As preparations intensify for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention, a coalition of the party’s influential power brokers has issued a firm six-point demand to the National Working Committee (NWC), warning that failure to comply could throw the entire exercise into jeopardy.
The demands emerged from a late-night strategy session on Monday at the Abuja residence of Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former governor of Rivers State.
Present at the meeting were ex-governors Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ayo Fayose (Ekiti), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), alongside PDP National Secretary, Senator Sam Anyanwu.
In a communique signed by Ortom and released Tuesday morning, the group insisted that the opposition party cannot afford to ignore the principles of fairness and inclusivity if it wants to remain credible ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Six Demands
The stakeholders called for immediate action on the following issues:
Fresh congresses in Ebonyi and Anambra states, in line with existing court rulings.
Urgent conduct of a South East Zonal Congress.
Respect for the court-upheld outcome of the South South Congress in Calabar.
Ekiti local government congresses to be conducted, in compliance with judicial pronouncements.
No micro-zoning of party offices, beyond the already approved NEC zoning formula.
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Retention of the national chairmanship in the North Central, as agreed in the 2021 convention.
The group cautioned that ignoring these demands would not only disenfranchise legitimate members but also render the convention itself invalid.
“The PDP is at a defining crossroads,” the communique read. “Unity cannot be built on disenfranchisement, exclusion, or the neglect of judicial rulings. Only transparency and fairness will guarantee a credible convention.”
The leaders argued that the party’s survival as Nigeria’s main opposition force hinges on whether it can rise above factional interests and return to its founding ideals of inclusivity and justice.
With the next general elections looming, the intervention by Wike, Ortom, Fayose, Ikpeazu, and their allies is being interpreted as both a warning and a power play, signaling that unresolved internal disputes could weaken the PDP’s standing before Nigerians.
Party watchers say the NWC now faces the delicate task of balancing legal obligations, zoning agreements, and growing pressure from within its ranks — or risk steering the PDP deeper into crisis.