The PDP Convention, Political Intrigues And Other Matters -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

A party convention is a gathering of party stakeholders for the purpose of electing party officials or nominating candidates for various offices, including the presidential candidate. These conventions are crucial for selecting delegates who will represent their party’s interests and establish a party platform outlining key positions on major national and international issues.

Essentially it is the gathering of party chieftains and faithful intended to democratize the nomination process by involving grassroots participation rather than leaving the selection process in the hands of the few privileged party bigwigs and officials. Since its origin in America in the 19th century the practice has assumed a global dimension today and it serves not only to nominate candidates but also to foster party unity and allow for public engagement through media coverage, making the democratic process more accessible to all citizens.

A party national convention which is held by delegates elected from various states may be held to officially conclude the Primary Election Season. The party convention is the highest decision-making body of the organization, tasked with electing or nominating the party’s leader or leadership bodies, deciding party policy, and setting the party’s platform and agenda. At the Convention, the issues of party ideologies, programs and values are unveiled or re-enforced for public buy-in. So, it is an occasion to garner support of the voters into choosing a candidate, rally devoted party members to support the chosen candidate and establish the camaraderie spirit within the members of the party as they begin the campaign for the main election.

Thus, mobilizing party chieftains and faithful for nation-wide convention is a costly venture involving time and money and therefore should be done when it is necessary and desirable for all stakeholders. It should not be at the whims and caprices of a few individuals who feels that they call the shots.

It is in the light of the place of party convention or conference in the life of a political party that I wish to examine the said convention of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) held on the 29th of March 2026. I may not be a member of the PDP but as an activist and political observer, I am interested in what happens in our parties; the intrigues and the under currents and their implications in our body politic. The PDP as a political party has been under siege since the coming of the APC regime. I have highlighted this before that the members of the APC believes that destroying the PDP which used to be the main opposition party until recently will guarantee them easy victory at the polls. And that exactly is the cause of the crisis and the gale of defections ravaging the one-time biggest party in Africa. The PDP has been unbundled and it is not difficult to see that the chief undertaker is Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, who has one leg in PDP and another in the APC. Wike who although claims to be a member of the PDP but is standing on the mandate of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate is fingered as the main hatchet man of the APC.

The decimated PDP has two factions: one controlled by Wike who is standing on the mandate of the governing party, the APC, despite being in the opposition and another faction known as Turaki group controlled by Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State governor. The Turaki faction did their convention in November last year to select members of the National Working Committee. But the Wike faction went to court and got that nullified. The Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Abdulmalik delivered judgment in favor of the Wike group, granting them access to the PDP secretariat and directing security agencies to offer them protection while in occupation of the said secretariat. They appealed the judgment but the appellate court is yet to give its verdict but the Wike faction has already gone ahead to hold its convention on the 29th of March 2026 installing a new National Working Committee (NWC) which the Turaki faction has vowed to challenge in court. And this is expected to continue.

Many have wondered how the Wike (who has been variously accused of anti-party activity) and his faction be recognized as the authentic party structure by the court. Many have also asked why the Wike faction decided to go ahead with the party convention when there is an appeal in the court challenging the ruling of the federal high court that recognized their faction? To these, some believe that Wike who is hobnobbing with the APC regime can swing the court judgment. Others think that it is part of the APC game plan to keep the PDP going back and forth, to keep them distracted and disorganized until the election time. It is also insinuated that the APC is part of the plot which is intended to use the courts to present the PDP and other major opposition parties from fielding a credible candidate for the forth-coming presidential election.

Clearly, beyond all these disputes that look like internal party wrangling is the leprous finger of Tinubu-led APC government. Many observers believe that: “These crises are clearly orchestrated by the Bola Tinubu-led APC government, who have shown morbid fear for the existence of alternative political platforms, and are determined to foist a one-party state on the country”. And as we watch the unfolding political shenanigans, we expect Nigerians to be vigilant in order to forestall the repeat of the 2023 bitter experience at the polls. Nigerians the choice is yours as the 2027 general election beckons to reclaim your mandate and country or forever lose it.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed 

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK