The crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) further deepened on Monday after the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Nyesom Wike, convened a surprise stakeholders’ meeting with embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu. The meeting sparked reaction from party factions, which not only questioned Wike’s authority but flagged the gathering as illegitimate, AZIMAZI MOMOH JIMOH reports.

In the fading glow of its former dominance, the PDP is teetering on the brink of collapse. What began as a leadership dispute has snowballed into a full-blown political and legal crisis that could scuttle its 2027 presidential ambition and possibly its existence.

At the heart of the chaos is a contentious standoff over the office of the National Secretary. Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s claim to the position has been upheld by both the Supreme Court and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). But his legitimacy remains fiercely contested by a faction of the PDP, particularly among the South-East caucus and the PDP Governors’ Forum, who are determined to replace him with Sunday Ude-Okoye.

According to the party’s constitution, the removal of a national officer must follow due process. Despite multiple attempts to push Ude-Okoye into the seat, these efforts have floundered due to procedural breaches. INEC’s unwavering recognition of Anyanwu has effectively frozen the party’s operations; without his signature, NEC meetings cannot be validly convened.

The result is a paralysed internal machinery, stalled strategy development, and a rudderless approach to 2027.

The situation escalated dramatically when Wike hosted a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, with Anyanwu in attendance. However, conspicuously absent were members of the National Executive Committee (NEC), the National Working Committee (NWC), and the PDP Governors’ Forum—casting doubt on the meeting’s authenticity.

Party sources said the meeting was neither sanctioned nor communicated through formal channels, leading most PDP governors to boycott it. Even Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, a known Wike ally, stayed away, a move insiders interpreted as a sign of growing cracks within Wike’s inner circle.

The May 27 NEC meeting, initially planned to chart a forward course, eventually became a hollow gathering, symbolising the PDP’s inability to function as a unified political body.

Wike and his loyalists blame the crisis on the refusal of some party leaders to respect constitutional provisions, specifically Sections 36(1)(a)(b)(c), 47(3)(5), and 48(1)(i), along with the definitive Supreme Court ruling affirming Anyanwu’s position.

Following a June 9 emergency session of “Eminent Stakeholders and Concerned Leaders” in Abuja, the Wike camp issued a communiqué warning that the PDP is heading for self-destruction if the “desperate, divisive and selfish tendencies” within the leadership are not urgently addressed.

The communiqué demanded four immediate actions. Chief among them was the recognition of Anyanwu as the duly elected and substantive National Secretary. It also called for the zoning of the 2027 presidential ticket to the South, invoking fairness, federal character, and historical precedent after eight years of Muhammadu Buhari’s Northern presidency.

They further insisted that only Anyanwu could issue valid notices for NEC, NWC, and National Convention meetings, citing his legal and constitutional standing. “Any such notices not issued by him, including correspondences to INEC, are null and void,” the communiqué declared.

Key PDP structures—the BoT, NWC, and NEC—have effectively splintered into silos of conflicting authority. The Kefas committee, established to harmonise INEC’s legal recognition of Anyanwu with internal demands for his removal, also reaffirmed his legitimacy, dealing a blow to Ude-Okoye’s backers.

For presidential hopefuls like Governors Makinde and Bala Mohammed, the stakes could not be higher. The unresolved secretaryship crisis poses a serious threat to the integrity of any presidential primary. INEC’s position is clear: without a legally recognised secretary convening the necessary meetings, any nomination process risks invalidation.

The ongoing turmoil has not only derailed internal preparations but has cast doubt on the PDP’s capacity to mount a credible national campaign.

Underlying the crisis is a deeper grievance about zoning. After years of perceived marginalisation, southern leaders within the PDP see 2027 as their turn. At the June 9 meeting, Wike’s faction demanded that the party return to its zoning ethos by allocating the presidential ticket to the South.

More than a legal argument, this was a strategic and emotional appeal. It was a declaration of intent by Southern leaders to reclaim influence within the party, a move seen by Northern stakeholders as a direct threat to their dominance.

Dubbed by insiders as “The Last Stand of the Founders,” the June 9 gathering symbolised a revolt of the old guard. It was a political insurrection clothed in constitutionalism, demanding that the party honour its founding principles.

For the first time in recent memory, the PDP’s zoning policy was invoked not as a bargaining tool but as a red line. The demand for southern equity is not just about fairness; it is about political survival. After President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year rule, the argument goes, another northern candidate would fatally undermine the PDP’s credibility in the South.

With Wike withdrawing from reconciliation efforts, the internal war is no longer strategic; it is existential.

