By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, dissolved the executives of 14 state chapters of the party and announced plans to conduct fresh congresses in January 2026.
The committee also maintained that the leadership of Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, serving as Acting Chairman and Acting National Secretary, respectively, remains the only legitimate structure recognised by the party.
This was contained in a communiqué issued after the committee’s meeting held on Thursday evening in Abuja and was read by the Acting Publicity Secretary, Haruna Jungun.
Jungun listed the states affected by the decision as Borno, Bauchi, Oyo, Zamfara, Yobe, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Delta, Taraba, Kano and Lagos.
The opposition party has been embroiled in an internal leadership crisis, which has divided its membership, with many defecting to other parties, especially the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Recall that Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) were elected on November 16 during the party’s election National Convention in Ibadan, endorsed by PDP governors, including Seyi Makinde of Oyo and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi.
However, Wike and his allies, Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, maintained that they remained the Acting National Chairman and Acting National Secretary, respectively.
Although the governors ensured a seamless handover from former Chairman Umar Damagum to Turaki ahead of the official end of Damagum’s tenure on December 9, the Wike-backed faction proceeded on December 8 to appoint Mohammed, Anyanwu, and others as 13 members of a 60-day caretaker committee.
During the 60 days, all outstanding congresses would be conducted, and a national convention would be convened.
While Turaki has continued to hold a series of meetings with some party leaders, the Mohammed/Anyanwu caretaker committee has also been conducting its own activities.
The communiqué issued on Thursday read, “To tell the teeming members of our party and the general public that the PDP remains strong and indivisible. There is only one genuine and legitimate PDP, headed by Honourable Abdulrahman Mohammed.
“The National Caretaker Committee, therefore, warned anybody putting the image of the party into disrepute to refrain from that forthwith.
“It is important to let the public know that the claims making the rounds in the media that the Turaki illegal Excos have been accepted by INEC are false.
“We therefore challenge Turaki to produce the code with which he uploaded his Exco to the INEC portal.
“The National Caretaker Committee further ratified the dissolution of some state working committees while confirming the caretaker committees in those states. The National Caretaker Committee further assigned portfolios to some of its members for the effective discharge of the duties conferred on them.
“The people are: Professor Adenike Ogunse, Women Leader; Mr Deji Doherty, Deputy National Secretary; Senator Olaka Ogunwu, Treasurer, Publicity; and Ambassador Dr Ibrahim Bala-Aboki to function as the Youth Leader.
“Finally, the committee has approved the calendar for the conduct of state congresses starting from January 9th, 2026, after which the national convention will follow.”
In his address, the Acting Chairman, Mohammed, stated that his group is the one operating in line with the party’s constitution.
