By John Ameh
Copyright tribuneonlineng
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday again rejected insinuations that the once ‘largest party in Africa’ is dead, despite unresolved personality clashes and internal wrangling.
Atiku Abubakar, who served as Vice-President on the PDP platform for eight years and was its presidential candidate in 2019 and 2023, is now with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) alongside several other notable ex-PDP powerbrokers, including former two-term Senate President, Senator David Mark.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, a former two-term governor under the PDP, is said to control a significant portion of the party’s structures, yet he is also one of the most visible campaigners for President Bola Tinubu’s reelection in 2027 as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
These developments—together with opposition from key stakeholders such as Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim to zoning the 2027 presidential ticket to the South, and the ongoing challenges of reconciliation and enforcing party discipline—have fuelled speculation that the PDP is ‘dead.’
However, addressing the issues on Monday, the party dismissed suggestions that they threatened its survival.
Speaking as a guest on The Morning Show, an Arise News programme, the PDP’s National Legal Adviser, Mr Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN, said the party was undergoing a rebuilding process which non-politicians might not understand but chose to criticise.
Ajibade, referring to the exit of Atiku and others, described as unfortunate the perception that their departure signalled the party’s demise.
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According to him, Atiku and those who left made personal political decisions in pursuit of their own interests.
He argued that as long as a political party has a National Working Committee (NWC) and other organs intact, it remains alive and functioning. People, he said, will always join or leave a party depending on circumstances.
The legal adviser noted:“How do you measure the importance of one part of our party? If Atiku left, does that mean the PDP is dead?
“We have the NWC; that means we are intact. Many important figures remain in this party.
“Some who left have already returned. Ahead of 2027, more will still come back—even those now in the ADC.”
While acknowledging challenges over the post of National Secretary, which dragged through the courts, and the defection of some members to other parties, Ajibade insisted that the PDP had made significant progress in the last four months. According to him, it has resolved internal disputes, held National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings, and successfully fixed November 15, 2025, as the date for its elective convention in Ibadan.
He also rejected claims that the party had failed to instil discipline by not sanctioning members like the FCT Minister, Wike, or by not reconciling strongly enough to mount a united front against the APC in 2027.
“We are doing a lot to reconcile underground; this is not visible to non-politicians. Much is happening that people don’t know.
“You cannot compare where we are today with where we were four months ago.
“How many people will you expel from the party? We have achieved a lot in terms of reconciliation,” he stressed.
On the voices opposing the zoning of the presidential ticket to the South, Ajibade defended the decision, noting that it had the backing of the PDP constitution, though it did not exclude aspirants from other regions.
He explained that zoning was meant to reduce the acrimony that usually accompanied the process of selecting a presidential candidate.
“It has to do with our own internal democracy. However, we do not prevent anyone from any part of the country from testing their popularity.
“The Nigerian Constitution gives everyone the right to aspire, while the PDP constitution provides for zoning.
“We must zone because so many people have ambition, and ambition can be destructive.”
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
