PDP CRISIS DEEPENS: “We Might End Up in Court With Wike” — Party Chieftain Warns as Convention Looms

The storm rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) shows no signs of abating, as cracks widen ahead of its highly anticipated national convention slated for November in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Fresh reports indicate that a faction loyal to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, is plotting to frustrate the convention, raising fears of an explosive showdown within the party.

Despite repeated warnings from the PDP leadership against internal sabotage, Wike’s loyalists have remained defiant. The former Rivers State governor has reportedly vowed that there will be “no peace” in the party unless the South-South zonal executives he backed are officially recognised.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, has fired back, warning that if Wike continues to undermine the party’s collective interests, the leadership will invoke provisions of the party’s constitution to sanction him.

Other top chieftains, including Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, and former South-West National Vice Chairman, Eddy Olafeso, accused Wike of overreaching his authority. They insisted that the party is determined to rebuild its structures and cannot allow “one man to hijack the process,” especially with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) already supervising preparations.

However, multiple sources reveal that Wike’s camp is considering legal and political maneuvers to stall or even stop the November convention.

A senior PDP insider, speaking under condition of anonymity, captured the mood of growing apprehension:

> “From the beginning, this was our biggest fear. We dreaded a legal battle, especially since the minister is part of this government. But as it stands, we might end up in the same court with him because I do not see the party conceding to Wike anymore. He keeps making fresh demands, and if we keep giving in, we risk handing the entire PDP to him. That is one thing we cannot allow.”

The insider further alleged that Wike’s loyalists are deliberately fueling internal disputes in certain states to derail congresses — the building blocks for the convention.

This claim appears to have merit, as the Cross River State PDP is currently engulfed in a bitter internal crisis over conflicting directives on how to conduct its state congress to elect a new State Working Committee (SWC).

With just weeks to the convention, analysts warn that the PDP faces one of its most defining battles yet — between a leadership desperate to rebuild and a powerful faction determined to dictate the terms of survival.