The ongoing battle for dominance within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a sharp turn as two former allies, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, lock horns over the future of the party.
Both men, once key members of the G-5 governors who opposed Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 presidential bid, are now embroiled in a heated face-off that threatens to further destabilise the opposition party ahead of its August 2025 national convention.
Makinde, who is now aligned with the PDP national leadership, has distanced himself from Wike, forging a new alliance with Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah. Wike, on the other hand, still enjoys the backing of Governors Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State and Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, as well as the support of former G-5 governors Samuel Ortom, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Tensions reached a boiling point during a recent meeting in Ibadan, where PDP governors rejected the planned reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary—a move Wike strongly supported. In response, Wike convened a meeting in Abuja on Monday with his loyalists, excluding Makinde, and demanded a postponement of the August convention.
Despite Wike’s push, party sources told newsmen that the planned convention will hold as scheduled. “There’s no going back,” a top party chieftain affirmed, noting that Wike’s press conference and communique would not derail the convention or the upcoming National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting slated for June 30.
In the communique issued by the Wike-led group, the faction warned that recognising Sunday Ude-Okoye instead of Anyanwu as National Secretary would sow chaos in the party. The group also demanded that the party zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, reaffirming Anyanwu’s legitimacy as secretary and insisting that only he has the constitutional authority to issue notices for major party meetings.
However, the move has drawn fierce criticism from top party leaders.
PDP Board of Trustees member, Chief Bode George, warned that no individual could hijack the party’s structure, stressing that only NEC decisions are binding. “These guys should calm down. We have no emperors in our party,” he said.
Former PDP National Secretary Senator Ibrahim Tsauri was even more blunt. “Wike has done his worst by openly supporting President Tinubu’s re-election. He has no moral standing to influence our convention,” Tsauri said, insisting that the event will not be rescheduled.
South-West PDP chieftain Eddy Olafeso also rejected Wike’s legal argument for reinstating Anyanwu, while National Organising Secretary Capt. Umar Bature supported the move, citing a Supreme Court ruling.
Meanwhile, party organs in the South-West and Bauchi dismissed Wike’s communique and clarified that the decision on the convention lies solely with the party’s national leadership.
Speaking on behalf of the South-West PDP, Vice Chairman Kamoru Ajisafe said, “The NWC has already made its position known. What we have now is an acting National Secretary, and we are proceeding to NEC on June 30.”
In Bauchi, the PDP state chapter through its spokesman, Dayyabu Ciroma, noted that decisions on the convention timeline and party structure are exclusively national matters, adding that state chapters have no input on such issues.
The Oyo State chapter also downplayed Wike’s Abuja meeting, calling it a gathering of “followers and friends,” not a legitimate PDP event. Publicity Secretary Micheal Ogunsina said, “The meeting holds no weight. It was not a gathering of the party’s critical stakeholders.”
Governor Makinde, who did not attend the meeting, instead hosted the party’s reconciliation committee chairman, Senator Bukola Saraki, underscoring his commitment to the party’s official structure and leadership.
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