The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepened on Tuesday, March 25, 2026, as a bloc of governors elected on the party’s platform distanced themselves from consensus candidates endorsed by a faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The governors rejected the process that produced the candidates for the party’s top leadership ahead of its national convention later this week.
The disagreement centres on the emergence of Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Abdulrahman Mohammed as consensus candidates for National Secretary and National Chairman, respectively, in a slate supported by the Wike‑aligned group.
Sources within the governors’ camp said they would pursue legal redress and review the process leading to the consensus selections, which are scheduled to be formalised at the party’s national convention set for March 29–30, 2026.
The current dispute follows nearly a year of internal conflict within the PDP, marked by competing leadership claims and parallel organisational structures.
In November 2025, leading members of the party’s governors’ faction, including Seyi Makinde (Oyo State) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi State), supported a national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, where Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and others were elected to the National Working Committee (NWC).
In response, the Wike‑aligned faction formed a 13‑member National Caretaker Working Committee in December 2025, appointing Abdulrahman Mohammed as Acting National Chairman and Samuel Anyanwu as Acting National Secretary, among other members, to oversee party affairs for 60 days pending a substantive convention.
The leadership dispute has been the subject of legal intervention. On March 9, 2026, a panel of the Court of Appeal upheld a Federal High Court ruling that held the Ibadan convention violated the Electoral Act, the Nigerian Constitution, and the PDP Constitution, nullifying the election of Turaki and other NWC members.
However, another Court of Appeal panel granted all sides the opportunity to pursue an amicable settlement.
Despite these rulings and earlier signs of rapprochement, the governors’ rejection of the consensus arrangement indicates that reconciliation efforts may have stalled, with each faction continuing to assert its interpretation of party rules and judicial outcomes.
Sources aligned with the governors’ faction, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they would examine legal avenues to challenge the process that produced the consensus candidates.
They maintained that stability and constitutional conformity must guide the party’s decision‑making.
Plans for further meetings and legal reviews were reportedly underway, with discussions expected to continue beyond Tuesday’s session.
Members of the Wike‑backed National Caretaker Committee, also speaking anonymously, maintained that all geopolitical zones had agreed on consensus candidates for NWC positions ahead of the convention.
They said the consensus approach emerged from zonal consultations designed to present unified leadership slates for party offices at the national convention.
The rejection of the Wike‑backed choices by the governors’ camp underscores the ongoing challenges facing the PDP as it moves closer to the 2027 general elections.
With legal interpretations differing on leadership legitimacy and convention procedures, the situation illustrates the broader organisational tensions within one of Nigeria’s major political parties.
