PDP chairman race: North-West hopefuls vie as Ibadan convention nears
By: Abudu Olalekan
It’s November in Ibadan. The party’s national convention. A chance to reset and heal. So many eyes on this one. They need unity. They crave consensus.
Inside that smoky room, three names kept popping up. Sule Lamido. Former Jigawa State strongman. Ahmed Makarfi. The calm hand from Kaduna. And Tanimu Turaki, SAN. Early whispers say he’s got the edge. Some governors are quietly backing him. One source told Reportersroom: “Turaki’s in front right now, but nothing’s cast in stone.”
Everyone’s talking. The North-East and North-Central caucuses will meet soon. They’ll pick consensus candidates for all top slots: organising secretary, legal adviser, youth leader—you name it. But the chairman’s the real prize.
Why Ibadan? Oyo State is neutral ground. No one feels home-turf heat. Yet not everyone’s cheering. Wike’s camp in the South-South is fuming. They claim Damagum, the acting chair, plays favourites. Battles rage over Cross River, Akwa Ibom. Party structures in flux.
And then there’s the court. Suit no. FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/25. Filed by Imo and Abia chairmen plus a South-South zonal secretary. They allege Damagum’s crew flouted the PDP constitution. Justice Omotosho adjourned till October 16. He wants proof of who can speak for the party. Strange, right?
By October 31, there’ll be judgment on another suit: can the Ibadan convention even go ahead? Plaintiffs want it frozen, calling it a breach of party and national rules. INEC’s named. So is the NWC, NEC, DWG—and even security agencies.
Meanwhile, in the background, the NWC-NEC debates grind on. Debo Ologunagba, the PDP publicity secretary, insists there’s no crisis. He says November’s convention will breathe new life into the party. “We’re ready,” he told reporters. Yet the protests, forgery claims and police probes paint a messier picture.
Back to the zones: insiders say key NWC slots held by northern reps—deputy chair, organising sec, legal adviser, youth leader, treasurer and vice-chairmen—are part of the swap. North-West gives up some roles, North-East picks them up. North-Central chips in for the chair’s office. Complexity much?
In short: tension’s high. Lawyers flex briefs. And while the PDP says it’s an internal affair, the court seems poised to weigh in.
Yet in those zone meetings, old faces remind everyone of the stakes. 2027 elections. Party unity could make or break their hopes. They remember 2015. They don’t want repeats.
A senior northern leader told us off the record: “We only want fairness. Consensus is fine. But if you don’t like it, contest. That’s democracy.” You can almost hear a collective sigh of relief in that line.
Zoning isn’t new. But micro-zoning? That’s a fresh twist. Shuffle seats. Swap roles. Everyone gets a slice of the pie. All to avoid open warfare.
Next week, names drop. The convention committee will get its final list. Turaki, Lamido, Makarfi—pick your hero. But anyone not happy can still step up. Party rules allow it.
It’s messy. It’s tense. It’s PDP being PDP. But with elections looming, they know time’s short. November 15 and 16 will tell the tale.
