The lingering leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to have shifted to a new battlefield as rival factions of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) move to hold parallel meetings in Abuja, further deepening divisions within the opposition party.
Guardian reports that the development follows the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirming the earlier decision of the Federal High Court which nullified the PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025.
In the aftermath of the ruling, the faction of the BoT led by Senator Mao Ohuabunwa has summoned a meeting of the board scheduled to hold in Abuja on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
According to a notice signed by Ohuabunwa, the meeting will take place at 2:00 p.m. at 1, Sabo Ago Street, Life Camp, Abuja.
“This serves to formally invite all members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.,” the notice stated.
Wike
The statement emphasised that the Ohuabunwa-led BoT was the only body recognised by the Abdulrahman/Anyanwu-led National Caretaker Working Committee (NCWC) in line with the court judgments.
“Note that this is the only BoT recognised as constituted by the Abdulrahman/Anyanwu-led National Caretaker Working Committee (NCWC) pursuant to the Federal High Court decision and ratified by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
“Kindly ignore any other notice purporting to call for a meeting of the BoT,” the notice added.
Ohuabunwa also warned that only duly notified members of the BoT would be accredited to attend the meeting, advising non-members to stay away from the venue.
However, the rival BoT faction loyal to former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has already scheduled its own meeting for 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at Tatari House, Bauchi Governor’s Lodge, behind the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja.
The emergence of parallel meetings underscores the intensifying power struggle within the PDP, with party stakeholders increasingly shifting their contest for control to the Board of Trustees.
Political observers note the irony of the development, as the BoT is constitutionally designed to serve as the conscience and stabilising force of the party, particularly during periods of internal crisis.
Interestingly, both factions of the BoT are led by politicians from Abia State. While Wabara heads the faction loyal to the National Working Committee produced at the controversial convention that elected Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki as national chairman, the rival board aligned with the caretaker leadership under Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman is led by Ohuabunwa.
The unfolding scenario has reinforced concerns among party faithful that the crisis rocking the PDP is far from over.
Ironically, the BoT occupies a central and sensitive role within the PDP structure.
The 99-member board is constitutionally recognised as the highest advisory organ of the party and is often described as its “conscience.”
Among its key responsibilities are providing guidance to the National Working Committee and other organs of the party, promoting internal democracy, mediating disputes among members, and safeguarding the party’s moral values and strategic direction.
The BoT is also entrusted with holding the party’s movable and immovable assets in trust and serving as a stabilising institution, especially during leadership disputes or in the build-up to general elections.
However, rather than playing its traditional reconciliatory role, the board itself has now become the latest theatre of the party’s internal conflict.
The current leadership tussle intensified shortly after the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered judgment against the November convention held in Ibadan by a faction believed to be backed by Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State.
Following the ruling, the faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and led by Abdulrahman moved swiftly to dissolve the Wabara-led BoT and reconstitute a new board with Ohuabunwa as chairman.
At the inauguration of the new BoT, attended by several party leaders including elder statesman and PDP founding member, Chief Jim Nwobodo, the new leadership pledged to restore the party’s moral foundation and internal democratic principles.
Reading a communiqué issued after the emergency session that produced the new board, Ohuabunwa said the dissolution of the previous leadership became inevitable due to what he described as the erosion of neutrality.
According to him, Wabara and the former BoT secretary, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, could no longer continue in office after openly taking sides in the party’s leadership crisis.
The communiqué also stated that the new leadership structure reflected the party’s internal balancing formula, with the chairman and his predecessor coming from the South, while the secretaries originated from the North.
The reconstituted BoT threw its weight behind the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on October 31, 2025, describing it as binding and superior to any interim order issued by a state court.
It directed all organs and officers of the party to comply fully with the judgment while commending the judiciary for upholding the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law.
In his remarks, Abdulrahman described the inauguration of the new BoT as a turning point for the PDP, saying it marked a return to the party’s founding values of justice, inclusivity and respect for the rule of law.
He lamented that the previous BoT leadership had lost the moral balance expected of the institution, thereby weakening its credibility as the party’s advisory body.
According to him, the court ruling should be seen not as an attack on the PDP but as a wake-up call for the party to restore discipline, constitutional order and the ideals that once made it a dominant force in Nigeria’s democratic landscape.
Also speaking at the event, Nwobodo urged the new leadership to prioritise reconciliation and reach out to aggrieved members.
Describing the PDP as the “mother of Nigeria’s democracy,” he said many former members were willing to return if the party opened its doors and embraced unity.
In its resolutions, the BoT had reaffirmed its commitment to reconciliation, inclusiveness and strict adherence to the party’s constitution, stressing that genuine internal democracy and unity remain critical to the PDP’s revival.
Yet, with rival factions of the board now convening separate meetings in the nation’s capital, the organ historically entrusted with safeguarding the party’s moral authority has itself become the newest front in the PDP’s prolonged political battle.
Guardian