The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday stepped into the deepening crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), holding a closed-door meeting with leaders of the party’s rival factions at its headquarters in Abuja.
Gatekeepers News reports that the meeting brought together representatives of the faction led by Tanimu Turaki, backed by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and other PDP governors, and the opposing camp aligned with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and led by Abdulrahman Mohammed.
Turaki attended the talks alongside members of his National Working Committee (NWC), party secretariat staff and former Niger State governor Babangida Aliyu. Mohammed, on the other hand, was accompanied by members of his national caretaker committee, including its secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
INEC’s intervention comes amid mounting concerns over the emergence of parallel leadership structures within the former ruling party, a situation that has raised questions about the PDP’s legal standing ahead of future elections.
The crisis, which now threatens the party’s cohesion and survival, is rooted in long-standing leadership disputes and factional battles that predate the 2023 general elections, but have intensified significantly since then.
Tensions escalated after the PDP presidential primaries and national convention, particularly following the fallout between the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Wike. Wike, a former Rivers State governor, had accused the PDP leadership under Iyorchia Ayu of marginalising the South in the conduct of the presidential primary and the selection of the vice-presidential candidate.
The disagreement culminated in the formation of the G5 governors, who opposed Atiku’s candidacy on the grounds that power should rotate to the South after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner. The group, which styled itself as the Integrity Group, openly and covertly supported the eventual winner of the election, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Since the 2023 polls, the PDP has witnessed a wave of defections, with governors, senators and lawmakers leaving the party for the ruling APC and other political platforms, further eroding internal unity.
The crisis deepened in November 2025 when a PDP faction, reportedly backed by governors including Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, convened a national convention that produced a new NWC, with Turaki emerging as national chairman.
At the convention, the faction announced the expulsion of Wike and several of his allies, including former Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayose; Senator Samuel Anyanwu; Bature Ajibade; Mao Ohuabunwa; former Imo State PDP chairman Austin Nwachukwu; former Abia State PDP chairman Amah Nnanna Abraham; former National Vice Chairman (South-South), Dan Orbih; and George Turnah.
The Wike-backed group rejected the expulsions and responded by unveiling parallel National Working Committee, Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee structures, further entrenching the party’s internal crisis.
