The internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of its November National Elective Convention in Ibadan has taken a fresh twist, as the camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has rejected the outcome of the Southern Leaders’ Zoning Consultative meeting held in Lagos on Wednesday.
New Telegraph had earlier reported that the PDP Governors’ Forum will convene in Zamfara State on Saturday, August 23, 2025, to deliberate on pressing issues threatening to derail the convention.
The governors are expected to arrive in Gusau on Friday before proceeding to a closed-door session the following day.
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However, Wike’s loyalists insist that the Lagos zoning meeting, which was chaired by Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, lacked legitimacy, describing it as “illegal, divisive, and unrepresentative” of the collective will of Southern PDP stakeholders.
The zoning committee, inaugurated on August 14, was mandated to recommend a formula for allocating the 19 NWC positions between the North and South ahead of next Monday’s crucial National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
However, just hours before the Lagos parley, several state chairmen, former governors, and National Assembly members aligned with Wike’s camp publicly distanced themselves from the gathering.
In a statement jointly signed by the PDP chairmen of Imo, Abia, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers States, along with Minority Leader of the House of Representatives O. K. Chinda, Senators Mao Ohuabunwa, George Sekibo, Mike Nnachi, and former National Secretary Onwe S. Onwe, the leaders dismissed any resolutions from the Lagos summit.
They said: “For the avoidance of doubt, we categorically dismiss any resolutions, communiqués, or outcomes purportedly emanating from this meeting as neither binding on, nor reflective of the collective will and aspirations of the PDP family across Southern Nigeria. Decisions reached in secrecy and exclusion cannot and shall not assume the authority of consensus.”
The statement further criticized the exclusion of several state chairmen, national officers, principal lawmakers, and former governors, describing the development as “deeply disturbing” and a violation of the party’s constitution.
Meanwhile, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and other PDP governors remain committed to ensuring that the Ibadan convention proceeds as planned.
The upcoming Zamfara meeting of PDP governors is expected to be decisive in addressing these tensions and unifying the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
