conspicuously absent.
Their presence at the session historically reserved for national chairmen and secretaries recognized by the commission marks a significant blow to the rival faction led by Governor Seyi Makinde and Kabiru Tanimu Turaki.
The invitation follows a recent Federal High Court ruling in Ibadan, which directed INEC to recognize the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led caretaker committee as the legitimate leadership of the party.
While facilitating the meeting, the INEC Chairman expressed profound frustration regarding the growing spate of internal disputes rocking Nigeria’s political parties.
Amupitan warned that the persistent leadership infighting within the PDP and other major platforms poses a direct threat to the constitutional integrity of the electoral process as the nation looks toward the 2027 general elections.
“Our collective commitment to the integrity of the electoral process is being challenged by these unfortunate and increasingly frequent internal disputes,” Amupitan stated, urging party leaders to prioritize reconciliation over litigation.
In a separate but related development during the meeting, INEC announced the registration of two new political parties; Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The addition of these two groups brings the total number of registered political parties in Nigeria to 21. The NDC’s registration was notably granted in compliance with a separate Federal High Court order.
The Wike-backed faction, emboldened by its formal recognition at the INEC headquarters, has already scheduled a National Convention for March 2026.
The faction aims to use this convention to elect a permanent National Working Committee and dissolve any remaining parallel structures.
With today’s meeting, the political momentum has visibly shifted toward the Wike camp, even as the Makinde-led faction continues to challenge the caretaker committee’s legal standing in superior courts.
