The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was left for dead, gasping for breath. The party had been fatally fractured and was bleeding profusely. Then the inhalation and exhalation became few and far between. The vital organs had started collapsing and with the passage of each day, it became clear that the erstwhile strong political party, that had once held sway in the country and touted as the biggest in Africa, was going to yield its ghost unless there was a divine intervention. Then, there started a move to give the party a lifeline through an elective national convention slated for Ibadan, Oyo State capital, between November 15 and 16, 2025. So, the party was stretchered into Ibadan last Saturday. To the amazement of all, in Ibadan, the PDP sprang to its feet. The party that was thought to be dying retreated from the brink, with full determination to play its role of offering a credible alternative to the people of Nigeria. PDP got its mojo back. It was the miracle of Ibadan PDP’s Elective National Convention.
The journey to the convention was tortuous and tumultuous, strewn with landmines and grenades planted by moles within and foes without. Despite the decision of the National Executive Council of the party, which, at its 101st meeting, resolved to hold the national convention in Ibadan sequel to the offer of Governor Seyi Makinde to host it when others were developing cold feet, no effort was spared to turn the planned convention into a mirage. Every arsenal in the book was deployed; the courts, security agencies, bare faced-lies, subterfuge and more. But each time the saboteurs moved, the party lovers were always several steps ahead.
Several efforts to rebuild the party and prepare it for the 2027 elections had been thwarted by the renegades camouflaging as members. The Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee had bent backwards to accommodate the belligerent members of the party but mollification failed, persuasion didn’t work, and even concession did not engender any shift in position. The fifth columnists were bent on wrecking the party, a situation which resulted in PDP’s near death experience.
The saboteurs who had brought PDP to its knees had a mission. The task of these people, most of who had risen politically on the wings of PDP, was to either kill the party or foist a stalemate that would make it impossible for it to present candidates for 2027 elections.
Their agenda was the decimation and enervation of the party. They were all out to render PDP so weak that no serious politician would want to touch it with a badge pole. This resulted in the consistent hemorrhaging in the party. PDP has lost governors, federal and state lawmakers and other leading members to the ruling party. It has also lost considerable number of members to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The party, however, had a breakthrough when it was decided that there should be an elective national convention since the tenure of the former National Working Committee (NWC) was nearing its end.
By that time, it had become clear to all that the best way to end the seemingly endless shenanigans in the party was to emplace a new leadership. PDP’s epiphanic moment was September 2, 2025, during the inauguration of the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC). At that event, which took place at PDP national secretariat, the party leaders firmly resolved to birth a new order in the party.
The immediate past national chairman, Umar Damagum, set the tone for the gathering. He said, “At critical moments, I chose restraint, not out of weakness, but as a conscious sacrifice for the survival and stability of our party. The PDP is not broken. It is not defeated. It is marching forward, stronger and more determined to reclaim the presidency in 2027. The PDP is better prepared to reclaim the presidency of this great country and rebuild Nigeria from the mismanagement of the current ruling party.”
He was followed by Governor Bala Mohammed, the PDP Governors’ Forum chairman, who said, “The time has come when we must flex our muscles. We are not cowards, and we are not afraid of anybody. We cannot continue to take part and allow people to take us to the slaughterhouse. Consensus cannot mean stupidity. If anybody wants to form a faction of fools, let him go ahead. That is their job. Our job is to make sure we don’t go. We will not allow it.”
Adamawa Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, who was the Chairman of the National Convention Organising Committee, picked it up. “I will not place relationships above this party. Buy the forms. Submit them. Test your popularity. That is democracy. Let us not take all our matters to the media. It is becoming too embarrassing. If you are a party man, you settle issues within the party. We will not allow indiscipline and blackmail to derail this process.”
With the iteration of the leaders’ position, the party set the ball in motion for its national convention in Ibadan, not realizing that problem was lurking in the corner.
Three people; Austine Nwachukwu, former Imo State chairman of PDP; Amah Nnanna, former Abia PDP Chairman, and Turnah George, former PDP South-South Zonal Secretary, had instituted a suit at a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to stop the national convention, citing a breach of the party’s constitution. In a judgment delivered on October 31, 2025, Justice James Omotosho ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, stopping the planned convention until the party complied with the statutory requirements of the party, the Constitution, and the Electoral Act.
Similarly, a former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, instituted a suit against the PDP at a Federal High Court, Abuja, for allegedly denying him the opportunity to purchase the chairmanship nomination form to enable him to participate in the convention. On Friday, November 14, Justice Peter Lifu gave a final order restraining the PDP from conducting the national convention.
However, an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, on Friday, November 14, gave a nod for PDP to continue with the planned convention. The presiding judge, Justice Ladiran Akintola, in a ruling, 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.
The party relied on that ruling, the most recent on the convention, as well as a Supreme Court judgment, which prohibits judicial intervention in internal affairs of political parties, to trudge on with the convention.
The convention was more than a political rally; it was a loud affirmation of members’ belief in the party. Lekan Salami Sports Complex, venue of the convention, which had experienced a makeover by the NCOC, had started pulsating from Friday afternoon as PDP members from all parts of the country moved in with the sole aim of salvaging their party. They kept saying that not only were they happy that the convention eventually took place, they were also glad that they were part of it. The party faithful from all parts of the country, garbed in beautiful attires, turned the convention ground into a catwalk for colourful printed fabrics depicting the party’s green and red colours. The atmosphere was festive, the people spirited, the music exhilarating, and the weather clement. It was a perfect setting for a political convention. Governor Makinde and the NCOC left no stone unturned to ensure the convention surpassed the expectations of the members.