Ironically, the region that stands to benefit most from the leadership shuffle, the South East, is itself riven by division. Two factions are locked in an escalating war of words.

One group, led by Enugu Governor Peter Mbah and Zonal Chairman Ali Odefa, insists Ude-Okoye should complete Anyanwu’s term, arguing that the zone’s interests are being marginalised.

The rival faction, loyal to Anyanwu, counters that such unconstitutional manoeuvring would doom the party. They warn that INEC will not recognise any primary election without Anyanwu’s signature, thus invalidating any 2027 candidacy.

Already, the fallout is visible. In Delta State, high-profile defections to the ruling APC are being attributed to the PDP’s internal chaos. Disillusioned members, tired of factional bickering, are losing faith in the party’s viability.

The Bukola Saraki-led reconciliation committee has struggled to make headway. Trust among party leaders has collapsed. Legal threats hover over every meeting. Elders are split, while younger aspirants grow increasingly wary.

A former member of the NWC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the party must urgently take three steps to regain viability. “First, it must enforce its constitution. Either recognise Anyanwu fully or remove him through proper legal channels, not through backdoor deals. Second, the South-East must unify its position. As long as it is divided, its claims remain weakened. Third, neutral figures like Saraki must lead genuine reconciliation, not cosmetic diplomacy,” he said.

Without these reforms, he warned, the PDP could become a shell, incapable of contesting elections or enforcing its own decisions.

But this is no longer just a leadership tussle; it is a referendum on the party’s soul.

The Supreme Court has spoken. INEC has ruled. Yet the PDP remains paralysed, trapped in a web of ambition, ego, and sectional politics. As the rainy season cleanses Abuja’s streets, the PDP’s afflictions require more than storms to purge.

For presidential aspirants like Makinde and Bala Mohammed, the 2027 dream is slipping away, not because of voter rejection, but due to the party’s inability to govern itself.

Speaking on the party’s crisis, former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, warned that unless the PDP addresses its leadership challenges and fields credible candidates, it may face serious setbacks in the 2027 elections, despite its expansive national structure.

On the issue of a potential merger, Suswam maintained that while the PDP retains a nationwide presence, what it truly lacks is transparent leadership and a credible presidential contender.

“There are two basic factors that can enhance the PDP’s chances in the next election. First, the party has structures across the length and breadth of this country. In every ward you go, there’s PDP,” he said.

“What we need in the PDP, first and foremost, is transparent leadership at the national level. Right now, it’s all about deceit. People are no longer sure of the party as they have completely lost confidence in the PDP.”

The former governor stressed that while the PDP remains the only true legacy party in Nigeria, it is severely weakened by internal dysfunction, particularly poor leadership and the inability to resolve internal disputes.

“PDP is about the only legacy party we have in this country,” Suswam said. “Yes, people have suddenly realised the need to fix the PDP. But the question is, are we not too late in the day?”

Dismissing fears that the PDP may be unable to present a candidate in 2027 due to the ongoing national secretary crisis, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Diran Odeyemi, said the issue would be resolved either in August or November when the party is expected to hold its national convention.

He also described concerns over the defection of governors and lawmakers from the PDP to the ruling party as exaggerated. According to him, “We had a similar situation in 2015 when about 22 governors openly expressed support for then-President Goodluck Jonathan before the election, yet he still lost.

“The defection of some governors and lawmakers does not signal the death of the PDP. It is the masses who will ultimately determine the winners with their votes.”

Odeyemi, however, said it would be unfair to blame only Nyesom Wike for the PDP crisis. He recalled that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, along with Bukola Saraki and Aminu Tambuwal, defected from the PDP to the APC in 2015. By 2019, they returned to the PDP, hijacked its structure, and in 2023 repeated the same move, allegedly sidelining an entire region with impunity. “The same Atiku has tactically distanced himself from the party and is now canvassing for a coalition at the expense of the party whose platform he has repeatedly used to contest elections,” he said.

With the PDP’s credibility and legal standing on the line, many observers believe the party must urgently do the following: adhere strictly to its constitution and the Electoral Act in removing or replacing national officers, rebuild trust between the PDP Governors Forum, South-East stakeholders, and the National Working Committee and engage credible mediators to negotiate a consensus that can forestall litigation or disqualification in 2027.

Pundits said if the party fails to act decisively, it may find itself shut out of the next general election. With INEC insisting on legal compliance and factions digging in, the PDP’s path to redemption is narrowing.

Its only hope lies in urgent internal reconciliation and adherence to due process. Without that, its presidential hopefuls, including Makinde and Bala, may watch from the sidelines as 2027 comes and goes, victims not of defeat at the polls, but of their own party’s inability to govern itself.