By | Peter Joshua, Abuja
The camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has renewed its push for a fresh national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party after the Court of Appeal upheld a judgment against the party’s disputed 2025 convention in Ibadan.
The ruling has further intensified the leadership crisis within the opposition party, with rival blocs now holding sharply different positions on the way forward.
Wike said the Appeal Court decision should serve as a wake up call for the party and an opportunity to rebuild. His allies have since argued that the ruling has cleared the path for the party’s caretaker structure to continue overseeing affairs pending the conduct of a fresh convention.
The Wike backed camp had earlier announced plans for a national convention in Abuja later this month as part of efforts to produce a new leadership for the party. The move is, however, being challenged by the rival faction, which insists that the structure backing the convention plan lacks the authority to act for the whole party.
At the centre of the dispute is the fallout from the Ibadan convention held in November 2025. The Court of Appeal upheld the earlier decision restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising its outcome, after finding failures in compliance with legal and constitutional requirements.
That judgment has strengthened the position of the Wike camp, which maintains that the party must return to a lawful convention process if it hopes to avoid further instability.
The latest development has also reopened talks about reconciliation. Party leaders across the rival camps are said to be exploring common ground, amid growing concern that the prolonged internal battle could weaken the PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Even so, the fresh convention plan remains a major flashpoint. While the Wike camp sees it as the next legal step after the court ruling, opponents view it as part of a wider struggle for control of the party.
For now, the PDP appears caught between legal setbacks, political rivalry and the urgent need to restore unity before its internal crisis deepens further.
