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By Tracy Moses
Former National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ibrahim Tsauri, has faulted recent calls by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, urging aggrieved party leaders who defected at the peak of the party’s internal crisis to return, warning that such overtures should be treated with caution.
Wike, speaking at a media parley in Abuja recently, said the party had moved past its internal wrangling and was now open to welcoming back former members. He also hinted that some defectors were already exploring a return, citing what he described as the success of the Abuja convention organised by a faction loyal to him.
Fielding questions from journalists, Wike said, “Asfar as I’m concerned, the convention has come and gone. People are trooping in. I will say the door is open. Yes, we have had a crisis. Now the crisis is over. Do we still have to shut our doors? No, certainly not.
“Politics is not a fight to the finish. It’s like a game, like football. If you see it as do-or-die, it becomes difficult to reconcile. For us, it’s not that way. We have had our differences, but if you’re really sincere, there’s nothing left. We can do it together and move the party forward.”
Echoing similar sentiments, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, called on defected PDP lawmakers, particularly his colleagues in the National Assembly, to return to the party, insisting that the conditions that triggered their exit no longer exist.
“The major reason for leaving the PDP was fear of the unknown, but now that the fear has been allayed, the PDP is once again a credible platform to contest elections. I urge them to come back home,” Chinda said in an interview with Pointblanknews.com in Abuja on Tuesday.
However, Tsauri dismissed the reconciliation push as premature and lacking sincerity, arguing that the PDP remains deeply divided along factional lines, with no clear leadership structure in place.
“All right-thinking members of the PDP have not gone anywhere. If he (Wike) is saying ‘return to the PDP,’ which PDP? If the PDP has no faction, what is the fate of the National Working Committee led by Tanimu Turaki?” Tsauri queried.
He added that ongoing litigation before the courts makes any claim of unity questionable.
“There is no leadership in the PDP because Supreme Court and Appeal Court judgments are still being awaited. If a case is in court, you don’t brag; you wait for the outcome. The Wike-led faction of the PDP is not the national leadership of the PDP, it is a factional leadership. I am waiting for the Supreme Court judgment, and even Turaki and all genuine PDP members are waiting for that,” he said.
Tsauri further accused the Wike camp of undermining the party’s core objective by allegedly aligning with external political interests ahead of the 2027 elections.
“If the Supreme Court nullifies the Ibadan convention and upholds that of Abuja, we will sit down and explore our options. For us, the Wike faction, even before their convention, said their 2027 presidential candidate is already known. They are rooting for Bola Tinubu. If you are serious about your political party, you must field your own candidate. Anyone saying Tinubu will be their candidate is not in the PDP,” he added.
He also blamed the Wike-led group for the collapse of earlier reconciliation efforts, alleging that rigid conditions imposed by the faction made genuine compromise impossible.
“The plan was for us (the factions) to reconcile, harmonise, and submit a report to the Appeal Court, which would then deliver a consent judgment. However, before the meeting, the Wike-led faction insisted that even if we reconciled, harmonisation would be difficult. They cited two non-negotiable conditions: first, that their caretaker committee must not be altered; and second, that their convention date was sacrosanct. If these conditions are imposed, what then is the purpose of reconciliation?” he asked.
The PDP has been embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis that intensified after the 2023 general elections, exposing deep-seated divisions within the party over control, direction, and strategy ahead of 2027.
At the heart of the crisis is a power struggle between rival blocs within the party, including a group aligned with Wike and another comprising party stalwarts pushing for broader reconciliation and institutional stability.
Disagreements over the composition of the National Working Committee, zoning arrangements, and the party’s electoral strategy have further widened the rift.
Efforts to resolve the impasse through internal dialogue repeatedly broke down, leading to parallel structures and competing claims to legitimacy.
The situation escalated in recent months when the two factions held separate national conventions, one in Ibadan and another in Abuja, each producing its own set of party executives and laying claim to authentic leadership of the PDP.
The Abuja convention, backed by the Wike-led bloc, announced a new leadership, including the emergence of Abdulrahman Mohammed as National Chairman, a move rejected by the opposing faction led by former Minister for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Tanimu Turaki.
With both sides seeking judicial validation, the dispute is now before the courts, with party stakeholders awaiting rulings from the Supreme Court to determine the legitimacy of the rival conventions and leadership structures.
The outcome of these legal battles is widely seen as critical to the PDP’s future, particularly as it prepares for the 2027 general elections amid growing defections and internal uncertainty.