PDP at a Crossroads: Internal Power Struggles Threaten 2027 Prospects

As the 2027 general elections approach, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) faces deepening internal divisions reminiscent of a chaotic household, raising concerns over its viability as a national political force. Once Africa’s largest party, the PDP is now struggling with unresolved power struggles, factionalism, and a lack of ideological coherence. From its fall in 2015 to the unresolved tensions of the 2023 elections — including the fallout from Atiku Abubakar’s candidacy and the G5 governors’ rebellion led by Nyesom Wike — the PDP has battled internal sabotage and defection. The entry of Wike into the APC-led government has further eroded trust. With no clear consensus on zoning, questions around Atiku’s potential sixth presidential run, and the absence of a unifying vision, the PDP risks collapse unless it reforms. Analysts warn that without generational leadership, internal democracy, and a compelling national message, the party may lose relevance in 2027.

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PDP Leadership Crisis Deepens as 11 NWC Members Reject Reinstatement of Senator Anyanwu

PDP Leaders Meet with INEC Officials in Closed-Door Meeting

The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Umar Damagum, on Tuesday led a delegation of party leaders to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja to discuss lingering issues surrounding the position of the party’s National Secretary. Following initial remarks during media interaction (before the closed-door meeting), the meeting was called at the request of the PDP to clarify procedural issues and legal concerns that have arisen since the Supreme Court issued a ruling related to the party’s internal leadership structure. In his opening remarks, Damagum expressed appreciation to INEC for hosting the meeting. Damagum explained that the meeting was aimed at addressing confusion related to the party’s National Secretary, following both internal decisions and court rulings. “We are here today, as you are aware, to have issues pertaining to the status of our National Secretary. We have gone into litigation, I think, from the beginning of last year until when the Supreme Court made a pronouncement of which INEC was a party,” he said. He further noted that the PDP’s National Executive Committee had mandated him to sign a letter to INEC to clarify the party’s position and to avoid further controversy. “We are here to interact sincerely with you off camera so that it will guide us when we get back to have a position. “Most of my members that are here will also help in bringing out the position that we felt we should combat together,” he added. Responding, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu welcomed the PDP delegation, noting that the commission is always open to engagements with political parties. Yakubu said, “This meeting is at the instance of the party. They requested to interact with us and our doors are always open to meet with leaders of political parties in our capacity as the registrar and regulator of political parties in Nigeria.”

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PDP Roars Back: 2027 Will Be a Referendum on Tinubu’s Failures – Ologunagba

PDP Roars Back: 2027 Will Be a Referendum on Tinubu’s Failures – Ologunagba

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared its readiness to take on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027, calling the upcoming general election a referendum on what it described as the “failures” of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, made this bold assertion during a press briefing in Abuja following the party’s 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting. Ologunagba praised the unity displayed at the NEC meeting, brushing aside pre-meeting skepticism and describing the successful gathering as a symbol of the PDP’s resilience. “The meeting held despite all doubts, and it showed our capacity to reorganise, refocus, and stay united. This is a signal that the PDP is back and ready,” he declared. He slammed the APC-led government over worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and policy failures. “People are dying in instalments, and this government is celebrating defections while citizens go hungry. Propaganda won’t feed Nigerians,” Ologunagba said. He insisted that no wave of defections could rescue the APC from electoral backlash in 2027, adding, “The question every Nigerian must ask is: Am I better off today than I was two years ago?” On internal cohesion, the PDP spokesperson revealed ongoing reconciliation efforts ahead of the next national convention. “We’re having critical conversations behind the scenes. The NEC meeting is just the beginning—we’re determined to present a credible alternative to Nigerians and protect this democracy from being reduced to a one-party state,” he concluded.

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PDP Calls Emergency Meeting as Defections Threaten Party’s Future

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has summoned an emergency meeting of its National Working Committee (NWC) for Tuesday, following a wave of high-profile defections that have rocked the party. Among the major losses are former Vice Presidential candidate Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, and the entire PDP structure in Delta State, historically one of the party’s key strongholds. With more lawmakers, including five-term House of Representatives member Oluwole Oke, defecting, the PDP faces a deepening crisis ahead of the 2027 general elections. Internal divisions have plagued the party since the 2023 elections, and leadership disputes continue to weaken its structure. Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum has been under pressure, and tensions have intensified over the National Secretary position. Although Setonji Koshoedo was appointed acting secretary by the PDP Governors Forum, the Supreme Court reinstated Senator Samuel Anyanwu to the role in March, further splitting the leadership. Both Koshoedo and Anyanwu have confirmed their attendance at Tuesday’s crucial meeting at Wadata Plaza in Abuja. A senior party official, speaking anonymously, admitted that there’s little the PDP can do to prevent defections, blaming personal ambition and pressure from anti-corruption investigations as major factors. “Even after the party’s support, many leaders have chosen to leave,” the official lamented, adding that the NWC would use the meeting to discuss defections, upcoming congresses, the National Executive Committee meeting, and preparations for the National Elective Convention. Despite the internal turmoil, party leaders insist they are committed to salvaging the PDP’s future. Senator Anyanwu stated his resolve to work for peace within the party, while the NWC plans to review recommendations from the Governors Forum and adopt strategies to stabilize and reposition the PDP ahead of future elections. The outcome of Tuesday’s meeting is expected to shape the party’s path forward during this turbulent period.

