By Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko
With the exit of the Khaki boys from the political governance in 1999, like-minded politicians from as far back as the second Republic led by Chiefs Alex Ekwueme who was Vice President to Shehu Shagari in the late 70s to early 80s, Solomon Lar of the famed Nigerian Peoples party formed by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of the blessed memory, set up the Peoples Democratic Party.
Although other political parties such as the Alliance for Democracy that grew out of Afenifere the Yoruba socio-cultural group, All Nigeria Party, were in existence and in control of few states in Nigeria without any open attempt by the ruling party to poach them, but the PDP won the election of 1999 and set up the federal government not until 2015 when the amalgamation of the All Peoples Party, Action Congress of Nigeria amongst other smaller splinter groups morphed into the All Progressives Congress and won the election thus defeating the powerful PDP. PDP was in power for nearly 20 years.
Since the PDP lost the Presidency which it held as the incumbent in 2015, the fortune of that hitherto mega political party has continued to dwindle with several loses at both National Assembly and states wide elections mainly through fraudulent elections and bribes induced courts judgments affirming winners.
In the year 2023, the former powerful politically connected overlord of Lagos state cum South West of Nigeria who was Alliance For Democracy’s governor in Lagos state in the beginning of the transition programme from military to civilian from 1999, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, won the much contested and widely controversial presidential poll and set up the Federal Government headed by the All Progressives Congress.
Since then, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made it his central focus to destabilise almost all the other opposition parties such as the former ruling party of the PDP and the party that produced the candidacy of Peter Obi that gave Tinubu a big fight for his money in the 2023 presidential election, the Labour party. Tinubu seems to have succeeded and he has openly celebrated it by admitting that he is happy that PDP and Labour party elected office holders are shamelessly crowding into his All Progressives Congress.
Tinubu has in 2025 largely succeeded in muzzling the two leading opposition parties that gave his party the All Progressives Congress a tough electoral battle in 2023.
The All Progressives Congress of Tinubu has penetrated the Labour Party that produced Peter Obi in 2023 that defeated Tinubu in Lagos and Abuja in the 2023 presidential poll, and even when the Supreme Court ruled that Julius Abure was no longer the Chairman of the party, Tinubu’s administration has yet to instruct the police to enforce the decision of the Supreme Court because it is a project that the president so much loved that is to see all the main opposition parties crumble.
Tinubu also appointed the former Rivers state’s governor Nyesom Wike as his FCT minister even when Wike still hangs on precariously as a member of the PDP. Valued is known to be one of the most generous funders of the national Secretariat of the PDP right from when he was Rivers state governor.
Wike’s confusing political identity is the main reason the PDP is in turmoil and this crisis has blossomed with the expulsion by the NEC of the PDP funded by the Oyo state governor of Wike and many others of his supporters who were hitherto holding prominent national positions within the PDP including Senator Anyanwu who was the National Secretary.
The PDP held a national convention in Ibadan and elected Alhaji Tanimu Turaki a senior advocate of Nigeria as National Chairman but the Wike’s self styled factional splinter group rushed to its friendly Federal High Courtroom of Justice Omotosho to obtain a kangaroo interim injunction stopping the Ibadan convention but those who are funding the other wing of PDP who are mostly the few remaining governors of PDP, beat the Wike’s faction to their game by rushing to an Ibadan High Court with concurrent jurisdiction as the federal High Court to obtain an injunction that principally legalises the Ibadan convention but INEC being an appendage of Tinubu’s government decided to respect the kangaroo Abuja court’s exparte order against the Ibadan convention and boycotted the convention which in any case proceeded to elect new national officers.
To understand how confused the President has thrown the PDP into using Wike to sabotage the internal workings of the PDP, most governors elected on the banner of PDP have been ‘induced’ with N250 billion each by the President to abandon PDP and they have enlisted in the APC and over 70% of the elected PDP governors have abandoned their original party platform in preference for the bribes offered to them allegedly by the presidency under nebulous projects budget line not captured in any of the national budget but the secret was blown open by the exclusive story of SaharaReporters which the government hasn’t disputed.
Now PDP is in disarray with many of those who would run the coming staggered elections unsure of whether PDP can legally present candidates for those elections coming up next year.
The National Deputy Vice Chairman, Southwest, of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Kamorudeen Ajisafe has explained the above confusion when he disclosed that Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, is faced with the dilemma of a political platform to contest for the 2026 governorship poll in the State.
Speaking on a private radio programme tagged ‘Frank Talk’, which was monitored on Monday by Vanguard, the party chieftain disclosed that the present crisis in the party would not allow it present a candidate for next year poll.
He said the party suffered similar faith in Ekiti State due to Senator Samuel Anyanwu rebellion against the party, hence, the need for Governor Adeleke to find a platform to exercise his right to retain power.
His words, “Let me tell you that if anything happens in Osun, it has to do with looking for a platform to contest, I am telling you. Where is the platform to contest now? If you are a very good party man will you be happy loosing someone like Taraba State Governor? Osun state, like you rightly said he is planning, I dont know about planning, I am sensitive for the need for a political platform to contest.
