The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, stepped into the deepening crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party on Friday, convening a closed-door meeting with leaders of the party’s rival factions at its headquarters in Abuja.
The intervention brought together representatives of the faction led by Tanimu Turaki, backed by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and several PDP governors, and the opposing group aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and headed by Abdulrahman Mohammed.
Turaki attended the meeting alongside members of his National Working Committee, party secretariat staff and former Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu. Mohammed was joined by members of his national caretaker committee, including its secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
INEC’s move follows rising concerns over the emergence of parallel leadership structures within the former ruling party, a development that has created uncertainty over the PDP’s legal standing and preparedness ahead of future elections.
The crisis, which many party stakeholders now see as an existential threat, stems from long-standing leadership disputes and factional struggles that predate the 2023 general elections but have intensified in the years since.
Tensions escalated after the party’s presidential primaries and national convention, particularly following the fallout between the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Wike.
Wike, a former Rivers State governor, accused the party leadership at the time, under Iyorchia Ayu, of sidelining the South in both the presidential primary process and the selection of a running mate.
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The disagreement gave rise to the G5 governors, later styled as the Integrity Group, who opposed Atiku’s candidacy on the grounds that power should rotate to the South after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari from the North.
Members of the group openly and covertly supported President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress during the 2023 presidential election.
Since then, the PDP has been hit by a wave of defections, with governors, senators and lawmakers leaving for the ruling APC and other parties, further weakening its internal cohesion.
The crisis deepened in November 2025 when a PDP faction, reportedly backed by governors including Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, held a national convention that produced a new National Working Committee, with Turaki emerging as national chairman.
At the convention, the faction announced the expulsion of Wike and several of his allies, including former Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayose; Senator Samuel Anyanwu; Bature Ajibade; Mao Ohuabunwa; former Imo State PDP chairman Austin Nwachukwu; former Abia State PDP chairman Amah Nnanna Abraham; former National Vice Chairman (South-South), Dan Orbih; and George Turnah.
The Wike-aligned faction rejected the expulsions and responded by unveiling parallel National Working Committee, Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee structures, further entrenching divisions within the party.
INEC’s meeting with both camps is seen as a critical step in determining which leadership structure the electoral body recognises, as the PDP struggles to contain a crisis that continues to threaten its unity and political relevance.
Vanguard News
