When delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) streamed into the University of Ibadan International Conference Centre for the party’s long-awaited 2025 national convention, they arrived carrying more than accreditation tags and voting slips. They brought with them years of frustration, simmering anger, cautious hope and one urgent question: Could a new national chairman rescue the PDP from what many fear is its final descent into political irrelevance?
By the end of the convention, held in defiance of multiple court injunctions, the party had chosen former Minister of Special Duties and distinguished Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, as its new national chairman. The announcement triggered drums, jubilation, and massive relief among weary party members. But behind the fanfare lay deep cracks, the kind that cannot be papered over by victory songs or speeches.
Turaki inherits a party that is not merely divided; it is hemorrhaging. The PDP is facing an existential crisis defined by court battles, clashing egos, warring governors, expelled power brokers, and dwindling public confidence. His emergence raises the central question of this special report: Can Kabiru Tanimu Turaki save the PDP—or is he stepping into a collapsing house beyond repair?
This news feature explores the crisis he inherits, the power blocs he must negotiate, the legal and structural minefields ahead, and the political reality confronting the PDP in the march toward the 2027 elections.
A Party at War With Itself
The PDP once boasted it would rule Nigeria for 60 unbroken years. Today, the same party resembles a political battlefield littered with contradictory court rulings, suspended national officers, parallel state executives, and open defiance from within.
The 2025 Ibadan convention did not just happen under controversy, it was born from it.
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A Flurry of Conflicting Court Orders
Between October 31 and November 14, the party was tossed around like a political football: Justice Omotosho (Federal High Court, Abuja) ordered the convention halted, questioning the validity of state congresses; Justice Akintola (Oyo High Court) insisted the convention must proceed and that INEC should supervise; Justice Peter Lifu (Federal High Court, Abuja) again halted the exercise unless Sule Lamido; barred earlier was included.
Legal experts warned the party that proceeding could invalidate anything done in Ibadan. But the Damagum-led National Working Committee, leaning heavily on the governors’ forum, declared: “The convention is sacrosanct.”
Delegates arrived in Ibadan under legal uncertainty, and INEC officials left early, wary of being seen as endorsing a process potentially voided by a superior court.
But the judicial drama was only a symptom of a deeper disease: the PDP’s internal fragmentation.
The Power Blocs Turaki Must Navigate
The Wike Bloc: Expelled but Far From Neutralised. The convention’s dramatic expulsion of high-profile members, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, former Ekiti governor Ayo Fayose, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and several others was celebrated by those who saw Wike as the party’s chief destabiliser.
Wike commands formidable loyalty within several state chapters. His political network remains embedded in Rivers, Abuja, parts of the South-South, and even northern states. His defiance was immediate: his camp denounced the convention as “illegal,” “a charade,” and “dirty December in November.”
His position inside the APC-controlled federal government only complicates matters. Many PDP elders privately believe Wike’s ultimate objective is to weaken the PDP enough to bolster President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
For Turaki, confronting Wike head-on risks mass defections. Ignoring him risks internal sabotage. He must choose a path that keeps the party intact without rewarding insubordination.
The Makinde–Bala Mohammed Stabilisation Alliance. Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), the hosts and stabilisers of the convention, played crucial roles in ensuring the event was held. Their message was clear:
The PDP must reset. Litigation cannot dictate the party’s survival. The governors’ forum must reassert control.
Makinde’s charismatic welcome and Bala Mohammed’s insistence that “the soul of the PDP is still intact” formed the emotional backbone of the convention. But this alliance also expects something in return: a chairman who will not rock the boat but also will not be a puppet.
Turaki must walk a thin line, firm enough to instill discipline, flexible enough to keep the governors close.
The Northern Elders and the Battle for Zoning Influence. Turaki’s rise was neither accidental nor spontaneous. Northern party elders strategically backed him, rejecting Sule Lamido’s insistence on contesting and positioning Turaki as a bridge with no polarising baggage.
With NEC having zoned the 2027 presidential ticket to the South, the North sees the national chairmanship as its last anchor of influence. Controlling party machinery as 2027 approaches is critical.
The danger for Turaki is clear: He must deliver for the northern bloc without appearing to impose northern dominance, especially with the South-East and South-South already aggrieved.
The South-East: A Region on the Edge. Once PDP’s impregnable fortress, the South-East is now fractured by: The rise of the Labour Party; Factional battles within state chapters; The messy reinstatement and eventual expulsion of Anyanwu; Widespread perception of marginalisation; If Turaki cannot heal the region, the PDP risks losing its moral claim to being a truly national party.
