Wike's supporters refuse to accept his expulsion from the PDP at Saturday's party convention

FEDERAL Capital Territory minister Nyesom Wike is refusing to leave Nigeria's main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) quietly after a faction loyal to him rejected his expulsion along with that of several other members at the party's convention on Saturday.

Meeting in the Oyo State capital Ibadan, over 3,000 PDP delegates gathered to elect new leaders despite conflicting court orders. At the gathering, a former minister of special duties and inter-governmental affairs, Kabiru Turaki, was elected as the PDP national chairman alongside other national officers.

PDP governors in attendance at the convention included Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara) and Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau). However, the Wike faction has refused to accept the results of the convention, saying the expulsions were just an attempt by Governor Makinde to exert more control over the party.

Last Friday, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had ordered the PDP to suspend its national convention and restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) from monitoring the event. Delivering judgment in the suit instituted by former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, Justice Peter Lifu stopped Inec from supervising, monitoring or recognising any convention conducted by the PDP without including the plaintiff as a contestant.

Justice Lifu held that evidence before the court established that Governor Lamido was unjustly denied the opportunity to obtain a nomination form to contest for the position of national chairman of the party, in violation of the PDP constitution and its internal regulations. Also, the court further affirmed that the PDP was duty-bound to create opportunities for its members to serve by adopting deliberate measures that enable them to pursue their political aspirations.

However, in a conflicting order, the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan permitted the PDP to proceed with the convention. Justice Ladiran Akintola approved the convention while ruling on an ex-parte application filed by an Oyo PDP member, Mr Folahan Adelabi, and directed Inec to attend and monitor the convention for the election of new national officers.

These conflicting court orders effectively balkanised the party into two factions-one loyal to Mr Wike and the other, backed by the PDP governors and other party organs. At the Ibadan convention, the party, following the adoption of a motion moved by its former board of trustees chairman, Chief Bode George, expelled Nyesom Wike, former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, ex-national vice chairman (south-south) Chief Dan Orbih and a handful of others.

One of the party leaders expelled at the convention, Abdulrahman Mohammed, described the development as laughable, vowing to carry on with his duties as the acting national chairman. He was originally named the acting  party chair after the faction loyal to Mr Wike suspended the former national chairman, Umar Damagum and the entire National Working Committee.

Mr Mohammed said: “What happened in Ibadan was not a convention. It was held in violation of a valid court order. Nigerians should not lose sleep because the PDP remains on course to offer them good governance.

“It is laughable that people who violated court orders would, in that violation, announce the expulsion of party leaders like us. They had no power to expel us in the first instance. All we can say is that very soon, we will continue in the day-to-day running of our party affairs.”

Similarly, Umar Bature, who until recently was the PDP’s national organising secretary, said what took place in Ibadan was an act of illegality, vowing to discharge his role until December 8, 2025, when the tenure of the Damagum-led NWC is expected to elapse. Also, Timothy Osadolor, a member of the Wike camp and incumbent deputy national youth leader, said that the expulsions cannot stand, given that the convention where the decision was taken violated a court order.