PDP Crisis Worsens as Wike Opposes Makinde, Others Over Ibadan Convention Venue

The ongoing leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a new turn following a sharp disagreement over the proposed venue for the party’s National Elective Convention, scheduled for November in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Although the PDP recently announced Ibadan as the host city for the convention, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and PDP chieftain, Nyesom Wike, has challenged the legitimacy of that decision, stating that the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has not formally approved the venue.

Speaking during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, Wike expressed surprise over reports of the Ibadan venue, insisting that as a NEC member, he was neither informed nor invited to any meeting where such a resolution was reached.

“NEC has not met. If they say, oh, we are meeting tomorrow and all that, fine, but NEC has not met,” Wike said.

He further questioned the credibility of those claiming NEC approval, stressing that any announcement made without a properly convened NEC meeting is invalid.

“I am not aware of any convention holding in Ibadan. As a NEC member, I have not been told, and nobody has invited me for a NEC meeting for me to say a decision has been taken. If a few people who work as a team say they have held a NEC meeting, then so be it,” he added.

Political observers suggest that Wike’s remarks — given his considerable influence within the party — may signal deeper divisions in the PDP’s leadership structure. The growing controversy has cast uncertainty over the planned convention, with concerns mounting about the party’s ability to present a united front ahead of key political activities.

As stakeholders continue to hold divergent views on the convention venue, the dispute underscores the challenges facing the opposition party in maintaining internal cohesion and organizational legitimacy.