• Bala, Makinde differ over PDP reconciliation
• PDP slams Turaki group over court moves, vows convention will proceed
• Natasha decries PDP’s loss of 31 senators, urges PDP defectors to return

The two last standing governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), yesterday kept party faithful in suspense as the waiting game continues over the next move of the two governors.

Specifically, Makinde appears to have a different perspective on the reconciliation move being considered by his Bauchi State counterpart, who hinted at considering the peaceful resolution offer to end the PDP crisis as put forward by the AbdulRaman Muhammad-led faction loyal to the former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.

Makinde, while speaking in Bauchi on Sunday when he led a delegation of some PDP members to pay a Sallah visit to Mohammed, said that the Federal Government and the Wike faction of the party have the “government, judiciary, but we have the people.”

Makinde, accompanied by Senator Seriake Dickson among others, claimed that anyone engaging Wike’s camp is indirectly supporting President Bola Tinubu. “I came into the public domain to say that I was in a meeting with Wike and Mr President, and Wike promised to hold PDP down for Mr President towards 2027. So, anyone dealing with Wike and his group means you have also agreed to support President Tinubu for 2027.

“We are not begrudging them. You can support whoever you want to support, but go to them if you want to support them. They have the government behind them, they have the judiciary and INEC behind them, but we have the people behind us.”

Bala Mohammed described the visit as meaningful, noting that such solidarity “may look simple” but is valued by the people of Bauchi. On PDP reconciliation, Mohammed said the process is driven by the courts, not voluntary consensus.

“Reconciliation is not something we have called for. It has been midwifed by a competent court of jurisdiction,” he said, expressing hope that party differences could still be resolved.

The visit comes as PDP leaders work to reconcile factions ahead of the national convention. Former Senate President Bukola Saraki, former Kaduna State Governor Ahmed Makarfi and former Information Minister Jerry Gana are among influential members of the party currently locked in extensive meetings and consultations with other stakeholders to reconcile the party’s two factions ahead of next year’s elections.

As the 2027 election consultations and permutations enter frenetic gear, Makinde and the national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Seriake Dickson, left Bauchi and arrived in Kano State for a Sallah visit and private meeting with former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Although details of the meeting are yet to be disclosed, it was gathered that the meeting might result in a political alliance among the party leaders ahead of 2027. Recall that Kwankwaso had visited Makinde last month in Ibadan, Oyo State, sparking insinuations of a budding political alliance between the two opposition leaders.

Also joining in the meeting was Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, who had recently expressed uncertainty about securing the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a video making the rounds on social media last Thursday, Obi, while addressing his supporters, admitted that his chances of clinching the party’s ticket remain unclear, stressing that his focus is on the broader cause rather than personal ambition. “Someone asked me how I know for sure that the ADC will give me the presidential ticket. I cannot be certain. What matters is that we are committed to a cause,” he said.

The visit by the opposition leaders coincided with the annual Kalankwa festival, celebrated by the Kwankwasiyya Movement to mark the end of the fasting period in Kano. Although the visitors were warmly received by a mammoth crowd of Kwankwasiyya loyalists adorned in the traditional white and red colours, this year’s event appeared politically strategic ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Addressing the crowd at the event, Obi said he was in Kano to felicitate with Muslims on the Sallah celebration and to pay homage to the leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Kwankwaso. Although Obi stressed that his visit was not for political campaigning, he emphasised the need for political realignment to rebuild Kano’s industrial and economic viability.

“We want to change Kano. We want to build a new Kano. What we want to do is to ensure we bring back industry to Kano. All those factories in Bompai, Sharada Phase I and II, and Bank of the North, we want to revive them. Today is not about politics; it is about celebrating Sallah. May Almighty Allah bless you all,” Obi stated.

Makinde and Dickson, however, did not make public remarks at the event. The three leaders were later ushered into Kwankwaso’s residence, where they held a closed-door meeting for several hours.

Kwankwaso, who is yet to declare his next political move, has continued consultations with opposition leaders in what appears to be a strategic effort to consolidate his political relevance ahead of 2027. His push to form a credible alliance with opposition parties has become more pronounced following his reported fallout with his political protégé, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who recently defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

MEANWHILE, the Wike faction has accused the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led group of attempting to frustrate its planned national convention through fresh court actions, even as it reaffirmed that the exercise will proceed as scheduled.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the party’s National Caretaker Working Committee (NCWC), Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, said the Turaki-led group had consistently rebuffed efforts by the party leadership to resolve internal differences through dialogue.

Mohammed disclosed that the faction was invited to several peace meetings but failed to attend, insisting that the caretaker committee could not be accused of sidelining the group in the reconciliation process. “The leadership of the party, in good faith, extended several invitations and opportunities for reconciliation and dialogue. Regrettably, these overtures were ignored,” he said.

The PDP spokesman stressed that recent court rulings had already settled the question of leadership within the party, affirming the legitimacy of the caretaker committee.

According to him, judgments of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal remain binding and have unequivocally recognised the NCWC as the body duly authorised to steer the affairs of the party. “We urge all members of our party and the general public to be guided accordingly and disregard any contrary claims or misleading narratives,” Mohammed stated.

He, however, expressed concern over what he described as attempts by the Turaki group to secure an injunction from a court in Ibadan to halt the forthcoming convention, warning that such actions could undermine party stability. Mohammed called on the judiciary to take note of what he termed abuse of court processes aimed at frustrating the legitimate activities of the party, while reaffirming the PDP’s confidence in the courts as the “last hope of the common man.”

Despite the internal rift, the party maintained that preparations for its national convention, slated for March 29 and 30, had been concluded.

IN the same vein, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has decried the sharp decline in the number of senators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, revealing that the party has lost 31 lawmakers in the Red Chamber amid its prolonged internal crisis. She, therefore, appealed to members who left the party at the height of its leadership crisis to return.

She explained that their experience, institutional memory and commitment to building a better Nigeria were required in the party’s effort to rebuild and reclaim its rightful position in the national affairs. Natasha said this while addressing party members during the inauguration of the PDP National Convention Committee in Abuja, on Saturday evening.

Akpoti-Uduaghan expressed optimism that the event marks a turning point for PDP, citing the party’s decline in Senate representation from 37 to 6 senators due to a leadership crisis. “When I asked colleagues why they left, they mentioned internal disputes. I’m saying to them: trust me, it’s not greener on the other side. You’re welcome back to PDP,” she said.

In his inaugural acceptance speech as chairman of the PDP 2026 National Convention Committee, former Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, described the event as a critical moment in the party’s history. “Today is not just ceremonial, it is consequential. This convention is more than a gathering; it is a reckoning. A moment of truth,” Ikpeazu declared.

He acknowledged the internal challenges and legal battles that had threatened the party’s unity, noting that they tested both its institutional strength and collective resolve.

“We have passed through a difficult phase marked by internal disagreements, institutional strain, and a protracted legal battle that travelled from the Federal High Court to the Court of Appeal,” he said.