The Crisis Turaki Inherits
Parallel Structures in Nearly Half the States; In many states, two or even three executives claim legitimacy. Rivers and Kano are particularly chaotic, split between governors’ loyalists and Abuja-backed factions.
A party cannot compete electorally when half its structure is in court and the other half is operating from hotel conference rooms; More Than 25 Pending Court Cases
There are lawsuits challenging: The validity of the Ibadan convention; Legality of acting national officers; Suspension of former NWC members; Expulsion of Wike and others; Delegate lists used at the convention; Zoning arrangements for 2027. Any of these cases, if successful, could nullify Turaki’s chairmanship.
The party’s finances have dried up. Traditional financiers—contractors, governors, and business elites, are waiting to see if Turaki can stabilize the PDP before committing funds. Without money, reconciliation tours, registration drives, congresses, and media campaigns will be impossible.
Deep and Chronic Distrust
The PDP’s biggest problem may be psychological: Governors distrust the NWC; NWC distrusts state chairmen; Elders distrust younger politicians; Southern blocs distrust northern dominance. Turaki, known for his calm demeanour and negotiating skill, must rebuild trust almost from scratch.
Can Turaki Save the PDP? The Roadmap Ahead
Re-establish Legitimacy Through Broad Negotiation. The new chairman cannot begin his tenure by taking sides. His first 90 days must involve: Reaching out to Wike’s loyalists before they defect; Reassuring the South-East of meaningful inclusion; Meeting Lamido and other northern dissenters; Consulting governors before naming key committees; Engaging the BoT to restore internal institutional balance
Resolve the Court Cases Politically, Not Legally. No Nigerian political party has ever won survival through litigation, it happens through negotiation.
Turaki must: Activate the BoT reconciliation panel; Bring in Atiku, Saraki, Tambuwal, Ayu, Jonathan, Dankwambo, and Mark; Push for withdrawal of cases; Call an expanded NEC meeting to ratify peace agreements
Manage the 2027 Presidential Ticket With Surgical Precision. With NEC zoning the ticket to the South, the real battle is regional: South-East expects compensation; South-South wants to protect its dominance and South-West may push Makinde or another rising figure
A divisive presidential primary could shatter the PDP. Turaki must design a transparent, credible, and early process, possibly a consensus model.
Reconstruct the Party’s Organisational Structure: The convention dissolved executives in five states—Imo, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Rivers, and Enugu; Rebuilding them will test Turaki’s political engineering capacity.
Reconcile Former Governors and Presidential Heavyweights. Atiku, Saraki, Tambuwal, Udom Emmanuel, Lamido and others hold enormous political networks.
If they feel alienated, they could boost third-force movements already gaining traction.
Inside the Ibadan Convention: A Theatre of Defiance and Desperation
The mood in Ibadan was both celebratory and tense. Delegates danced as posters of absentee governors were torn down. Chants filled the stadium as speakers warned that the party must reclaim its place or fade into history.
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri declared that Nigerians were “still looking up to the PDP to rescue the nation.” BoT Chairman Adolphus Wabara said the convention showed the PDP “will not die.” When Senator Ben Obi announced Turaki’s 1,516 votes, the stadium erupted. But the celebration couldn’t mask the legal storm brewing outside.
Constitutional lawyer Okueyelegbe Sylvanus warned that disobedience to a valid court order could nullify all outcomes. Barrister Okpan Ozinko called the court decisions “dangerous abuses of judicial process.”
The future of the convention would likely be tested in court for months.
Turaki’s Acceptance Speech: Symbolism and Strategy. Turaki declared an end to “impunity” and promised: a return of the party to the grassroots; a discipline-driven NWC; a roadmap for reconciliation; immediate organisational reforms; His tone was measured but firm, an attempt to reassure all factions.
Can He Save the PDP?
Kabiru Tanimu Turaki enters Wadata Plaza at the most chaotic moment in PDP history.
He brings: calm temperament; legal expertise; cross-regional acceptance; a reputation for negotiation; backing of governors and elders. But he also inherits: legal landmines; organisational chaos; deeply entrenched mistrust; financial instability; a bruised party base; the Wike factor; a ticking 2027 clock
His success will depend on whether he can restore trust, end litigation, rebuild structures, and present a united front before Nigerians lose patience completely.
The next 90 days will determine whether the PDP rises again or whether history will record Turaki as the last chairman of a once-mighty political institution.
