The Peoples Democratic Party is confronting the most bruising internal battle in its 26-year history, a storm that has turned its national secretariat in Abuja into a revolving arena of forceful takeovers, midnight suspensions, expulsions and parallel conventions. The latest drama, triggered by Mohammed Abdulrahman’s dramatic entry into Umar Iliya Damagum’s office and subsequent declaration of himself as Acting National Chairman, has once again exposed the widening fractures tearing through the once-dominant opposition party.
Wadata Plaza, the party’s well-known headquarters, has been the physical symbol of this political warfare. Over the past two years, the building has seen more police deployments, court papers, rival chants, and hurried press briefings than at any other time in the PDP’s history. But the roots of this chaotic moment go far deeper, stretching back to the contentious fallout of the 2023 general elections and the simmering resentments that have refused to heal.
The party’s downward spiral did not begin with Abdulrahman’s office takeover. It began shortly after the 2023 elections, when zoning disagreements and accusations of manipulation led to the suspension of National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu in March 2023. Northern stakeholders accused Ayu of violating the party’s long-standing rotational formula, especially at a time when Atiku Abubakar, a northern politician, contested for the presidency.
Ayu’s removal opened the door for Deputy National Chairman (North) Umar Damagum, who stepped in as Acting National Chairman in April 2023. What should have been a temporary stop-gap soon hardened into controversy, resistance and a party-wide sense of uncertainty.
By 2024, defections mounted. Wike and his loyalists clashed with Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara, triggering parallel congresses that forced INEC to freeze the PDP’s financial access. Court cases multiplied. In October 2024, a Federal High Court restrained Damagum from parading as chairman, but appeals dragged issues into 2025.
Board of Trustees Chairman Adolphus Wabara warned openly that the party was sinking under its own internal sabotage. Wabara described the crisis as “self-inflicted”, faulting Damagum for “manipulation and disregard for internal democracy.”
Wike’s subtle but powerful manoeuvring added more tension. By late 2024 and mid-2025, clashes erupted across state congresses in Enugu, Abia and Imo. National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, a Wike loyalist, accused Damagum of “financial misconduct” and “defiance of valid court judgments,” accusations that would later explode into November’s direct confrontation.
The November Shockwave: Suspensions, Sweeping Purges and a Secretariat Under Siege
The turning point came on November 1, 2025, when Anyanwu’s faction, backed by suspended National Organising Secretary Umar Mande, Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade, and others, met secretly at night and issued a 30-day suspension against Damagum.
The faction also suspended:
Debo Ologunagba – National Publicity Secretary
Taofeek Arapaja – Deputy National Vice Chairman (South)
Daniel Woyenguikoro – National Financial Secretary
Sulaiman Kadade – National Youth Leader
Setonji Koshoedo – Deputy National Secretary
They immediately elevated Mohammed Abdulrahman, a North Central vice chairman from Nasarawa, as Acting National Chairman. Abdulrahman pledged “to heal wounds, end impunity, and reposition the PDP for victory.”
Damagum’s loyalists rejected the declaration, calling it “illegal, null and an assault on the constitution of the PDP.”
But the real spectacle unfolded on November 3, 2025, when Abdulrahman stormed Wadata Plaza before dawn with over 50 supporters. Security operatives sealed the gates, protesters formed barricades, rival slogans filled the air, and the secretariat became a full battleground.
Abdulrahman marched into Damagum’s office, changed the nameplate to “Acting National Chairman: Mohammed Abdulrahman,” sat at the chairman’s desk and declared, “I’m here to restore order and end the manipulation that’s killing our party.”
His supporters clashed with Damagum’s loyalists outside. Tear gas canisters rolled across the compound. A supporter was injured. A man waved a court injunction at police officers who ignored him.
For two days, Abdulrahman held the building like a stronghold. He announced his first reforms: auditing party finances, ending “godfatherism,” and launching a “total rebirth.”
By November 4, however, Damagum’s supporters stormed back with police backup and forcefully reclaimed the secretariat. Abdulrahman withdrew to a Port Harcourt hotel and wrote INEC, notifying them of his assumption of duties.
Ibadan Convention: Empty Seats, Expulsions and a Party at Breaking Point
The elective national convention in Ibadan on November 15–16, 2025 was supposed to heal wounds. Instead, it deepened them.
Attendance dropped from over 5,000 in 2022 to about 4,000 delegates. Security was extremely tight. Rivers delegates protested Governor Fubara’s exclusion.
Damagum surprised delegates by declining confirmation as substantive chairman. After tense voting, Abubakar Umaru “Turaki” Dantagani, former Niger Delta Minister and political ally of Atiku Abubakar, emerged as National Chairman. He promised to “lead a revival against all odds.”
But the convention became explosive with the announcement of expulsions:
Nyesom Wike, Ayo Fayose, Samuel Anyanwu and eight others
They were expelled for “anti-party conduct.”
Governors Caleb Mutfwang and Ahmadu Fintiri condemned Wike’s expulsion, signalling the crisis is far from resolved.
The PDP also dissolved structures in Rivers, Imo, Abia, Enugu and Akwa Ibom, replacing them with caretaker committees.
In retaliation, Wike’s faction dissolved the Wabara-led BoT and installed Sam Ohuabunwa as interim chairman—an act the Damagum camp and the convention organisers described as “treasonous.”
The BoT responded by backing Damagum and setting up a reconciliation panel under Hassan Adamu. The panel collapsed almost immediately after reports of fistfights among members in Ibadan.
Fairview Africa journalists went into the streets of Abuja to ask residents how they interpret the PDP crisis.
A resident summed up the situation using a proverb that has become painfully relevant:
“When two elephants are fighting, it’s the grass that suffers.”
He added, “The battle within the PDP is the battle among the leaders in the party. By looking at it, PDP is heading to maximum damage. Wike’s factions are trying to hijack the leadership of the party. The crisis you are seeing today started when Wike started the G5, and this G5 governors’ group has been struggling with Wike being their leader on how to hijack the party.”
Musa Gideon offered a more reflective response.
“PDP actually from inception have been a party which almost rescued this country from running down, but I really can’t tell what has gone wrong with them to the extent that individuals now monopolise a whole party,” he said.
“Nigerians are suffering. Nigerians are passing through a lot and I recall back in the time of Goodluck Jonathan how the party PDP lost stability to this country. If not that the president then, the late Yar’Adua, could not last long on the throne, maybe by now Nigeria would have become abroad.”
He concluded with a warning:
“PDP should go back home, do their homework and see how they can come up again and take the seat that rightfully belongs to them.”
