PDP Rift Widens As Makinde Bloc Moves To Install Turaki

Monday May 4, 2026
www.thenewsdesk.ng

The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) intensified on Monday, May 4, 2026, as a faction aligned with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde advanced plans to constitute a 10-member caretaker committee headed by Tanimu Turaki.

The move is expected to be formalized at a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, following a decision by a faction of the party’s Board of Trustees led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, which met on Sunday, May 3, 2026.

Party sources said Turaki emerged as the preferred choice after consultations among trustees, with the proposed committee expected to stabilise the party and guide it through its ongoing internal dispute.

The development comes days after the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in a split 3–2 ruling on Thursday, April 30, 2026, nullified the PDP national convention held in Ibadan on November 15–16, 2025.

The court held that the convention violated subsisting orders restraining the party from proceeding.

Wabara said the judgment created a leadership vacuum, arguing that certain officials, including former National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, could not lawfully act while under suspension.

He said the BoT had stepped in, in line with the party’s constitution, to stabilize operations and convene the NEC meeting after securing the required two-thirds support.

However, the rival faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, rejected the move, insisting there is no leadership vacuum within the party.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, dismissed the BoT meeting and its resolutions, urging members and the public to disregard what he described as illegal actions.

The dispute also extends to the leadership of the Board of Trustees, with the Wike-aligned bloc recognising a different chairman, further deepening divisions within the party.

Meanwhile, sources within the Makinde camp said the governor is expected to formally declare his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election before Saturday, May 9, 2026.

The unfolding developments underscore widening fractures within the PDP, as rival factions continue to assert control of party structures ahead of the next electoral cycle.

*First News