The battle for the soul of the Peoples Democratic Party has reportedly pitted the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, against the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike.

The two political gladiators used to be good friends and played a key role in the victory of President Bola Tinubu in 2023, following their resolve to work against the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

The duo, alongside Okezie Ikpeazu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Samuel Ortom — then governors of Abia, Enugu and Benue states respectively- formed the G-5 bloc and insisted on a southern presidential ticket; but Atiku, who comes from the North, claimed the PDP ticket at the national convention.

Things have since fallen apart, with the Oyo State Governor, backed by his Bauchi counterpart, Bala Mohammed, and the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, no longer enjoying a cordial political relationship with Wike.

On his part, Wike is enjoying the support of Governors Caleb Muftwang (Plateau) and Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa).

The rift between Makinde and Wike reached its peak when, at a meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the PDP governors rejected the planned reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu by the Bukola Saraki-led reconciliation Committee; a move seen by Wike as a betrayal by the Oyo State Governor.

Makinde is working in sync with the party’s national leadership, which has fixed June 30 for the PDP’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting and August 2025 for its convention.

On Monday, Wike rallied members of the defunct G-5, bar Makinde, to lay down his terms for peace to reign.

The PUNCH gathered that the Wike-backed group is pushing for a postponement of the convention, apparently to get a stronger hold of the party ahead of the 2027 election.

Despite this move, the plan by the PDP to hold its convention in August 2025 will not be affected by Wike’s move, party chieftains told The PUNCH on Tuesday.

This is just as they ruled out the postponement of the event on account of the press conference convened by Wike in Abuja.

On Monday, Wike and members of the G-5 – Ortom, Ikpeazu and Ugwuanyi – converged on Abuja to deliberate on the state of affairs of the PDP, giving conditions for peace and progress of the party.

In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the Wike-led group made it clear that the decision of the PDP governors to back Sunday Ude-Okoye as the party’s National Secretary against Senator Samuel Anyanwu is a recipe for chaos and upheaval in the party.

The leading opposition party has been enmeshed in a series of crises primarily driven by a power struggle between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.

The dispute is anchored on the control of the party’s structure, with both leaders vying to assert their dominance ahead of the 2027 general election, where Atiku appears set to seek the party’s presidential ticket once again.

Wike, who has since pledged to lead the campaign for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu, is determined to ensure that the PDP is sufficiently weakened to render it incapable of causing any upset against the sitting President.

The internal rift has intensified calls for the removal of the party’s National Chairman, Samuel Anyanwu, who is widely suspected of aligning with Wike in holding down the party. Wike’s perceived influence within the party’s hierarchy has further fueled concerns among Atiku’s loyalists, who believe that Anyanwu’s continued leadership could compromise the PDP’s unity and electoral prospects.

Not surprisingly, the Wike-led group stated, “In the spirit of fairness, inclusion, federal character principles and respect for our party constitution, the party must make an unequivocal announcement, zoning its presidential candidate to the South in the 2027 general election.

“That to finally arrest the inexorable drift towards extinction in our party, the party must, without further delay, respect the judgment of the Supreme Court. We, therefore, unequivocally reaffirm Senator Sam Anyanwu as the duly elected and substantive National Secretary of our great Party.

“In line with the provisions of our party constitution, only the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, can issue notices of meetings of the National Convention, National Executive Committee, National Caucus and the National Working Committee and to this end, all notices not issued by him and actions founded on them, including correspondences to the Independent National Electoral Commission, are null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”

Speaking exclusively with The PUNCH on Tuesday, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Olabode George, warned Wike and his group to know that nobody, no matter their status, could hijack the party.

He stated that the NEC meeting scheduled for June 30 would go on as planned.

“As an elder, I am a custodian of the rules and regulations governing our party. I want to advise this young man (Wike) to know that the only authority that can make a comment on this issue (convention) is the NEC. I want to advise them (G-5) that if they have any issue that will be of support to the party, or even if they are against the direction of the party, it is morally expedient to talk about it within the family,” he said.

He added, “These guys (Wike-led group) should calm down. They will not dare the NEC. Let the decision come from NEC. I spent 10 years in the National Working Committee but I have never seen anything like this before. We will not discuss anything outside of NEC. Whatever the majority says, that is it!”

The party, he further stated, is a collective heritage, saying, “Nobody owns this party, no matter who the heck you are. We don’t have any emperors in our party. We will stick with the rules and regulations as stated. We will be meeting on June 30, and by the grace of God, all this back and forth and innuendos will be put to bed.”

Ex-secretary reacts

In a separate interview with The PUNCH, another BoT member and former National Secretary of the PDP, Sen Ibrahim Tsauri, said, “Wike and his group may be planning to stop or sabotage the planned national convention but what is new in their plans or plots? Their plots cannot be as unacceptable as their utterances and resolve to support President Bola Tinubu.

“Whoever is in the PDP and expects to hear anything supportive from Wike and his group as regards the NEC meeting or convention must be deceiving himself, but we should know that Wike truly contributed greatly to the growth of the PDP after it lost the election in 2015.”

The former National Secretary ruled out a rescheduling of the convention, stating that despite the setbacks recently experienced by the party, it still boasts 10 governors.

“As for the postponement of the proposed convention, Nigerians should realise that PDP still has 10 committed sitting governors. For anyone to think that the proposed convention would be shifted simply because of a threat from an individual or group; that person may not be fair to himself, the teeming PDP supporters and even Nigerians.

“Wike and his group may be working to stop the convention while the PDP does not bother much on what it expects to happen,” he stated.

He added that having openly admitted to supporting the re-election bid of President Tinubu, Wike has done his worst for PDP.

“Imagine someone who claims to still be in the PDP but intends to support the presidential candidate of the ruling party in 2027 — what could be worse than that?

“For us, it’s simple. They may continue to insist, citing constitutional rights, that they remain PDP members. But the truth is, the leadership of the PDP has been compromised. If the leadership were serious, the constitution already provides for disciplinary action, including expulsion. That should have been done by now,” he added.