Despite escalating legal challenges and internal dissent, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says there will be no reversal on its planned national convention—marking a firm stand in the face of mounting pressure.
At the inauguration of the party’s 119-member Organising Committee, party leaders delivered a collective message: the process is on and will proceed. A senior governor, Bala Mohammed, chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, declared: “We cannot continue to keep quiet and allow people to take us to the slaughterhouse… We are not cowards, and we are not afraid of anybody.”
Meanwhile, National Chairman Umar Damagum described the upcoming convention as “sacrosanct,” underscoring the party’s commitment to the scheduled dates of November 15-16 in Ibadan.
The convention comes amid deepening internal divisions. The camp of Nyesom Wike, Minister of the FCT and influential party member, has outlined a set of conditions to support the convention’s legitimacy—including mandatory recognition of party congress outcomes in some zones. Wike himself publicly stated that he was unaware of the convention schedule and insisted rights must be respected, warning that “we would not allow that injustice to prevail. We will not allow that impunity.”
However, the party leadership is taking a hard line. At the committee inauguration, Governor Bala Mohammed said: “Enough is enough. We will no longer allow or tolerate anybody to take us for granted.”
Yet the path ahead is clouded. Courts have intervened, citing breaches of party and electoral law. One ruling by the Federal High Court held that the PDP failed to conduct valid state-level congresses before the convention and failed to provide the required 21-day notice to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The court barred INEC from recognising outcomes of the convention until compliance is achieved.
The PDP described the judgement as an “assault on Nigeria’s democratic process,” and insisted preparations must continue. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, asserted that “the judgement … does not vitiate [our] ability to proceed with the processes and activities towards the National Convention.”
As the scheduled convention draws nearer, the question remains whether the party can navigate these legal minefields and internal fractures without derailing its unity or legitimacy ahead of the next election cycle.
