The PDP’s internal war has taken a dramatic twist as party chieftain Umar Sani alleges that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike demanded that the party MUST abandon its 2027 presidential ticket as the price for peace.
Speaking on Arise Television, Sani said years of failed reconciliation efforts exposed how deep the rift had become, insisting Wike’s expulsion and that of 11 others was “better late than never.”
According to him, the BOT’s final reconciliation attempt collapsed after Wike gave an impossible condition.
“The committee approached Wike, and one of his (Wike’s) conditions was that we (PDP) must agree that we’re not going to field a presidential candidate in 2027; that is the only condition he would allow, or that this is a fight to finish,” Sani said.
He added that members “carrying the party on their shoulders” were eventually axed at the controversial Ibadan convention.
The PDP, already fractured before the 2023 elections, slid further into chaos after the Damagum-led faction expelled Wike, Ayodele Fayose, Samuel Anyanwu, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), Umar Bature, Mohammed Abdulrahman, Mao Ohuabunwa, and others.
Two PDP governors, Adamawa’s Adamu Fintiri and Plateau’s Caleb Mutfwang, immediately rejected the expulsions, warning of deeper crisis ahead.
INEC officials boycotted the convention in obedience to court orders halting it. Party bigwigs like Bukola Saraki and Sule Lamido were also absent.
Kabiru Tanimu Turaki emerged unopposed as national chairman after Senator Yakubu Lado stepped down.
