By From Victor Osula, Abuja
A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Sunday night conducted its 2026 National Convention at the velodrome of the Moshood Abiola Stadium.
All candidates for national officers’ positions, including Abdulrahman Mohammed and Samuel Anyanwu, emerged through a consensus arrangement.
The exercise, which produced 21 members of the National Working Committee (NWC), comes amid lingering internal divisions within the PDP and a subsisting Appeal Court judgment casting doubt over the status of some key figures.
Abdulrahman Mohammed, a former Chairman of the National Caretaker Working Committee (NCWC), was announced as National Chairman for a four-year tenure, with party leaders describing the consensus process as a step towards stabilising the faction.
It would be recalled that some of the individuals listed in the newly announced leadership, including Samuel Anyanwu and Kamaldeen Ajibade, remain under suspension following a court-backed disciplinary process within the party.
The Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered on March 9, upheld the suspension of key PDP national officers, including former National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade, former National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, Deputy Legal Adviser Okechukwu Osuoha, and National Organising Secretary Umaru Bature.
A three-member appellate panel affirmed earlier decisions of the PDP’s National Working Committee, which suspended the affected officials on November 1, 2025, over allegations of anti-party activities and conduct inconsistent with the party’s constitution.
The court validated the disciplinary processes, emphasising the supremacy of the party’s constitution in internal affairs and dismissing all prayers seeking to nullify the suspensions.
The PDP has been entangled in a protracted leadership crisis that resulted in the emergence of two factions. While a faction linked to Governors Seyin Makinde and Bala Mohammed associated with Tanimu Turaki’s NWC lays claim to one side of the leadership structure, the group backed by Wike controls the Mohammed-led NCWC bloc..
The crisis deepened after the November 2025 convention in Ibadan, which triggered a series of legal battles. The March 9 Appeal Court ruling in Abuja also affirmed a Federal High Court decision restraining the PDP from proceeding with the Ibadan convention.
Addressing delegates at the convention, Wike, who was identified at the gathering as a leader of the party, declared that “the healing in the PDP has begun,” assuring members that the party would participate in the 2027 general elections.
“So many people have spoken here… asking, ‘Is the PDP going to contest the 2027 election at all?’ I have told Senator Bukola Saraki that, by the grace of God, the PDP will be on the ballot in 2027,” he said.
“We have seen the real convention, the convention that is being monitored by the electoral umpire. That is the convention that is recognised,” Wike added, drawing cheers from delegates.
He emphasised that the future of the party must be built on inclusiveness and equal opportunity, commending delegates for their resilience.
“You stood firm when the storm raged… you refused to be downcast when those who pretended to be leaders of the party betrayed you,” he said, adding that the party would recover its mandate.
In his acceptance remarks, Mohammed pledged inclusive leadership, urging members to embrace unity as the party repositions for 2027.
“Today, we choose a higher path. We choose inclusiveness over exclusion, unity over division; we choose renewal over decline,” he said, stressing that the convention marked a moment of restoration rather than mere election of officers.
“The PDP has not come here to mourn itself; the PDP has come here to renew itself,” he added, acknowledging that the party had passed through a difficult period of disagreement and legal contestation.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Convention Planning Committee, Okezie Ikpeazu, said about 2,035 delegates attended the convention and assured that the door for reconciliation within the party would remain open.
Prominent party members who attended the convention were a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; a former Senate president, Bukola Saraki; and a former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi, among others
Observers say while the convention underscores the organisational strength of the Wike-backed faction, the shadow of legal disputes and unresolved suspensions continues to raise questions about legitimacy and the path to unity within the PDP.
