The People’s Democratic Party remains in a precarious situation as its leaders continue to throw shade at one another.
The former ruling party has been battling with leadership crises right from the build up to the 2015 general elections
The crisis facing the opposition party deepened last week as the war of words between the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, remains unabated.
They have continued to publicly throw tantrums against each other.
Governor Mohammed fired another salvo, saying the only legacy of Wike would be remembered for will be that of a political mercenary who squandered opportunities and betrayed his allies.
On his part, Wike on Friday asked Governor Mohammed to desist from using his appointment by Tinubu as minister as excuse for his lack of capacity to provide leadership as Chairman of PDP Governors Forum.
“A transactional politician who bites the hand that feeds him. Chief Wike’s ascendancy in politics is a testament to the opportunities provided by the PDP”
The Bauchi State governor also declared that the FCT Minister may grab headlines, but they offer little substance, alleging that Wike’s betrayal of the PDP and his divisive politics reveals a man driven by personal ambition rather than public service.
Mohammed made the declaration in response to the recent media chat by the minister during which he made references to the Bauchi State governor who is also the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum.
The governor’s response contained in a statement by his Media Aide, Mukhtar Gidado, read, “Attention of Sen. Bala Mohammed, the Executive Governor of Bauchi State and Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, has been drawn to the latest disjointed and bombastic media chat by Chief Nyesom Wike, the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. In his characteristic style, Chief Wike launched into his now-predictable tirade, marked by contradictions, grandstanding, and a perplexing display of loyalty that seems to shift with the wind.
“While Wike’s incoherence often makes it difficult to discern any substantive points, Sen. Bala Mohammed finds it necessary to respond to a few specific remarks that distort facts and aim to undermine the PDP – the very platform that gave Wike his political rise.
“A transactional politician who bites the hand that feeds him. Chief Wike’s ascendancy in politics is a testament to the opportunities provided by the PDP. Yet, he now gleefully undermines the very foundation that nurtured him. It is disheartening that a man who owes so much to a party that stood by him in his political journey has chosen to be a willing tool in its denigration. His recent media outburst was yet another reminder of his transactional approach to politics, where personal ambition eclipses loyalty, principles, and collective interests.
“Unlike Wike, who thrives on drama and divisiveness, Sen. Bala Mohammed has always understood that politics is not a game of self-serving theatrics but a platform to serve the public good. Wike’s erratic behaviour and opportunistic alliances expose him as an unreliable and fair-weather friend—traits that alienate even those who once stood by him.”
On friendship and governance, the Bauchi State governor explained that, “Chief Wike’s assertion that he is not friends with Sen. Bala Mohammed is as irrelevant as it is puerile. Governance is not built on personal friendships but on competence, vision, and the ability to deliver results.
“Sen. Bala Mohammed’s achievements in Bauchi State speak for themselves. His leadership has elevated the PDP as a formidable opposition party, countering the excesses of the APC-led federal government, while Wike busies himself playing a double game—PDP by day, APC by night.”
However, Wike, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said it was ironic that a known fair-weather politician in the mould of Bala Mohammed was the one calling someone else ‘a transactional politician’.
Olayinka reminded Mohammed how he dumped his political godfather and former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda in 2007 and as a member of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) and also dumped former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2010 for a ministerial appointment under the PDP government of President Goodluck Jonathan.
He wondered how Wike being a minister under the Tinubu administration was the reason Mohammed has failed as Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, while running after PDP ticket to contest for President in 2027, a position that he ought to know will remain in the South till 2031.
“Our attention has been drawn to the ‘say nothing’ press statement that took six days to write, issued by the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, and we can’t but sympathise with a man who, out of political greed, has chosen to plunge himself into the deepest part of the river despite not knowing how to swim.
“First, Governor Bala Mohammed is holding the position of Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum out of political greed, because by convention and practice, the position should be held by one of the PDP Governors in the South. Reason being that the immediate past Chairman of the Forum was from the North, same as the PDP National Chairman.
“Secondly, despite usurping the position of the PDP Governors Forum because of his rapacious nature, Bala Mohammed has demonstrated lack of capacity to lead the PDP, the reason the party is how it is today.
“Sadly, rather than taking responsibilities of leadership and acting the same, Bala Mohammad opted to divide the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC), relating with one faction while neglecting the other.
“For his ineptitude and lack of capacity to lead, Bala Mohammed, has been blaming Chief Ezenwo Nyesom Wike’s appointment as FCT Minister,” Wike’s aide said.
