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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
After months of internal strife, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is gearing up for its national convention. The forthcoming convention, where new National Working Committee (NWC) members would be elected, is not just like any other convention. It is a make or break exercise, which will determine to a large extent how far the opposition party can go in the 2027 polls.
For starters, the NWC members that will be elected at the convention will preside over the nominations of the party’s presidential standard bearer, as well as other candidates for the next general elections. Therefore, the convention, which is scheduled to hold from November 15 -16, 2025, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, is expected to be the climax in the tussle for the control of the levers of power in the opposition, which has been on since the conclusion of the 2023 polls.
Daily Sun recalls that the PDP has been enmeshed in different crises since 2023, as stakeholders battle for control of the major opposition party ahead of the next general elections. Firstly, the bone of contention was whether or not the acting national chairman, Umar Damagum should be allowed to serve out the tenure of ousted former national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu. That conflict was soon overshadowed by a bitter tussle over the office of the national secretary, with Senator Samuel Anyanwu and former National youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye laying claim to the office.
In the aftermath of the resolution of that conflict with the return of Anyanwu as party scribe, attention has shifted to the national convention, which would kickstart the PDP journey for the 2027 general elections. Already, national officials, who serve as deputies to NWC members, who have always been in the shadows of their principals, see the forthcoming convention as an opportunity to push for more relevance in the party administration.
The deputy national youth leader, Timothy Osadolor, told Daily Sun, that since deputy officers were elected at the National Convention, just as their principals, it is wrong to exclude them from the membership of the NWC.
According to him, “the office of the deputies is a misnomer. Because you cannot have deputies that went to the national convention, taking as just deputies, without full NWC powers, whereas zonal chairman that went to Congresses with just five or six states are given full powers as NWC members. We will be pushing for a constitution amendment for deputies to be given their rights and become members of the NWC.”
Like Osadolor, the PDP Deputy National Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha believes that the deputies should be part of the NWC. Osuoha told Daily Sun that “both deputies and principal officers were elected one day at the national convention and they were nominated by the various states and zones. If you go to the constitution, there is a provision that in the absence of the principal officer, the deputy will act. But in that type of provision, how will the deputy act, if he is not conversant with what is going on?”
Pundits say two key factors will shape the convention and the PDP quest for relevance in the next general elections. These are the zoning of offices and the ability of feuding groups to close ranks in the overall interest of the party.
Zoning palava
Recently, the PDP revved up plans for the convention with the inauguration of its zoning committee. The 44-man committee, chaired by the Bayelsa State Governor, Diri Douye, is expected to come up with a formula for the zoning of party offices and report back to the party at its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, scheduled for August 25. The zoning of the NWC seats will determine which of the region would produce the PDP presidential candidate for the 2027 polls.
Ironically, zoning has been the bane of the opposition party in the last 10 years. Twice, the PDP has flouted its rules on zoning; twice, it has paid heavily for it. The first time the opposition party jettisoned zoning was in 2015, when President Goodluck Jonathan clinched the presidential ticket of the opposition party to the chagrin of northern leaders of the party, who perceive the former president’s candidature as breach of the PDP power rotation policy. Northern leaders had argued that the region ought to have produced a candidate to replace late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who died before the completion of his first term in office.
In the 2023 polls, the party threw the contest for the presidential ticket open, with the North producing both the national chairman and the presidential candidate. The development degenerated into a conflict with the G5 Governors, comprising Nyesom Wike, Okezie Ikpeazu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi , Samuel Ortom, then governors of Rivers, Abia, Enugu, and Benue states respectively, and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and their supporters breaking ranks with in the PDP in the last presidential election.
Consequently, stakeholders say the major opposition party should cede its 2027 presidential ticket to the South to avoid the pitfalls of the past.
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Former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, while speaking at an event organised by PDP Founding Fathers had stated that “in tune with this patriotic wisdom of the founding fathers, we urge all our leaders to support the strategy of bringing out our Presidential Candidate for 2027 from the Southern States. Such a strategy will not only ensure victory at the polls, but promote justice, fairness and equity.
“Therefore, party leaders are pushing for retention of the present zoning formula for NWC seats, which domiciles the national chairmanship position in the North, to brighten the chances of the South producing the presidential candidate for the next general elections.
Acting national chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagum, at the inauguration of the zoning panel said its decision is critical to the success of the PDP, noting that “this committee is the engine room where we lay the political foundation for the leadership of the PDP over the next four years. The decisions you take will shape our ability to serve Nigerians, win elections, and defend the democratic values we represent.”
Consequently, Damagum stated that “Our zoning process must reflect fairness, equity, and strategic thinking, as well as strengthen our unity, reward loyalty, and position us for electoral victory. I trust that the Zoning Committee will approach its task with wisdom, foresight, and a full understanding of the bigger picture: PDP over anyone, and PDP above any personal interest.”
Contending forces
The battle for control of the PDP until recently was a three-horse race involving the Governors Forum, the camp of the FCT Minister and former Vice President Atiku Abubakr. However, with the defection of Atiku and his men to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the contest has become a straight fight between the PDP governors, under the leadership of the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohamed, on the one hand and Wike on the other.
Analysts say the convention is therefore perceived as the final push in the supremacy tussle, ahead of the 2027 general elections. The calculation by the gladiators, Daily Sun gathered, is that whoever has the upper hand in the choice of the next NWC members, will call the shots in the period leading to the nomination of candidates, including the presidential standard bearer, in the 2027 polls and beyond.
Inside sources say the tussle for control of party machinery is actually more about the 2031 polls. The thinking, it was gathered, is that in the event that the PDP does not win the 2027 presidential election , whichever camp that wins the current contest will be more relevant in the opposition party in the politics of 2031.
Recall that in the last one year, Wike, a former governor of Rivers State and the PDP governors have clashed over a number of issues. The first open clash was the insistence of the opposition governors that Wike’s successor, Siminalaiyi Fubara should control the structure of the PDP in Rivers State, to the chagrin of the minister. After President Bola Tinubu declared an Emergency Rule in Rivers State, and suspended Fubara, alongside other elected state functionaries, the PDP Governors went to Court to challenge the action. A move that allegedly did not sit well with the former Rivers State helmsman.
Also, in the dispute over who is the authentic national secretary of the party, the PDP governors supported the replacement of Anyanwu with Ude-Okoye, who was nominated by the South-East PDP, as their preferred choice for the position of party scribe, following the emergence of the former Imo senator as gubernatorial candidate in 2023; while the Wike camp insisted on Anyanwu as party scribe.
The governors, who admonished party organs to recognise Ude-Okoye as party scribe, hinged their decisions on the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Enugu division, which validated Anyanwu’s ouster. However, the Wike camp threw its weight behind the PDP national secretary.
Although the controversy over the national secretary position has been resolved with Anyanwu returning as party scribe, there is still no love lost between the PDP Governors Forum and their former member. Recently, Wike insisted that the PDP leadership, which enjoys the support of the governors, recognise a congress that produced Dan Orbih as national vice chairman of the PDP in the South -South, as condition for full reconciliation, prior to the forthcoming national convention.
Regardless, the NWC maintained that the party is yet to conduct its zonal congress in the South- South, currently administered by a caretaker committee led by Emmanuel Ogidi.
While, it is not clear what the both camps have up their sleeves, the gladiators seem to be keeping their gun powder dry, awaiting the unveiling of the zoning formula on August 25, which will define the contest for the NWC seats.
