As preparations for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention gather momentum, some of the party’s most influential figures have heightened tensions by presenting a six-point demand to the National Working Committee (NWC).
The resolution emerged from a high-level stakeholders’ meeting held on Monday night at the Abuja residence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike. Among those in attendance were former Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom; ex-Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose; former Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu; and former Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The National Secretary of the party, Senator Sam Anyanwu, was also present.
In a communiqué released early Tuesday and signed by Ortom on behalf of the group, the stakeholders insisted that the PDP must urgently return to the principles of equity, fairness, and inclusivity if it is to remain a credible opposition force. They cautioned that any failure to meet their demands would render the proposed convention illegitimate, as key members of the party risked being disenfranchised.
The group’s conditions include the immediate conduct of fresh congresses in Ebonyi and Anambra States in line with subsisting court rulings; the urgent organization of a new South-East Zonal Congress; recognition of the outcome of the South-South Congress held in Calabar, which has already been affirmed by the courts; and the prompt conduct of Ekiti Local Government Area congresses as directed by judicial pronouncements.
They also demanded that party offices should not be subjected to further micro-zoning beyond the broad formula approved by the National Executive Committee, in order to safeguard peace and stability.
In addition, they called for the retention of the national chairmanship position in the North-Central, consistent with the zoning arrangement of the 2021 convention.
According to the communiqué, the PDP now stands at a defining crossroads. Any attempt to marginalize legitimate members or disregard valid court decisions, they warned, would only deepen internal divisions.
Unity, they stressed, cannot be achieved through disenfranchisement, exclusion, or the neglect of judicial pronouncements, but only through transparency, fairness, and inclusivity.
The stakeholders urged the party’s leadership to resist the temptation of narrow, personal interests and instead embrace collective responsibility.
They reminded the PDP of its founding ethos of fairness and justice, noting that its survival as Nigeria’s true opposition depends on its ability to rise above factional considerations and return to its inclusive roots.
They further warned that ignoring their resolutions could throw the party into deeper crisis and erode its ability to mount a credible challenge in the 2027 general elections.
With political temperatures already rising nationwide, the intervention by Wike, Ortom, Fayose, Ikpeazu, and Ugwuanyi underscores the mounting pressure on the PDP to resolve its internal rifts and reposition itself ahead of the crucial polls.
