THE crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has further deepened as the faction aligned with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde appointed Tanimu Turaki, a senior advocate, as the chairman of its 13-member caretaker committee.
The decision was taken at the factional 103rd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Monday, May 4, in Abuja, amid continued leadership tussles within the opposition party.
The meeting, according to a Punch report, followed a motion moved by Edo State PDP Chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, and seconded by ex-officio member, Clement Fagboyede.
Taofeek Arapaja was named National Secretary, while other members of the committee include Daniel Ambrose, Hamza Abuya, Ihediwa, Isah Abubakar, Theophilus Dakashan, Ini Ememobong, Aribisala Adewale Idowu, Baru Shaffi and Okechukwu Obiechina.
The latest development comes against the backdrop of a deepening internal crisis in the PDP, which has seen rival factions battle for control of the party’s structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The dispute gained fresh momentum following a recent Supreme Court ruling that nullified the Ibadan convention organised by Makinde-backed faction of the PDP in November 2025. The court had lampooned the faction for disobeying subsisting court orders.
The convention produced a National Working Committee led by Turaki. The court also struck out the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal, which in December had upheld the removal of Samuel Anyanwu as the PDP’s national secretary.
Following the judgment, both Makinde and Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike-aligned blocs have continued to assert control over the PDP, with each side interpreting the ruling in its favour.
While the Makinde faction has insisted on restructuring the party through its organs, the camp loyal to the minister maintained that the Supreme Court decision validated its control and structures.
The ICIR reported the Turaki-led group’s Board of Trustees announced its readiness to assume the party’s leadership.
The BoT, through a statement by its charman, Adolphus Wabara, a former senator, said it would assume the PDP’s leadership to avoid a vacuum, and “pursuant to the empowering provisions of the constitution of the PDP (As amended in 2017)”
It posited that the Supreme Court verdict nullified both the Ibadan Convention and the Wike-backed convention in Abuja.
Similarly, The ICIR reported that shortly after the Supreme Court verdict, Wike addressed a press conference where he claimed that the ruling had resolved all disputes surrounding the party’s leadership structure.
“Today, the Supreme Court has brought to an end the so-called factions of the PDP. There is no more faction in the party. There is only one PDP. The Supreme Court has validated our (Abuja) Convention and set aside all claims to any parallel structure. What this means is that the PDP has come to stay as one united party,” he said.
Wike added that the PDP remained Nigeria’s leading opposition party and a “credible alternative” to the All-Progressives Congress (APC) – the party he is currently serving in.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M