Former Benue State Governor and ex-senator Gabriel Suswam has left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Gatekeepers News reports that Suswam cited deep-seated internal conflicts and a breakdown in party unity as key reasons for his resignation.
In a letter dated February 4, 2026, to the PDP chairman in Mbagber Ward, Logo LGA, Suswam described his decision as one reached after careful consideration, acknowledging the party’s role in his decades-long political career while expressing disappointment with its current state of internal turmoil.
Suswam, who served in Nigeria’s House of Representatives (1999–2007), as governor of Benue State (2007–2015), and later as a senator (2019–2023), all on PDP platform, said the party had gradually lost its once-cherished identity as a cohesive and democratically disciplined organisation.
He noted that unresolved disputes over leadership, discipline, and ideology have persisted despite numerous reconciliation efforts and interventions, leaving the party trapped in what he described as endless internal warfare.
“For decades, the PDP provided me with a platform to serve the Nigerian people… For these opportunities and the trust reposed in me at different times, I remain sincerely grateful,” Suswam wrote.
He also lamented that the party’s ongoing dysfunction no longer aligned with his personal convictions, political philosophy, and desire to contribute positively to nation-building within a stable political framework.
Suswam further stressed that political parties should be arenas for ideas, discipline, and constructive engagement, not perpetual crises, and expressed hope that the PDP might one day find the “courage and consensus” to resolve its long-standing contradictions.
