• Fear of electoral loss fuelling defections, says party chief
• State chairmen condemn APC’s ‘desperate intimidation tactics’
• Group accuses party officials of plot to derail convention
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approved the appointment of Senator Ben Obi as Secretary of the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) for the 2025 Elective National Convention.
Meanwhile, the defections and realignments among politicians countrywidehave been attributed to the fear of suffering imminent defeat at the general elections.
But Umar Sani, Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to former Vice President Namadi Sambo, declared that the PDP was not bothered by the ongoing crises within the party despite the official defection of the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, and his Bayelsa counterpart, Douye Diri, from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Consequently, the Forum of State Chairmen of PDP rebuked APC, accusing it of employing “undemocratic, desperate and coercive tactics” to destabilise Nigeria’s opposition ranks.
On the other hand, the Northern Support Group of PDP accused some NWC members of attempting to sabotage preparations for the November convention.
Obi replaces Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, who occupied that position before his defection to the APC on Tuesday.
The convention is scheduled to hold from November 15 to 16, 2025, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, who also serves as Secretary of the Publicity and Communication Sub-Committee of the NCOC, stated that the appointment was ratified by the NWC on behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
The statement noted that Obi, a seasoned politician and former Presidential Adviser, “brings to the role decades of experience in party administration and national politics.
The NWC expressed confidence in the capacity of the NCOC, chaired by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, to deliver a successful convention.
PDP chieftain in Osun State, Dr Muyiwa Oladimeji, yesterday, also blamed lack of political ideology in the nation’s political parties for the raging cross-carpeting among governors and lawmakers.
While speaking at the 49th edition of The Frontliners organised by the League of Veteran Journalists in Osogbo, Oladimeji said those defecting might be doing so as an escape route to losing elections.
He expressed concerns that the trend might persist if party ideology remained elusive in the political space.
Asked to react to speculation of efforts by Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun to join the APC, Oladimeji, the Chairman of the Osun Health Insurance Agency, refuted the rumours, declaring that the governor would not leave the PDP.
He said that members of the APC in the state had been spreading lies to confuse residents and sway voters to their side.
According to him, poverty and ignorance have been responsible for vote-buying, positing that the menace will continue until hardship in the country is addressed.
Sani, who spoke yesterday on Arise TV monitored by The Guardian on the crises rocking the PDP, believes the crises in the party are induced.
According to Umar, what is happening within PDP is being orchestrated from outside by fifth columnists.
”But let me state clearly that the PDP is not domiciled in its headquarters. We only have issues with leadership. I can assure you that Mbah’s defection to the APC will not rattle the PDP, as he is swimming against the tide. Enugu, from 1999 till date, has always been a PDP state. Mbah did not even win the election. It is the Labour Party (LP) that won the election in Enugu,” he claimed.
On why he thinks Mbah did not win the seat he is occupying, he said the returning officer was not allowed to announce the results in Enugu until the matter was taken to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters, and a decision was taken on the matter after many days.
In a communiqué released at the end of its emergency meeting on Monday at the PDP Secretariat, Abuja, and presided over by the Forum’s Acting Secretary, Edward Masha, the PDP state chairmen condemned a “systematic assault on democracy” allegedly orchestrated by the APC.
The meeting, which drew participation from 25 state and FCT chairmen physically and others virtually, also addressed internal disciplinary matters and preparations for the PDP convention.
In its first major resolution, the forum lambasted the APC for alleged moves to “intimidate, harass, and coerce” PDP governors, lawmakers and party stalwarts into switching allegiance. It described the ruling party’s actions as a calculated attempt to erode Nigeria’s multiparty democracy and warned against the dangerous precedent of a creeping one-party state.
The forum did not spare errant members, announcing the suspension of two of its state chairmen – Austine Nwachukwu (Imo State) and Hon. Amah Abraham Nnana (Abia State) – over their recent legal action seeking to halt the convention.
In a significant leadership shake-up, the forum appointed Tony Aziegbemi, Chairman of Edo State PDP, as its new Chairman.
Coordinator of the PDP support group, Yusuf Dingyadi, in a statement yesterday, expressed concern over “a deliberate effort to frustrate the process”, blaming certain top party officials for backing ongoing legal actions aimed at derailing the exercise.
The group specifically mentioned the national secretary, national legal adviser and national organising secretary as allegedly conspiring to scuttle arrangements for the convention. It said their actions run contrary to the principles of internal democracy and collective responsibility enshrined in the PDP constitution.
It called on all genuine party members to rise above personal interests and work together for the survival of the PDP and the protection of Nigeria’s democracy.
