By Samuel Okechukwu,
ABUJA – The warning issued by former Senate President Bukola Saraki regarding the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) planned National Convention in Ibadan is a key story in the ongoing crisis within the opposition party.
Dr. Bukola Saraki, has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to halt its planned National Convention slated for November 15–16, 2025, in Ibadan, warning that going ahead with it amid ongoing legal disputes could push the party deeper into crisis.
In a statement signed by Dr. Saraki, after meeting with members of the Board of Trustees (BOT) Reconciliation Team led by Ambassador Hassan Adamu, he urged the party to set up a Caretaker Committee to manage its affairs temporarily and restore calm.
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PDP’s Deepening Crisis Over National Convention
The PDP National Convention in Ibadan has been highly contentious and has been the focal point of the party’s current internal struggle.
The primary conflict pits the camp led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and his loyalists against the faction aligned with other PDP Governors and the National Working Committee (NWC), particularly the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.
The Wike faction has consistently opposed the convention, viewing it as an attempt by the opposing camp to consolidate power, elect a new National Chairman to replace Damagum, and subsequently sideline Wike’s influence in the party.
Party chieftains, including former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, have raised concerns about being denied access to purchase nomination forms, alleging that the processes leading to the convention were undemocratic and deliberately exclusionary, which fueled fears of division.
Saraki, a key elder and reconciliation figure in the PDP, has historically advocated for unity and adherence to the party constitution.
Saraki’s past pronouncements emphasize the need for the PDP to “choose unity over disunity” and for its leaders to prioritize fixing the party’s internal structures ahead of 2027. His likely warning about the Ibadan convention would align with his consistent call for procedural compliance and internal harmony to prevent a disastrous split.
Today, He explained that conflicting court orders regarding the convention had created uncertainty about its legitimacy, saying no one could guarantee that the exercise or its outcome would stand.
“It is clear that going ahead with the National Convention in Ibadan on November 15–16, 2025, will only serve to further fuel the present crisis. Therefore, going ahead with the Convention as scheduled is a waste of efforts. It does not have my support,” Saraki declared.
“As it stands, there are conflicting court orders in relation to the validity of the scheduled convention. As a result, there is no assurance as to whether the conduct and outcome of the convention will stand,” he stated.
The crisis culminated in a court ruling that essentially put a stop to the convention.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court issued an order stopping the Ibadan convention on the grounds that the PDP failed to comply with relevant conditions and laws for its conduct.
The court held that state congresses were not held in some states and that the signing of notices by the National Chairman without the National Secretary violated the law, rendering the notices null.
This court action was widely seen as a major victory for the pro-Wike faction, which had been advocating against the convention due to procedural irregularities.
Saraki said further, “My advice to the BOT team is that the only solution available to us now is for the party to set up a Caretaker Committee to steer the affairs of the party for the time being. This must be done in the next two days. This is the path to true reconciliation and stability of the party,”.
