The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike-backed Peoples Democratic Party Caretaker Committee dissolved the executives of 14 state chapters of the party and announced plans to conduct fresh congresses in January 2026.
The committee maintained that the leadership of Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, serving as Acting Chairman and Acting National Secretary respectively, remains the only legitimate structure recognised by the party.
This position was stated in a communiqué issued after the committee’s meeting held on Thursday evening in Abuja and was read by the Acting Publicity Secretary, Haruna Jungun.
Recall that PDP governors endorsed the Ibadan convention, at which Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and other members of the National Working Committee were elected on November 16 for four-year tenures.
However, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, alongside his allies Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, maintained that they remained the Acting National Chairman and Acting National Secretary, respectively.
Although the governors ensured a seamless handover from former Chairman Umar Damagum to Turaki (SAN) ahead of the official end of Damagum’s tenure on December 9, the Wike-aligned faction nonetheless proceeded on December 8 to appoint Mohammed, Anyanwu, and others as 13 members of a 60-day caretaker committee.
During the 60-day period, all outstanding congresses would be conducted, and a national convention would be convened.
While Turaki has continued to hold a series of meetings with some party leaders, the Mohammed/Anyanwu caretaker committee has also been conducting its own activities.
Acting Publicity Secretary listed the states affected by the decision as Borno, Bauchi, Oyo, Zamfara, Yobe, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Delta, Taraba, Kano and Lagos.
The communique read in part, “To tell the teeming members of our party and the general public that the PDP remains strong and indivisible. There is only one genuine and legitimate PDP, headed by Honourable Abdulrahman Mohammed.
The National Caretaker Committee, therefore, warned anybody putting the image of the party into disrepute to refrain from that forthwith. It is important to let the public know that the claims making the rounds in the media that the Turaki illegal Excos have been accepted by INEC are false.
“We therefore challenge Turaki to produce the code with which he uploaded his Exco to the INEC portal.
The National Caretaker Committee further ratified the dissolution of some state working committees while confirming the caretaker committees in those states. The National Caretaker Committee further assigned portfolios to some of its members for the effective discharge of the duties conferred on them.
“The people are: Professor Adenike Ogunse, Women Leader; Engineer Deji Dohati, Deputy National Secretary; Senator Olaka Ogunwu, Treasurer, Publicity; Ambassador Dr. Ibrahim Bala-Aboki, to function as the Youth Leader.
“Finally, the committee has approved the calendar for the conduct of state congresses starting from January 9th, 2026, after which the national convention will follow.”
Earlier in his address, the Acting Chairman, Mohammed, stated that his group is the one operating in line with the party’s constitution.
He stated, “We have only one PDP under my leadership and my team as the caretaker committee of our great party. The party is all about being in line with the constitution of the party and that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This body is well aligned and understands the law of the Federation and the constitution of our great party. We have only one body as PDP under my leadership.”
Punch