The convention proper commenced around 4pm on Saturday.
In his welcome address, Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, declared that the convention would go down in history as the one that precipitated a national turnaround for PDP.
He said: “I want to welcome everyone to this convention. The resilient members of the PDP, let me use this opportunity to welcome you to Ibadan, Oyo State.
“We have fought a long stretch of battle to get to this point, but here we are. And by the grace of God, this convention will go down as the convention that brought a turnaround to the PDP nationally.”
Chairman of the National Convention Organising Committee and Governor of Adamawa State, Rt. Hon. Umaru Fintiri, said that Nigerians were looking forward to PDP to pull them out of the quagmire and the Ibadan National Convention was needed for the party to take up that call. He called on the PDP to reinvent itself, saying though the party had gone through a lot, its soul had remained intact.
Also speaking, Chairman of the PDP BoT, Senator Adolphus Wabara, said he and the BoT felt fulfilled that the Ibadan National Convention became a reality, saying that the gathering was a testament to the PDP’s resilience, democratic spirit and commitment to making Nigeria better.
Noting that the PDP would not die, Wabara called on all members to put forward the spirit of togetherness and sacrifice.
He appreciated Governor Makinde for his resilience and for the resources committed to the convention, just as he lauded the Damagum-led NWC, the Chairman of the National Convention Organising Committee, Fintiri and other governors.
Ambassador Damagum, who had been Acting Chairman since 2023 following the removal of former chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, was ratified as substantive chairman. Some erring members of the party were expelled, while the entire party structures in Imo, Abia, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers states were dissolved.
By 7pm, the major business of the convention, election of new officers, had commenced. Voting and counting continued for over four and a half hours. Just before midnight, the results were announced. Kabiru Turaki, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former minister, was elected as the new national chairman. Other elected members of the National Working Committee of the party are; Alh. Hamza Koshe, Deputy National Chairman (North); Dr. Daniel Ambrose Woyengikuro, Deputy National Chairman (South); Ambassador Arapaja Taofeek, National Secretary; Ihediwa Richard Nnabugwu, Deputy National Secretary; Isa Abubakar, National Treasurer; Okechukwu Obiechina Daniel, National Financial Secretary; and Hon. Theophilus Daka Snan, National Organising Secretary.
Others include Comrade Ini Ememobong, National Publicity Secretary; Aribisala Adewale Idowu, National Auditor; Baratu Shafi, National Legal Adviser; Ogbu Anthonia Chenyenwa, National Women Leader; Umar Dan Aji, National Youth Leader; Solarin Sunday Adekunle, Deputy Organising Secretary; Farida Umar Hamid, Deputy National Publicity Secretary; Aigbokhavbo Harrison Omagbon, Deputy National Treasurer; Hamsatu Adamu, Deputy National Women Leader; Hon. Tina Puna Musa, Deputy National Financial Secretary; Usamatu Maharazu, Deputy National Auditor; and Elec-Njaka Chikere, Deputy National Youth Leader.
In his acceptance speech, Turaki said he understood the weight of responsibility placed on the new NWC, adding that the mandate given to them would be handed over to Nigerians.
His words, “We are not under any illusion that the task placed on us is a simple one. Very soon, we shall be rolling out what our guiding principles will be and the modus operandi for achieving them. When we do that, we shall be hitting the ground running from day one.”
Turaki noted that the PDP remains Nigeria’s only major political party that has retained its original name and identity.
He added, “This has been possible because this is the party of the Nigerian people. Make no mistake about it; we are returning the party to you, the people. There will be no more impunity.”
Although, it is considered that a political party exists to win elections, a political party’s raison d’être is to serve public interest, not just the interest of its members or to canvass for votes. It is when members of the public see that a political party is determined to serve their interest that they entrust it with political power. The new PDP chairman seems to understand that the people, not the political war lords, are the real power base. That is why he said the mandate given to him and other NWC members would be handed over to the people.
This is a clear departure from the general belief in the Nigerian society that political parties are the properties of the leaders. With this new thinking in the party’s leadership, PDP is reinventing itself. With this new thinking, a new beginning has started in the party. With this new thinking, the Nigerian people will readily embrace a political party that does not just want their votes but also wants their inputs in political leadership and governance.
With the elective National Convention that has produced new leaders and new thinking concluded, the PDP can begin its journey back to Aso Rock Villa, not with tottering steps but with firm gaits that assure the people that the feat of commanding the respect of international community to the point of getting $18billion debt forgiveness during the time of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the ingenuity of ending restiveness in the Niger Delta region during the tenure of President Umaru Yar’Adua and the exploit of turning Nigeria’s economy into one of the fastest-growing in the world, with an average annual GDP growth rate of around 7% during the era of President Goodluck Jonathan can be re-enacted when PDP is returned to power at the federal level. And when that happens, it would be remembered that it all started in Ibadan, PDP’s land of rebirth.
Dr Olanrewaju is the Special Adviser (Media) to Oyo State Governor
