Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including Acting National Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed and former Governor of Abia State Okezie Ikpeazu, have called for unity and genuine reconciliation as the party begins preparations for its 2026 National Convention scheduled for March 29 and 30 in Abuja.
Mohammed made the appeal during the inauguration of the PDP National Convention Organising Committee on Saturday night in Abuja, urging members to put past crises behind them and work collectively toward rebuilding confidence and repositioning the party for future electoral success.
According to him, the event was not merely about inaugurating a committee but about initiating a process that reflects the party’s shared destiny and renewed hope.
He explained that the committee members were carefully selected to ensure the process leads to an inclusive, legally compliant, and credible national convention that will produce leaders to guide the party over the next four years.
“Our journey to this point has not been without challenges,” Mohammed said. “For over a year, our party has navigated complex legal and judicial issues. Yet, through resilience, wisdom and a shared commitment to unity, we have emerged not diminished, but refined.
“Today, the PDP stands once again as a beautiful bride, radiant with renewed political prospects and ready to reclaim its rightful place in the national space.”
He noted that the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria—widely described as a “no victor, no vanquished” verdict—should serve as a philosophical anchor for reconciliation within the party.
“It reminds us that true triumph lies not in individual victories but in collective survival and institutional continuity. It calls us to rise above divisions and embrace reconciliation as a higher virtue,” he said.
Mohammed also extended a hand of fellowship to aggrieved members, saying genuine reconciliation would strengthen unity and reposition the party for greater national service.
He commended party leaders who had worked toward peace, particularly the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, whose steadfastness he said contributed meaningfully to the party’s current phase.
“To the members of this committee, the responsibility before you is both administrative and historic,” he added. “You are entrusted with the duty of planning and delivering a national convention scheduled for March 29 and 30, 2026, that will stand firmly on the pillars of legality, legitimacy and inclusiveness.”
In his acceptance speech, Ikpeazu, who chairs the PDP 2026 Convention Committee, described the upcoming convention as a defining moment and a test of whether the party can overcome its internal challenges and reclaim its position as a leading national political platform.
He acknowledged that the PDP had endured internal crises and prolonged legal battles that tested both its structure and unity.
“But today, we stand on the other side of that storm,” Ikpeazu said. “The Court of Appeal’s affirmation of the National Caretaker Working Committee is not merely a legal victory; it is a moral and political reset.
“It offers us a rare opportunity to rebuild, restore confidence and reaffirm the supremacy of due process and internal democracy within our party.”
He stressed that reconciliation within the party was not optional but necessary.
“What the PDP needs at this moment is honest reconciliation rooted in truth, driven by sincerity and sustained by mutual respect,” he said. “We must have the courage to listen to one another, the humility to admit where we went wrong, and the strength to forgive genuinely and completely.”
In his vote of thanks, PDP Acting National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu assured members that the convention would produce widely accepted leaders capable of ensuring the party fields strong candidates in future elections.
“The PDP is a big family,” he said. “It is not for private interests. Like a big church, when you go out and God grants you success, you can always return. PDP is hopeful that those who left out of anger will return by 2027.”
He emphasized that the convention process would be guided by transparency, fairness, and integrity, ensuring that delegates and stakeholders have confidence in the outcome.
Ikpeazu reiterated that the primary goal is to conduct a transparent and widely accepted convention that will produce a credible National Working Committee to reposition the PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Meanwhile, the party’s leadership crisis had earlier deepened after the PDP governors backed the Ibadan convention of November 15, 2025, which produced Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and other National Working Committee members for a four-year tenure.
However, a faction aligned with Wike later constituted a 13-member caretaker committee on December 8, 2025, naming Abdulrahman Mohammed as Acting National Chairman and Anyanwu as Acting National Secretary with a 60-day mandate.
Both factions subsequently approached the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for recognition, but the commission declined to acknowledge either side, leading to prolonged legal battles as preparations for the 2027 general elections intensified.
On March 9, the Court of Appeal delivered judgment on the consolidated cases arising from the PDP leadership dispute. In a decision delivered by a panel led by Mohammed Danjuma, the court affirmed the earlier ruling of the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Abuja, which held that the processes leading to the Ibadan National Convention of November 15–16, 2025 contravened the Electoral Act, the Nigerian Constitution, and the PDP Constitution.
The appellate court subsequently nullified the outcome of the convention, declaring the election of Turaki and other National Working Committee members invalid.
Similarly, a separate panel of the Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan, led by Biobele Georgewill, granted all parties involved in the PDP elective convention dispute leave to pursue an amicable settlement as the party seeks to resolve its leadership crisis ahead of the crucial 2027 elections.
