… Jonathan Demands Resolution Before 2027-Source
…Eminent Leaders Insist “Right Thing Must Be Done”
By Jeremy Fregene
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is weighing tough options against Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike and his loyalists, known as the “Eminent Leaders,” as fears grow that internal resistance by the former Rivers State governor and his allies may continue to undermine the opposition party’s stability.
A top source within the party told KPH Daily last night that outright expulsion is one of the scenarios being seriously considered. They revealed that the PDP leadership has commissioned internal consultations on the legal implications of expelling the sitting minister and his bloc of influential members, and are currently considering how it might affect the party’s standing and future litigation risks.
The party is, however, reportedly concerned that several members of the Wike group are very prominent in their own right, and are mulling alternative options to resolve the outstanding issues and bring peace to the party in the build-up to the 2027 general elections.
At the heart of the dilemma is former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s alleged quiet but firm condition to party emissaries seeking his return to frontline politics to intensify efforts to resolve the internal problems before he considers contesting the 2027 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu. Jonathan is said to have made it clear that he will not step into a fractured PDP still tethered by the influence of a dissident faction.
The party’s unease was evident on Tuesday during the inauguration of a 119-member national convention committee. PDP National Chairman Umar Damagum, Governors’ Forum Chairman Bala Mohammed, and Board of Trustees (BoT) Secretary Ahmed Makarfi all warned against sabotage and divisive conduct in the run-up to the November convention, remarks widely interpreted as directed at Wike and his allies.
Damagum lamented that individuals who had benefitted from the PDP were now bent on weakening it. “Ironically, many of the destructive voices have come from individuals who sought to sow division and weaken our structures,” he noted, urging unity over personal ambition.
Governor Bala Mohammed was more forthright, declaring that the party could no longer be dragged down by arrogance and impunity. “We cannot continue to keep quiet and allow people to take us to the slaughterhouse. Our job is to make sure we don’t go there,” he stressed.
Makarfi, meanwhile, urged members to respect the party’s zoning arrangements and test their strength at the convention instead of inflaming tensions.
The heat intensified further when former PDP National Legal Adviser Jacob Mark attacked the minister for dismissing Jonathan and Labour Party’s Peter Obi as serious 2027 contenders. Speaking in a television interview, Mark accused Wike of trying to dictate the PDP’s direction from the sidelines while ignoring its meetings and structures.
“We can say without doubt that Wike is not a member of the PDP. He has not attended meetings, he has not made contributions to decisions, yet he goes on air to issue directives. It is strange,” Mark said.
Mark also defended Jonathan’s 2015 concession speech, which Wike had described as an embarrassment, calling it instead an act of rare statesmanship that saved Nigeria from violence.
But the Wike-led Eminent Leaders are not backing down. Members of the group, who met on Monday night at the minister’s official residence in Abuja, warned that failure to meet their demands would “render the proposed convention invalid, as legitimate members of the party would be disenfranchised.”
At the Eminent Persons and Stakeholders of PDP meeting were Wike, PDP National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, and former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom.
Also present were the Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, Senator Phillip Aduda, Senator George Sekibo, Micah Jiba, some serving and former members of the National Assembly, some state chairmen, and BoT members.
At the meeting, they doubled down on their demands, which include fresh congresses to be held in Ebonyi and Anambra states in strict compliance with subsisting court judgments; new Southeast Zonal Congress to be urgently conducted;
that the outcome of the South-South Congress in Calabar, already upheld by the courts, must be respected; and that PDP should immediately conduct the Ekiti local government congresses in line with judicial pronouncements.
Other demands include that there should be no micro-zoning of offices, beyond the general zoning formula already adopted by the National Executive Committee (NEC) to maintain peace and stability; and that the national chairmanship position must remain in the Northcentral, consistent with the zoning arrangement of the 2021 convention.
In their communique read by Ortom, they insisted that PDP cannot conduct a peaceful convention when court judgments that could foster inclusion are not obeyed.
They noted that PDP stands at a defining crossroads where its ability to reconcile internal disputes, uphold fairness, and respect constitutional processes will determine its future relevance.
“Unity cannot be built on disenfranchisement, exclusion, or the neglect of valid judicial pronouncements.”
Wike on his part, who spoke on the preparations for the convention in a television interview, said: “The issue of the national convention is not the problem; the issue is the problem leading to the convention, and people should understand that.
“If they are not well taken care of, there is a likelihood that the convention will not hold.”
Wike also said the choice of venue was not in dispute, insisting that the party must resolve its internal issues before the convention.