PDP March convention crisis
The crisis tearing through the Peoples Democratic Party has escalated again as the rival camps aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde trade claims over a planned national convention billed for late March in Abuja.
At the centre of the dispute is the proposed convention date and the question of legitimacy: the Wike-aligned caretaker leadership insists the party’s convention will hold on March 29 and 30, saying the Independent National Electoral Commission has been formally notified, while the Makinde-backed faction dismisses the plan as illegal and “futile”, arguing that the pro-Wike bloc lacks the capacity to convene any valid PDP convention. 
This standoff, now widely described within the party as the PDP March convention crisis, is unfolding with litigation still active and the party’s national headquarters in Abuja remaining sealed since earlier clashes. 
How the PDP March convention crisis reached this point
The immediate roots of the PDP March convention crisis trace back to the party’s November 15, 2025 national convention in Ibadan, which was endorsed by PDP governors led by Makinde and Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed and produced a leadership structure headed by Tanimu Turaki (SAN). 
But the Wike-aligned bloc rejected that convention, and the dispute soon shifted from politics to courtrooms. On January 30, 2026, a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan annulled the Ibadan convention and ordered Turaki and others to stop presenting themselves as national officers. The Makinde camp has disputed the implications of that judgment, while the Wike bloc treats it as a foundation for its own next steps. 
Following the breakdown of internal reconciliation, the Wike bloc set up a 13-member caretaker committee in early December, naming Mohammed Abdulrahman as acting national chairman and Samuel Anyanwu as national secretary, with a time-bound mandate. 
That same period produced one of the most visible symbols of the PDP March convention crisis: efforts by rival groups to converge on Wadata Plaza in Abuja degenerated into chaos and physical confrontations, prompting the police to seal the party’s national secretariat. 
The convention dates, and why they matter
The Wike-aligned camp originally spoke of a March convention to elect a new National Working Committee. In early February, it announced a timetable that pegged the convention for March 28–29 in Abuja. 
Days later, the caretaker committee said it had adjusted the schedule, moving the convention to March 29–30, citing the need to ensure a smoother process. 
In practical terms, the PDP March convention crisis is now about two things:
1. whether a national convention can be validly convened while court cases and recognition disputes continue; and
2. whether INEC will accept any notification or recognise any outcome produced by either faction.
Both sides have, at different times, sought recognition from INEC, but INEC has declined to recognise either faction, a position that has fed the present round of litigation. 
https://ogelenews.ng/pdp-march-convention-crisis-wike-makinde
What each camp is saying
Speaking for the Wike-aligned caretaker committee, its spokespersons have insisted that the PDP March convention will proceed and that INEC has been duly informed.
The caretaker camp argues that it is following the PDP constitution and the Electoral Act in its preparations, and it claims the convention will be “all-inclusive” for members who remain in the party. 
The Makinde-backed group, however, has maintained that the Wike bloc lacks legal standing to convene a party convention, arguing that those pushing the March gathering have no authority to speak for the PDP. One spokesman for the Turaki-led faction described the proposed convention as “an exercise in futility.” 
The Guardian also reported that the Wike-aligned caretaker camp has taken further structural steps amid the PDP March convention crisis, including dissolving some zonal and state party structures and promising caretaker arrangements pending congresses, a move that has deepened the internal feud. 
The bigger political stakes: 2027 and control of the machinery
Beyond the legal arguments, party insiders say the PDP March convention crisis is ultimately a fight for control of the party’s machinery ahead of 2027: who controls congresses, who signs nomination processes, who controls delegate lists, and who presents the “valid” party leadership to INEC.
That is why both camps have framed their positions as existential. The Wike bloc says it must “rebuild” the party through a convention that produces leaders capable of piloting the PDP forward, while the Makinde bloc says any convention conducted without legitimacy could permanently damage the party’s credibility and fracture its base. 
What to watch next
Three immediate developments will shape what happens next in the PDP March convention crisis:
• the direction of the pending appeals and court decisions around the Ibadan convention and rival leadership claims; 
• whether the police keep the PDP national secretariat sealed or allow party operations to resume at Wadata Plaza; 
• and whether INEC’s stance hardens or shifts as March approaches and formal notifications are tested against the law and court orders. 
For now, the PDP March convention crisis remains unresolved, with both camps digging in and March fast approaching.
https://punchng.com/pdp-wike-makinde-camps-lock-horns-ahead-of-march-convention