“The problem we have in Osun is quite different from what we have in Taraba. Election in Taraba and some other states is 2027, our own in Osun is 2026, the primary for any political party trying to present a candidate for the 2026 gubernatorial election is December 15. That is the position of INEC, what do we do, how are we going to manage that? After December 15, INEC by the constitution, will not recognise any emergence of candidate from any political primary again.
“If you are a consultant what would you advice, will you advise that I stay in a party, where I would not be able to exercise my right of returning to office, just advice me what you want Adeleke to do now, he has not told the world but ask.
“It is absolutely known to the whole world that there is no way that the PDP would be able to nominate a candidate for the 2026 governorship election. If you block your road or gate for me to enter and the occupant of another platform magnanimously allows me to pass freely, would I be crying that you lock your gate? What do you expect somebody like Adeleke should do, I am talking frankly on the radio that people can hear me, that is the fight we have with Wike and Anyawu”.
However, feelers in the state showed that the governor would soon move to either Accord Party or APGA to contest for the August 8 election
Many party sources said that the Governor have reached out to chieftain of accord on modalities for the governor to move to the party, while others said the Accord Party arrangement has not been concluded as the governor does not want to take chances with opportunities to pick ticket where viably available.
Sam Amadi Blames PDP’s Collapse On ‘Love Of Wike’s Money’
Former NERC Chairman Sam Amadi has clearly said that the PDP destroyed itself through its reliance on Wike’s wealth
Former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), destroyed itself as a result of dependence on the financial influence of the Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike.
Amadi, who stated this while commenting on the defection of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), reiterated that the PDP destroyed itself with the “love of Wike’s money”.
Amadi, who took to his X handle said, he did not in any way blame Mbah for taking the steps to join the APC and dump PDP. This was as he claimed that the APC remained the best organised and sensible political party in the country, but with a “bad” presidential candidate.
Amadi also said Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), on the other hand, remained the best person to save Nigeria, adding however, that the big question was the platform he needed to use.
According to Amadi, “I do not blame Peter Mbah for dumping @OfficialPDPNig for the @OfficialAPCNg. APC is the best organised and sensible party.
“But it has a bad presidential candidate. @PeterObi is the best guy to save Nigeria now. But which party now?.”
Sadly, the controversy over the just ended convention to elect national officers of the PDP deepened the crisis in the party.
The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has adjourned ruling on a preliminary objection challenging its jurisdiction in a suit filed by a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the party’s national convention.
The convention had held on Saturday, 15 November, and Sunday, 16 November 2025 in Ibadan.
The suit was filed by a member of the PDP, Mr. Folahan Adelabi.
At the hearing last Friday, counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), O. Adeyemi, argued that INEC, being a Federal Government agency, was only subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
He urged the court to strike out the case for lack of jurisdiction.
However, counsel to the claimant, Musibau Adetumbi, SAN, opposed the objection, stating that the argument infringed on the claimant’s fundamental rights.
He said the 1999 Constitution guaranteed the right to lawful assembly and convention.
Quoting Section 251 of the Constitution, Adetumbi contended that INEC did not fall within the category of agencies that place the case exclusively before the Federal High Court.
He asked the court to dismiss the objection and proceed with the substantive suit.
After listening to both sides, the presiding judge, Justice Ladiran Akintola, adjourned the ruling to December 8, 2025.
He also reaffirmed that the interim order earlier granted, which restrained the defendants from disrupting or interfering with preparations for the PDP national convention, remained in force.
Besides, the leadership tussle that has led to the suspension and counter-suspension of chieftains of the party. The national convention proceeded and elected new executives. And then PDP expelled Wike, Fayose, Anyanwu, others over-anti party activities.
The motion for their expulsion, which was unanimously supported by the members of the party at the ongoing PDP National Convention in Ibadan, was moved by one of the founding fathers of the party, Chief Bode George.
It was seconded by Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed.
Others expelled are the party’s National Legal Adviser, Adeyemi Ajibade (SAN), Umar Bature, AbdulRahman Mohammed, Mao Chuambuwa, George Turner, Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Ammah and Dan Orbih.
But the recalcitrant PDP Faction Loyal To Minister Wike Holds Emergency Meeting In Abuja After Expulsion From Party.
According to the notice, the meetings will take place at the NEC Hall of the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja.
A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has slated an emergency meeting of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee (NEC) for Tuesday, November 18, 2025, as the opposition party grapples with one of its most severe internal crises in years.
The announcement was made through a notice issued on Monday by the factional National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and shared on X by Lere Olayinka, media aide to Wike.
According to the notice, the meetings will take place at the NEC Hall of the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja.
The BoT meeting is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., while the NEC session will begin at 2:00 p.m.
