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By Myke Agunwa
The protracted crisis ravaging the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to have resurfaced as the faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike dissociated itself from a ‘PDP Southern Zoning Consultative Summit’ convened by the Oyo State Governor Engr. Seyi Makine in Lagos on Thursday.
Despite an earlier boycott threat, prominent leaders from the zone ignored Wike and attended the summit organised by Makinde and his Bayelsa and Enugu State counterparts Gov. Duoye Diri and Dr. Peter Mbah where issues surrounding the zoning of national offices and the upcoming national convention slated to take place in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, on November 15 – 16, 2025 were discussed.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Makinde insisted that every member of the party was carried along and that the party is focused in taking back the country.
He said, “We have just finished the consultative meeting of the PDP zoning committee for the south. The south has taken far-reaching decisions, and in the days ahead leading to our NEC, wider consultations will also take place, and we are sure that those that have been saying all around that PDP is dead and is now a carcass, at least with the calibre of the people that you’ve seen here, sitting governors, former governors, leaders and elders, the former senate president, and the chairman of BOT, are all here and committed to PDP taking back its rightful position in Nigeria. So in the days ahead, some of the things discussed here, you’ll see them unfold.
“Governor Ademola Adeleke came back into this country, and he went straight to Osogbo to address some governance issues. But he said whatever we decide here is with us.
“Governor Douye Diri is here. Governor Peter Mbah, who couldn’t make it physically, sent the deputy governor. You have the chairman of our board of trustees here. You also have at least 12 of the 17 members of the zoning committee from the south. It’s one per state. So you have 12 states here. You have, in each zone, House of Representatives members here. You have senators from each zone in the south, the three zones.
“You have BoT members from the three zones in the south. So, yes, I won’t say maybe the organisers will score 100%. You don’t score 100% in politics, and quite frankly, they are members of PDP. Consultation means you keep reaching out. We will also reach out and engage and even do more. We’re trying to get all stakeholders, all tendencies in the PDP together so that we can give a credible alternative to Nigerians in the years ahead.”
Makinde said that he would not like to descend low with those who are painting the party in bad light.
“Personally, when people go low or they go into the gutters, I don’t go with them” probably referring to Wike who had made a lot of uncomplimentary remarks and issued threats to the party and its leadership.
On efforts his group are making to ensure that the south speaks with one voice in the upcoming National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting slated for Monday 25th August as well as national convention he continued,
“We will reach out to them, that is the beauty of democracy. I can disagree with people but there shouldn’t be anything personal here. It should be about what are we giving to Nigerians because they are watching.
“In Oyo state they showed on Saturday’s election that PDP is not dead. In the other 12 states, PDP came second. It is an indication to us that if we continue to work hard, if we continue to strive hard, if we continue to bring our people together, we shall get to a point where Nigerians will start listening to us”.
Meanwhile, Wike and his co-travellers had issued a statement dismissing the meeting and accusing the organizers of not reaching out to critical stake holders.
The Minority Leader of the house of representatives at the National assembly, Hon Kingsley Chinda who is an ally of Wike, issued a statement to that effect on Wednesday night.
He accused the conveners of the meeting of a deliberate exclusion of some stakeholders while stating that such actions are likely to cause problems within the PDP if not addressed.
The statement reads, “It is highly regrettable and indeed deeply disturbing that such a meeting was convened without the courtesy of inviting several State Chairmen from the South East and South South, as well as the duly elected National Secretary and Deputy National Legal Adviser of our great party.
“Even more troubling is the inexplicable exclusion of several national officers, eminent leaders, and critical stakeholders of the PDP. Shockingly, the Minority Leader in the National Assembly and other principal officers of our party from the South-South and South-East were also deliberately sidelined and denied participation in a meeting where such far-reaching and sensitive decisions on zoning, power rotation, and political equity are to be discussed”
“Take notice that where any iota of regard is given to the outcome of the purported meeting, we shall not hesitate to take appropriate steps in line with our party constitution to resist same with full force.”
Recall that the FCT minister had threatened that the party’s National Convention will not hold if the leadership of the party fails to recognized a south south zonal congress that took place in Calabar which produced Dan Orbih as the Vice Chairman South south.
But in a countermove, The PDP National Working Committee led by Amb. Umar Damagum described the congress as null and void and appointed Emmanuel Ogidi as acting Vice Chairman South south in line with party’s constitution.
The meeting was attended by Chairman Board of Trustees (BoT) Sen. Adolphus Wabara, former Deputy Chairman South Bode George, Chief Ben Obi, Chief Dan Ulasi, former Vice Chairman South West Eddy Olasefan, former governor of Ebonyi State sSen. Sam Egwu, former House of Representative member Jones Onyeriri and other stakeholders.
Others include: former Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; former Governor of Akwa Ibom, Udom Emmanuel; and former Speaker of Oyo State, Jumoke Akinjide, among other notable party leaders.