By Ifeanyi Sylvester Nwegbu
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition, is facing one of the gravest internal crises in its history—an existential conflict that has splintered the party into bitterly opposed factions, turned its national secretariat into a battlefield, and prompted stark warnings that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat. What began as a post-2023 election disagreement has transformed into a prolonged legal and political confrontation marked by mutual suspensions, expulsions, and competing claims to legitimacy.
The crisis traces its roots to the controversial decision to abandon the party’s long-standing rotational principle—a move that paved the way for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a Northerner, to secure the 2022 presidential ticket. The fallout deepened when Nyesom Wike was overlooked for the Vice Presidential slot, shifting him from kingmaker to chief antagonist. Wike subsequently led the G5 Governors, who insisted that then-National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu step down to restore regional balance. This was the beginning of what party insiders describe as the “pushing phase,” with Wike mobilising his political base to force internal structural change. His later acceptance of a ministerial position in the APC-led Federal Government is viewed within the PDP as the final act of betrayal.
The party’s internal mechanisms have been effectively frozen by the courts, which have repeatedly stopped scheduled National Conventions, including the most recent attempt in November 2025. Judges have faulted the PDP for failing to comply with its own constitution and existing electoral laws, thereby plunging the party into a state of legal paralysis. The crisis reached a new height when one faction elected Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, as National Chairman—a move instantly rejected by the opposing bloc. With leadership now determined more by court rulings than party consensus, the PDP’s hierarchy has become fluid and unstable.
Meanwhile, the conflict has spilled into the public domain, with open confrontations at the national secretariat and a wave of retaliatory expulsions. Governors Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo), who belong to the faction that installed Turaki, have accused Wike of weaponising his influence, wealth, and new ministerial authority to destabilise the PDP and shrink Nigeria’s democratic space. Bala Mohammed delivered a scathing rebuke, alleging that Wike is poisoning the political environment with “gangsterism, animism, hooliganism, and charlatanism… This is an end to his hooliganism.” Makinde echoed this sentiment, warning that the struggle represents nothing less than “a battle for the future of Nigeria’s democracy.”
In a swift counter-response, Wike’s loyalists, led by Mohammed Abdulrahman, dismissed these claims as political theatrics and instead accused the governors of impunity and flagrant disobedience to court orders. His faction subsequently ratified the expulsion of Governors Makinde, Bala Mohammed, and Chairman Turaki, along with several other senior party figures. They insisted that the NEC acted within its authority, citing anti-party activities and violations of subsisting court orders. According to them, the essence of the PDP lies in strict adherence to its constitution—not in the “arrogance and lawlessness” of a select few.
With two rival leadership structures now in place—each claiming legitimacy and each expelling members of the opposite side—the PDP is more factionalised than at any point in its existence. The chaos, marked by violence at the secretariat and relentless court battles, amplifies fears that the collapse of the main opposition party could weaken Nigeria’s democratic checks and balances ahead of the 2027 elections.
As the crisis deepens, one reality is becoming unmistakably clear: the PDP is not just fighting a political battle—it is fighting for its identity, its future, and its relevance in Nigeria’s democracy.
