By Abiola Olawale
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be heading for another deepening crisis as Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has warned that the party’s scheduled National Convention, scheduled for November 15-16, 2025, in Ibadan, Oyo State, may not hold.
This is as Wike maintained that unless critical internal disputes are resolved, the National convention of the party might be a failure.
Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja, Wike claimed that the issue is not the chosen venue of Ibadan but what he called” unresolved grievances within the party.”
The Minister said: “The issue of the National convention is not the problem, the issue is the problems leading to the convention and people should understand that.
“PDP has agreed to set up a committee for the Southeast and Ebonyi.
“Our own team is meeting by 7pm today and you will hear what we have to say. We are not contesting the venue of the convention, what we are saying is that if the things leading to the convention are not well taken care of, there is are likelihood that the convention will not hold
“And instead of you to report what we have said accurately, some people say that because I’m quarreling with Seyi, that is why I said the convention will not hold in Ibadan.
“The venue is not the subject matter. The subject matter is: have you done what you are supposed to do before holding that convention? So you now go and turn it that I said Ibadan will not hold the convention, no that is not correct.
“We have held conventions in different venues before – we have held conventions in Port Harcourt and Abuja, so the party can decide whether to hold it in Sokoto or Borno, but what we are saying is, before you get to the convention, have you done what you are supposed to do?”
He added: “If you have not done it, it may be a setback and the PDP, from what I learnt, has taken some steps to see that the issues are being resolved, and if resolved to the satisfaction of the complaint, no problem, but if they are not, of course, they will take action.”
The New Diplomat reports that the leadership tussle confronting the PDP over the position of National Secretary began after the 2023 general elections and escalated in December 2024 when a lower court and the South-East PDP caucus named former National Youth Leader, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, to the role.
Not withstanding the fact that the PDP governors, BoT, and National Working Committee endorsed the the court ruling, Senator Samuel Anyanwu had challenged it in court.
The Supreme Court, on March 21, dismissed the case, stating that internal party matters should not be adjudicated by the courts.
In response, the PDP governors on April 14 directed the South-East to nominate a new candidate and endorsed Setonji Koshoedo as acting National Secretary.
The NWC ratified this move at its 600th meeting on April 29. However, the South-East remains steadfast, consistent, and affirmed that Udeh-Okoye is the rightful occupant of the position.
