FCT Minister says the party’s March 29 and 30 national convention will go ahead despite the Supreme Court appeal, even as rival PDP camps battle for control, legitimacy and the road to 2027.
The Peoples Democratic Party has entered another explosive phase of its long-running internal war. The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has publicly brushed aside the Turaki-led faction’s decision. They intend to challenge the party’s leadership case at the Supreme Court.
Wike said the appeal would not stop the PDP national convention scheduled for March 29 and 30 in Abuja. He spoke after inspecting the Velodrome at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, the proposed venue for the gathering.
His tone was dismissive. His message was blunt. And his target was clear.
The Turaki-led camp emerged from the party’s recent internal reshuffle. On Friday, they ratified the decision to take the Court of Appeal judgment on the party’s leadership dispute to the Supreme Court. That move deepened an already messy fight over who truly controls the PDP and who has the power to speak for it.
Wike, however, insisted the legal move was of no consequence. He said the convention would proceed and that any grievances inside the party could be handled afterwards.
The minister made one of his most striking comments. He likened the PDP to a large family. In such a family, not everybody can be pleased at once. He argued that disagreements were normal in a party with millions of members, but said the real issue was the overall interest of the party.
That framing is classic Wike. Calm on the surface. Combative underneath.
It also reveals the larger political gamble now unfolding inside the PDP. The party is trying to project unity while its internal structure remains deeply fractured. Two camps continue to claim moral and political authority. Two sets of loyalists continue to speak with confidence. Two legal narratives continue to clash.
At the centre of the dispute is more than just a convention. It is a fight over legitimacy.
The Turaki camp has turned to the Supreme Court. They seek to reverse the appellate decision. They also aim to protect their claim to the party’s leadership structure. The Wike aligned bloc, on the other hand, is behaving as though the convention is already settled and irreversible.
That confidence is not accidental. Wike told reporters that the venue preparations were about 95 per cent complete. He said seating arrangements for all states had been concluded and that the VIP section was ready. In other words, the machinery is already moving.
And moving fast.
He also said the party had already zoned its key positions. According to him, the presidency has been zoned to the South while the chairmanship is zoned to the North. He described the arrangement as a consensus formula designed to reduce friction and create a smoother process.
But in a party where even the meaning of unity is now contested, zoning alone may not be enough to hide the scale of the crisis.
Wike went further and predicted that the PDP would shock Nigerians in the 2027 general elections. He presented the party as resilient, broad and capable of absorbing its internal blows. He also revived the familiar umbrella imagery, saying the PDP remains wide enough to accommodate everyone.
That is the language of survival.
It is also the language of a party trying to convince the public that chaos is still under control.
The reality looks less tidy. The convention is now the latest battlefield. It is part of a long series of internal confrontations. These confrontations have weakened the opposition party’s national standing. Each faction now appears determined to prove that it is the true guardian of the PDP brand. Each side is relying on a mix of legal filings, political alliances and public posturing.
The result is a party that looks increasingly like it is arguing with itself in public.
Wike’s presence at the stadium inspection was also significant. He was accompanied by several individuals. These included the Chairman of the National Convention Planning Committee, Okezie Ikpeazu, the Board of Trustees Chairman, Mao Ohuabunwa, and the Chairman of the National Caretaker Working Committee, Mohammed Abdulrahman.
The National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, was also present. Other members of the caretaker structure attended. Rivers Elders’ Council Chairman, Ferdinand Alabraba, joined them. Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche, was there too.
The optics were deliberate. The message was clear. The Wike camp wanted to show that preparations are advanced. The structure is intact. The convention train has already left the station.
But the legal cloud has not gone away.
The Turaki faction’s decision to head to the Supreme Court means the dispute is no longer just political. It is now constitutional, procedural and potentially existential for the party’s immediate future.
If the apex court takes a different view, the PDP could face even deeper confusion. There could be uncertainty over who owns the right to convene, nominate and control its national machinery.
For now, Wike is betting on momentum. The Turaki camp is betting on the courts. And the PDP was once Nigeria’s biggest political machine. It is now showing the country a party split between power, ambition, and survival.
The convention may still happen. But the question hanging over it is bigger than the event itself.
Who, exactly, is the PDP talking for right now?
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