With the countdown to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention gathering momentum, some of the party’s most influential figures have raised fresh concerns, issuing a six-point ultimatum to the National Working Committee (NWC).
The demands were agreed upon at a high-level stakeholders’ meeting held Monday night at the Abuja residence of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister and former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.
Others at the meeting included former Benue State governor Samuel Ortom; ex-Ekiti State governor Ayo Fayose; former Abia State governor Okezie Ikpeazu; and former Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. Also in attendance was the PDP National Secretary, Senator Sam Anyanwu.
In a communiqué issued early Tuesday and signed by Ortom on behalf of the group, the stakeholders warned that any convention held without addressing their concerns would be considered invalid, as “legitimate members of the party would be disenfranchised.”
The six demands
The PDP stakeholders insisted that:
1. Fresh congresses must be conducted in Ebonyi and Anambra States, in compliance with subsisting court judgments.
2. A new South-East Zonal Congress must be urgently organised.
3. The outcome of the South-South Congress in Calabar, already upheld by the courts, must be respected.
4. PDP should immediately conduct the Ekiti LGA congresses, in line with judicial pronouncements.
5. There should be no micro-zoning of offices beyond the general zoning formula adopted by the National Executive Committee (NEC).
6. The national chairmanship position must remain in the North-Central, consistent with the zoning arrangement of the 2021 convention.
This move heightens tensions within the PDP as it prepares for a critical convention that will determine the party’s direction ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The communiqué stressed that the PDP is at a “defining crossroads”, warning that sidelining valid members or disregarding judicial rulings would deepen divisions within the party.
“Unity cannot be built on disenfranchisement, exclusion, or the neglect of valid judicial pronouncements,” the statement read, adding that only transparency and fairness would guarantee a credible convention.
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