The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to be having a resolution headway following an emergency meeting with the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) on Thursday as the two rival national leadership blocs; the pro Wike faction represented by Samuel Anyanwu, former National secretary of the party and the Bala Ahmed faction represented by the National Chairman of the party, kabiru Turaki, held a closed-door meeting with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.
Both blocs addressed journalists separately after the meeting, offering sharply contrasting interpretations of their legitimacy, the purpose of the engagement, and the future of the opposition party.
Speaking for the Wike-aligned caretaker committee, Secretary of the committee and former National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, said the visit was at INEC’s instance to clarify issues arising from conflicting correspondences from both camps. He insisted that the court had nullified the previous PDP national convention, leaving a vacuum that the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) filled by appointing a caretaker committee.According to Anyanwu, “nature abhors a vacuum,” and the caretaker committee remains the only recognized leadership empowered to reorganize the party, conduct outstanding congresses, and prepare a “credible, all-inclusive convention.” He claimed the party’s internal crisis was being fueled by “greed, ambition, and ego of some people,” but maintained that the PDP still possesses the mechanism to overcome such disputes.
On the other hand, the Turaki/Makinde faction, however, presented a different position. Its National Chairman, Ahmed Bala, revealed that his bloc was invited by INEC following an earlier request from the faction to discuss “housekeeping issues” affecting the party. Bala noted that they were surprised to see “expelled former members” also invited, but accepted INEC’s approach of hearing all sides.He emphasized that matters related to PDP leadership were already before the Court of Appeal and insisted that INEC cannot substitute the role of a court of competent jurisdiction.
Turaki said his group made detailed submissions on the root causes of the crisis and would wait for INEC’s feedback.Responding to concerns about recognition, Turaki compared INEC’s approach to elders mediating a land dispute: “Elders know who the legitimate owner is, but they still listen to all sides so that nobody claims they were denied a fair hearing.”Both factions nonetheless agreed on one point: Nigeria needs a strong opposition, and the PDP must not fail in that responsibility. While Anyanwu assured party faithful that the PDP would “come out strong and stronger,” Turaki maintained that his faction would continue its oversight role on insecurity, infrastructure decay, and governance failures under the APC-led federal government.
INEC however, has not yet issued an official position on the leadership dispute.
