By Peter Omopo
Abuja – The Director of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced & Professional Studies, Prof. Anthony Kila, has condemned the leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, describing the recent clashes at Wadata Plaza as a manifestation of deep-rooted dysfunction within Nigeria’s political party system.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Wednesday, Kila said the parallel meetings, confrontations, and use of force by rival PDP factions reflected a collapse of internal discipline and democratic culture.
“What we saw there is a show of shame in terms of form and process,” he said. “The content can be legitimate, but it underlines the flaw in the Nigerian partisan political elite class. The fact that these people can deploy police officers as thugs — shouting, shoving, expelling, and fighting one another — shows they are not of like minds. They are people there to grab power.”
The political analyst stressed that the behaviour on display highlighted the absence of professional support structures within political parties. He suggested that mental health experts may be necessary to stabilise party affairs.
“A lot of psychiatrists are not where they ought to be,” Kila said. “It might be a good idea to actually include a law requiring every party to have a lead house psychiatrist to deal with internal issues.”
Kila also cautioned that the crisis should not be viewed as a PDP-specific problem, but rather a symptom of a wider systemic failure across Nigeria’s political landscape.
“This today is the PDP. It could be anybody tomorrow,” he warned. “Most political parties in Nigeria share these uncivilised, unbecoming, uninspiring traits. We need to look at it as a system problem, not just a PDP problem.”
The PDP has been plunged deeper into turmoil following parallel meetings by factional leaders. The faction led by former Minister Nyesom Wike and another loyal to former presidential aspirant Kabiru Turaki clashed on Wednesday during scheduled National Executive Committee and Board of Trustees meetings, prompting police to seal off the party’s national secretariat.
The chaos follows last Saturday’s party convention in Ibadan, where high-profile members — including Wike, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Kamaldeen Ajibade, former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, and Austin Nwachukwu — were expelled for alleged anti-party activities.
In retaliation, the Wike-aligned faction announced the expulsion of PDP elder statesman Chief Bode George, former BoT Chairman Adolphus Wabara, and Turaki himself.
Kila stressed that the turbulence within the PDP threatens the stability of Nigeria’s democracy and the strength of opposition politics.
“We are discussing the PDP not because we are for or against the party,” he said, “but because anyone who respects institutions and values democracy must care about maintaining a vibrant, stable, and viable opposition.”
He also weighed in on reports that Wike is urging the PDP to back an APC presidential candidate, insisting that such proposals must follow due consultation.
“It is legitimate for Minister Wike to say he wants his party to support an APC president,” he said. “But the way to go about it is to have a proper conversation on the table. If the party agrees, then they support him. If they disagree, that becomes a minority report.”
The escalating tensions have raised concerns about the PDP’s future and the broader implications for Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.