Wike also wondered if there was any need to remind Mohammed with the fact that he (Wike), being a committed member of the PDP is serving in the APC government of Bola Tinubu, is not new in the history of politics and governance in Nigeria?
He said: “Between 2003 and 2009 there were three political parties – PDP, All People’s Party (APP) and Alliance for Democracy (AD). PDP won the presidency, but President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed members of APP and AD to serve in the government.
“Funny enough, this same Bala Mohammed became minister in 2010, while still being a member of the defunct ANPP. His defection to the PDP, months after being appointed as Minister, was to demonstrate his fair-weather and anywhere-belle-face politics.
“Even at that, is it because Wike is minister that Bala Mohammed has faltered in carrying out the responsibilities of the position of Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum that he usurped? Could Bala Mohammad have displayed the capacity that he obviously lacked if Wike is not serving in Tinubu’s government?
“Bala Mohammed’s lack of capacity was the reason the PDP was not allowed to campaign in Bauchi in 2015, even with him as a serving FCT Minister, a shameless history that no politician worth his salt will want to be associated with.”
PDP NWC rejects appointment of Wike’s lawyer as legal adviser
As the attack between Wike and Mohammed festers, members of the National Working Committee of the PDP have opposed the appointment of J.Y. Musa as the party’s legal representative in ongoing cases at the Appeal and Supreme Court.
In a petition signed by 11 out of 17 NWC members, dated January 21, 2025, the executives urged the courts to disregard Musa’s appointment, claiming it was unauthorized and violated the party’s constitution.
They cited Article 42 of the PDP constitution, which grants the National Legal Adviser the exclusive authority to appoint external legal counsel. According to the petitioners, the National Chairman has no such authority to make such appointments.
The dispute centers on the legal battle involving Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu, who was removed as PDP National Secretary following a court ruling.
An Enugu High Court had earlier sacked Anyanwu, and the decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal on December 20, 2024.
However, Anyanwu has appealed to the Supreme Court, refusing to vacate the position.
The NWC members expressed concern over the appointment of Musa, who is allegedly aligned with Minister Wike, suggesting it undermines the party’s integrity.
Despite the opposition, the Acting National Chairman, Iliya Damagum had formally instructed Musa to represent the PDP in the Supreme Court appeal. The disagreement over the appointment highlights internal divisions within the party as it navigates the contentious legal case.
PDP not dysfunctional, party organs intact – Chieftain
However, a Lagos State chieftain of the PDP, Adetokunbo Pearse, says the party is not dysfunctional in spite of the current leadership crisis plaguing it.
Pearse, who was a member of the Atiku Abubakar 2023 Presidential Campaign Committee said this in an interview on Saturday.
Pearse, the State Coordinator of Support Groups for the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign in 2023, said the former ruling party would overcome its challenges and rise before the 2027 general elections.
“There are some issues in the PDP political family, but the same can be said of every political party here in Nigeria and indeed everywhere else in the world.
“I have just returned from a three-day visit to Abuja, and I can confirm that the National Head Office of the PDP and all offices of the party are functioning as normal.
“The attempt to portray the PDP as a dysfunctional organisation is the handiwork of APC detractors and propagandists.
“They are afraid that the current situation in the country will surely give Nigerians an option to vote in a PDP government in 2027,” he said.
According to him, there had never been an attempt by any of the party’s structures to remove Umar Damagun from his office as the Acting National Chairman of the party.
He added that if the Board of Trustees, the Governors Forum, and the National Executive Committee of the party decide that Damagun should step aside, he will leave, so long as there is no objection from the courts.
Speaking on the conflict around the PDP National Secretary position, Pearse said that constitutionally, Samuel Anyanwu had lost his position as the National Secretary of the PDP, saying that courts had affirmed it.
Deputy national youth leader, others preach peace
Also, the deputy national youth leader of the party, Timothy Osasdolor, has again called for peaceful resolution among all warring factions and party gladiators.
Osadolor alongside other elected deputies of the party expressed their displeasure over the internal wrangling in the party, saying they deemed it fit and proper to come out and speak in order to save the soul and integrity of the party.
Though the party constitution does not acknowledge deputies as members of the National Working Committee, deputies in attendance at a press conference where Osadolor spoke comprised Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, Deputy National Financial Secretary, Ndubuisi Ene and Deputy National Organising Secretary, Pascal Adigwe.
