Chieftains of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday hinted that the planned National Executive Committee of the party scheduled for Thursday to resolve the leadership crisis of the party would no longer hold.

The governors elected on the platform of the party had initially slated Thursday, March 13, for meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) but from all indications, the party would have to wait till May for the meeting to take place.

The first PDP Governors Forum (PDPGF) meeting in 2025 was held at the Government House in Asaba at the end of which a seven-point resolution was reached.

Led by their Chairman and Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed, the governors had resolved at their meeting which took place late January in Asaba, Delta State, to hold the meeting next Thursday.

The PDP has been enmeshed in a series of crisis since it lost power to the ruling All Progressives Congress (PDP) in 2015 with the latest being the continued stay of the Ambassador Umar Damagum who has been acting as national chairman after the exit of the substantive holder, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, in 2023.

Ayu was suspended by the Ward Executive of the party in Igyorov Ward of Gboko Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue State.

Though he initially instituted a suit challenging his suspension, he subsequently had to withdraw the case and later resigned his position, paving the way for the emergence of Damagum on acting capacity.

While Ayu hails from North Central, Damagum who was the party’s deputy national chairman (North) until he stepped in on acting capacity, hails from North East.

The PDP has however been unable to make Damagum to give way for the emergence of another member from the North Central to replace Ayu as substantive chairman.

A series of interventions from different organs of the party had done little or nothing to rectify the situation with Damagum staying put despite the fact he is operating on acting capacity and that the office had been zoned to North Central.

Aside the issue of the continued stay of Damagum, the PDP has also been enmeshed in crisis over the legality or otherwise of the continued stay of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary of the party despite court ruling affirming Sunday Ude-Okoye.

The National Working Committee of the party had to affirm Ude-Okoye as the party’s national secretary.

The NWC stated that its decision was in accordance with the Court of Appeal’s judgment on the matter.

Chieftains of the party in separate telephones interviews on Friday told Saturday Telegraph that the party has been working on find a lasting solution to the crisis.

Those who spoke our correspondent on the issue include the embattled National Secretary, Anyanwu, the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Debo Olugunagba, a former spokesman of the party, Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan.

When contacted, Anyanwu dismissed the suggestion that the party was moving towards a national convention but confirmed that the leaders of the party are working on holding its NEC meeting in May.

“We are not going to have our national convention for now but what we are going to have is a NEC meeting and I know that the meeting will be held in May,” Anyanwu said.

On his part, Ologbodiyan told our correspondent that the only person that holds the keys to the resolution of the party remains the acting national chairman by giving way for another member from the North Central zone.

“I’m also aware that there are some moves or plans to have a quick (national) convention where a successor (to Ayu) would be elected so that by December, a new national working committee would resume. When that is done, the matter would have been resolved,” Ologbodiyan said.

When contacted, Ologunagba who neither confirmed nor denied the story, added that information relating to such would be properly communicated to the public.

“Did you get your information from the official quarters of the party? The PDP has a way of communicating its plans to the people. There is a process for doing that, it’s a big issue and you know that we have a process of communicating such,” he said.