By Peter Omopo
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of its November national convention in Ibadan has taken a fresh twist, with allies of Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, rejecting the Southern zoning consultations held in Lagos on Wednesday.
Party insiders confirmed to The PUNCH that PDP governors will converge in Gusau, Zamfara State, this weekend to resolve disputes threatening the convention. Delegates are expected to arrive Friday, with deliberations scheduled for Saturday.
The zoning committee, chaired by Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri, had met with southern stakeholders in Lagos as part of its nationwide consultations. But just before the parley began, Wike’s loyalists—including state chairmen from Rivers, Imo, Abia, Cross River and Akwa Ibom, as well as National Assembly members—publicly disowned the exercise.
In a strongly worded statement, the group dismissed any resolutions from the meeting as “illegal, divisive, and unrepresentative of the PDP family.” They accused organisers of sidelining key party officers and stakeholders, describing the process as “Nicodemous” and “deeply disturbing.”
The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, Senators George Sekibo, Mao Ohuabunwa, Mike Nnachi, and other signatories warned that they would resist any attempt to adopt the Lagos resolutions at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting slated for Monday.
But Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, countered, insisting the Lagos gathering was aimed at repositioning the PDP. “When people go low or go into the gutters, I don’t go with them,” Makinde said. “It should be about what we are giving to Nigerians, not personal battles.”
He stressed that the immediate task was to stabilise the party before any talk of zoning its presidential ticket. “If we don’t have a party, anything you are trying to do will fall flat,” he added.
Meanwhile, party governors and leaders see the Ibadan convention—set for November 15 and 16—as crucial to the PDP’s survival. A source said the Zamfara meeting would seek “political solutions” but warned that governors were also prepared to “apply pressure where necessary” to keep the process on track.
As the internal battles rage, Wike stirred fresh controversy on Thursday when he openly declared support for politicians aligned with President Bola Tinubu. Speaking at a water project flag-off in Karu, he pledged to back Abuja Municipal Area Council chairman Christopher Maikalangu and former senator Philip Aduda.
“Anybody who supports Tinubu, I will support him,” Wike said, sparking fresh questions about his loyalty to the PDP.
With zoning talks mired in disputes and governors scrambling for unity, all eyes now turn to Zamfara this weekend and the NEC meeting on Monday—both seen as pivotal to whether the PDP can hold its Ibadan convention and present itself as a viable opposition ahead of 2027.