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Alex Otti Denies Defection Plans to APC

Alex Otti Denies Defection Plans to APC

Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, has firmly denied reports linking him to a planned defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Recent reports had alleged that Otti met with Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, to discuss a possible move to the ruling party, following Thursday’s National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. However, in a statement issued on Saturday, Ferdinand Ekeoma, Special Adviser to Otti on Media and Publicity, described the claims as “false, baseless, and unfounded.” He clarified that the alleged meeting was misrepresented and had no political undertones. “After the National Economic Council meeting on Thursday, April 24, Governor Otti and a few of his colleagues attended the birthday celebration of Governor Uzodinma’s twin daughters — an event that had absolutely nothing to do with politics,” Ekeoma said. He noted that Governor Otti’s “rising profile and performance” as Abia governor may have triggered speculations and political projections from different quarters. Ekeoma stressed that any decision with long-term consequences would be made only in consultation with the people of Abia State and Otti’s close political allies. The statement reiterated that Governor Otti remains fully committed to his mandate and that it would be premature to allow 2027 political calculations to distract from the current focus on governance and service delivery. “We wish to emphatically state that Governor Otti remains a member of the Labour Party and is not planning or discussing with anyone about defecting to the APC or any other party,” Ekeoma said. In recent weeks, the ruling APC has attracted several members from major opposition parties, with reports suggesting that more governors and key political figures may also be considering a switch.

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Akindele

PDP Governors No Longer Backing Atiku – APC Chieftain Akindele Mocks El-Rufai

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ayekooto Akindele, has claimed that no Nigerian governor, including Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, will support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential bid in 2027. Akindele mocked Atiku, alleging that Adeleke no longer answers his calls during the day. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Akindele dismissed Atiku and former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai’s chances of challenging President Bola Tinubu’s reelection, declaring that they cannot prevent Tinubu from completing a second term in office. His remarks come amid reports of a growing rift within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to those reports, a secret deal between some PDP governors and President Tinubu is said to be fueling internal unrest in the opposition party. The alliance is believed to be weakening Atiku’s influence and undermining his political base ahead of the 2027 general election. Recently, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, publicly declared his support for Tinubu, stating the president enjoys broad national backing and will remain in power until 2031. His comment came shortly after the PDP Governors’ Forum reportedly distanced itself from Atiku’s proposed coalition. Akindele doubled down on his criticism, writing: “There’s no Nigerian governor who has declared support for Atiku in 2027. Even Adeleke no dey pick Atiku’s calls at daytime again. One million Atikus and El-Rufais cannot stop the South and Tinubu from spending eight years in power. When it comes to politics, don’t drag anything with the JAGABAN

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Delta Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori Decamps to APC

Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori has reportedly dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He was said to have defected alongside his commissioners. This was revealed after a high-level, closed-door meeting at the Government House in Asaba on Wednesday evening. The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Festus Ahon, said the decision came after “wide consultations with political stakeholders and in the interest of Delta’s long-term development.” Oborevwori was elected in 2023 under the PDP platform. Senator James Manager, who addressed the press after a meeting of the PDP stakeholders in Government House, said a formal declaration would be made on Monday. He said that the governor’s defection to the ruling party was in the interest and the overall development of Delta state. Mr Manager said the entire PDP structure in the state had collapsed to the APC. Present at the briefing were Governor Oborevwori, the immediate past governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Emomotimi Guor and other PDP stalwarts.

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PDP Leadership Crisis Deepens as 11 NWC Members Reject Reinstatement of Senator Anyanwu

You can’t return to office- PDP tells sacked Osun LG Chairmen, Councillors

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cautioned the sacked Osun State Local Government Chairmen and Councillors to perish the thought of forcing themselves back into office as such will amount to a futile venture with dire consequences. The PDP also charged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to accept the reality and end its resort to self-help, misrepresentations, vituperations, violence and killing with the aim to trigger crisis and destabilize the State, having realized that it has irredeemably lost. The PDP asserted that the fate of the ousted Local Government Chairmen and Councilors was sealed by the Judgment of the Court to Appeal which nullified the unconstitutional attempt by the then Governor Gboyega Oyetola to illegally plant them as Local Government officers in the guise of an election. Having been roundly rejected by the people of Osun State in the Saturday, July 16, 2022, governorship election, the then Governor Oyetola and the APC ought to have known that attempting to side-step the laws and manipulate the process to illegally foist APC members and apologists as Local Government Chairmen and Counselors was an exercise in futility which was bound to fail ultimately. The APC is the architect of its misfortune. It should have known that disregarding and refusing to comply with the provisions of the Constitution and the Osun State Local Government Election Laws with respect to the requirement on notices, processes and procedures of conducting local government election is destined to be fatal and irreparable. “We counsel the Osun State APC to stop playing to the gallery by trying to bring in the exulted office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into disrepute by hopelessly dropping the President’s name at public spaces in their desperate but pathetic and unrealizable attempt to garner undeserved sympathy. “The APC should note that our nation operates a federal system of government with clearly entrenched devolution of powers among the federating units as well as the various sub-national tiers of government. It should therefore desist from the fruitless attempt to drag President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Government into the issue of local government election which, under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), is within the purview of the State and has no connection whatsoever with the Federal Government. “If the APC believes that it is truly popular in Osun State as it claims, it should rather get ready for election as already scheduled by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) instead of holding unto an imaginary strand of straw and instigating violence and killings in the State. “Our Party strongly condemns the violence and killing of some youths today by APC thugs and calls on the Inspector General of Police to hold APC leaders in Osun State responsible and bring them to book for this heinous crime,” PDP declared in a statement on Monday. The PDP called on the people of Osun State to remain calm, law-abiding and get ready for the Local Government Election as they continue to support Governor Ademola Adeleke in his outstanding delivery of monumental life-enhancing projects and programs in the State.

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