“We the deputies, we are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that PDP regains her pride of place and finds herself back in Aso rock for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.” Osadolor said.
Expressing worries over the disillusionment of members across the country and beyond, they attributed it to distrust, insincerity, lack of firm enforcement of agreements, self-serving interests and unnecessary eye service that is laced with smooth tongues.
“This behaviour is apparently self-serving on their part, as it is not in the interest of the PDP in any way. It is ethically and morally wrong for members of the party to move around, creating confusion instead of exploring our internal mechanism for peace.
“While we await the verdict of the courts, the ongoing crisis in Edo, where the APC and INEC chosen governor is going berserk with their actions and pronouncements needs attention.
“This is no longer the time for blame game,” Osadolor stated.
Genesis of PDP crisis
Although the PDP has not had stability since it lost the 2015 general election including the presidential poll to the APC in the 2015, many observers believed that the PDP did not handle the controversial issue of zoning its presidential ticket well prior to the 2023 election.
The debate over the zoning principle in the PDP ended in May 2022, nine months before the presidential election, following its decision to open its 2023 presidential ticket to all sections of the country.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the decision to throw open the ticket was in line with the recommendation made by the party’s zoning committee.
“After extensive deliberation, NEC aligned with the recommendation of the PDP National Zoning Committee that the Presidential Election should now be left open. The party should also work towards a consensus candidate where possible,” Ologunagba said.
“Although some political analysts say disagreement was part of party politics, there was the agreement that the present PDP needed surgical reordering to be able to regain power at the center in 2027”
But the PDP’s decision was totally at variance with the position of the Southern Governors’ Forum.
The disagreement was further fuelled by the refusal of the party’s presidential candidate to pick Nyesom Wike, who was then governor of Rivers State and had contested the ticket with him as his running mate.
Wike subsequently formed a bloc of five southern governors who worked for the victory of Bola Tinubu who was the APC’s candidate.
Many members of the PDP were not comfortable with the decision of Wike to serve as Minister in the President Tinubu administration and would rather prefer he exits the party. They do not trust him again and see him as a mole in the party working for the APC.
Since he assumed office as Minister of the FCT, many have called for his resignation from the PDP and for the national leadership to sanction him.
But there are those who say the former governor has not done anything wrong since he informed the party before taking up the ministerial appointment. These divergent views among members and leaders have further polarised the party.
Also, upon the removal of Iyorchia Ayu as national chairman of the party, Umar Damagum, who was then the deputy national chairman was chosen to act in his stead.
About a year later, many party leaders, including PDP’s National Assembly members say it was time for him to be replaced with someone from the North Central where the position was zoned to, initially.
Elder statesman, Edwin Clark, challenged the acting national chairman, telling him to resign from his position and not to allow the party to collapse on him.
Clark, who stated this in an open letter he wrote to Damagum last year, also said the PDP National Executive Committee showed obvious weakness by allowing the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to cajole everyone in the meeting, adding that no one was ready to speak truth to power.
The elder statesman who decried the state of the party under Damagum’s leadership said the chairman has confirmed allegations that he was doing the bidding of Wike.
PDP members are surprised that the party leadership under Damagum has not taken disciplinary action against members who worked against their interest in the 2023 polls.
The members say such individuals must be sanctioned for peace to reign in the PDP and to serve as a deterrent.
“I thought the party was soft on them, Wike and co, many leaders who worked for the opposition in the 2023 general election. So, it means someone else can do the same and go away next time.
“Many members are not happy that after campaigning, on election day, leaders asked members to vote for another party’s candidate and it happened across the country,” Toke Lawal, a PDP chieftain, said.
Speaking on calls for the party to sanction Wike, former PDP deputy national chairman (South), Bode George, said the party will resolve its internal problems like a family and will not make it a marketplace matter.
George, who explained why PDP did not sanction Wike for alleged anti-party activities, said the party is not ready to start firing people because two or three persons are still angry over the outcome of the 2023 election.
According to him, “The PDP has a committee that will carry out a post mortem analysis of the crisis and reunite its members; we are going to settle our own matters like a family.”
Although some political analysts say disagreement was part of party politics, there was the agreement that the present PDP needed surgical reordering to be able to regain power at the center in 2027.
The analyst said it was obvious that some individuals had put their personal interests above the overall interest of the party, wondering why Wike and his co-travellers were not sanctioned and being afraid of.
They said the inability of the PDP to sanction members who played anti-party roles in the 2023 general elections would continue to hurt the party till 2027.