The PDP leadership elected at the Ibadan convention has also scheduled a parallel meeting at the sane headquarters. Today, as residents went about going to their offices, it was noticed that security is very tight in all the facilities owned by the PDP in Zone 6 Wuse and Maitama.
To understand much deeper, I believe that the PDP crisis had deepened over the past two years fuelled by internal disputes dating back to the 2023 general elections.
Wike’s longstanding rift with the national leadership first became public during the presidential primaries, where he accused the party of breaching rotational arrangements and favouring northern candidates.
The dispute widened after the election, with Wike forming strategic alliances outside the party and later accepting a ministerial appointment in the All Progressives Congress, led federal government, a move many PDP stakeholders condemned as a blatant act of disloyalty.
As a student of politics, this writer believes that if today President Tinubu withdraws his open support for the destabilisation and sabotaging of opposition political parties, the internal crises that have almost collapsed opposition politics in Nigeria would be arrested but it is too late in the day going by the desperation of the current president to win a second term in 2027 by all means and the President does not want any of his political rivals that made the 2023 Presidential election so tough like Atiku Abubakar a former Vice President or Peter Obi of the Labour Party to have viable platforms to run against him in 2027.
This is the root of all the crises in the major opposition parties including the newly set up coalition party of All Democratic Congress where Atiku Abubakar and many other leaders of the opposition have congregated lately since their former party has been hijacked by the Wike’s money that control many of the National officials and governors.
The poaching of PDP governors by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one fundamental root of the weakening of political opposition in Nigeria. But President Tinubu is playing with fire by seeking to impose a one party government in Nigeria. It won’t work. This is why: defections may expose APC to implosion, Ndume warns. This writer agrees totally with the outspoken Senator Ndume.
The news in today’s news copy is that the former Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has raised the alarm over the growing wave of defections by governors and federal lawmakers from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), warning that the party risks internal collapse if the trend continues unchecked.
Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Senate, spoke on Sunday night at the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe Annual Award Lecture held at the NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja, where he received the honour of Most Outstanding Legislator and Advocate of National Unity.
The lawmaker dismissed many defectors as political lightweights with little value to add to the ruling party, insisting that the APC is becoming “overloaded” with “mostly empty cargo.”
A statistical check shows that defections have intensified over the last year, leaving the opposition badly weakened.
No fewer than five governors, including those of Delta, Bayelsa, Enugu, and Taraba (whose official defection is scheduled for Tuesday), have left their parties for the APC. The defection of the Plateau State governor is also anticipated.
In the Senate, 13 opposition lawmakers have crossed over to the APC, including Ezenwa Onyewuchi, Kawu Sumaila, Ned Nwoko, Adamu Aliero, Yahaya Abdullahi, Garba Musa Maidoki, Francis Fadahunsi, Olubiyi Fadeyi, Aniekan Bassey, Samson Ekong, Sama’ila Dahuwa Samaila, Agom Jarigbe and Kelvin Chukwu.
The House of Representatives has seen even larger shifts. From 175 members at the inauguration in June 2023, the APC now holds 249 seats as of November 2025, surpassing the two-thirds benchmark of 240. These defections are unconstitutional but because the political opposition parties are weak, they couldn’t challenge the illegality in the courts of law at least to get the national assembly members sacked from their seats for cross carpeting illegally.
The new configuration leaves the PDP with 69 members, Labour Party with 19, NNPP with 13, APGA with five, ADC with one, SDP with two, and YPP with one. At the start of the 10th National Assembly, the opposition’s combined 182 members outnumbered the APC’s 175.
Ndume said the influx poses a structural threat to the ruling party. “I have warned that the APC is becoming overloaded. And when you overload a ship, especially with mostly empty cargo, it risks capsizing,” he said.
He denied that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or the party leadership has been courting defectors, describing the situation instead as political sheltering. This side of his argued is a redherring and untrue because evidence is clear that the APC and president Bola Ahmed Tinubu openly support the defections because of the 2027 re-election agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Ndume argued that: “When your brother is displaced by a crisis in his party and he knocks on your door, will you shut him out or welcome him? That is what is happening,” he said.
He lamented that many defectors become inactive despite being given leadership privileges in their states. “It is like an ordinary church member, or even a pastor, leaving one church to join another and immediately wanting to become the pastor in charge. Or someone converting into Islam and insisting on becoming the Imam. Naturally, this creates problems,” he added, reiterating his view that the government is populated by “kakistocrats and kleptocrats.”
Ndume, known for his frank criticism of the administration despite being a frontline APC lawmaker.
He, however, faulted the competence of several ministers and presidential aides.
“We suffer from a lack of leadership, not because the president is not leading, but because one person cannot be the captain, the player, the goalkeeper, and the striker all at once,” he said.
Our last appeal here is to the consciences of PDP and other opposition members and governors: we urge you not to be political and ideological prostitutes by jumping like hungry frogs from PDP to APC because of the love of money and bribes from the kitchen cabinet of the desperate president Tinubu who wants to win 2027 by every means even outside the books.
*EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO
