PDP govs meet in Ibadan to discuss party crisis, legal battles, 2027
Amid mounting concerns over the internal turmoil within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the PDP Governors’ Forum is holding a crucial meeting on Monday in Ibadan, hosted by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, to chart a way forward.
Sources said the meeting will focus heavily on critiquing the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Federal Government, while also delving into the deepening power tussles within the PDP itself.
Top on the agenda is the legal strategy surrounding the party’s support for the suspended Vice Chairman of the Forum, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, particularly in response to the alleged State of Emergency in Rivers State.
Governors are expected to explore legal avenues to reinforce the Forum’s stance.
Additionally, discussions are expected around the controversial reinstatement of PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
Two governors are reportedly pushing for legal moves to prevent his return, following the March 21, 2025, Supreme Court judgment that invalidated earlier rulings which temporarily installed Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye in the position.
The Forum had previously backed Udeh-Okoye but has remained silent since the Supreme Court ruling favored Anyanwu, a known ally of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
The meeting is also likely to tackle the broader issue of building an anti-APC coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is championing a merger strategy, some PDP governors, including Forum Chairman Governor Bala Mohammed, have expressed reservations
Mohammed, who once referred to coalition proponents as “marauders,” now reportedly has support from a growing number of governors within the party.
Meanwhile, PDP Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor continues to advocate for a united opposition front, with the PDP playing a leading role due to its nationwide reach.
Despite the Social Democratic Party (SDP) publicly rejecting any merger plans through a weekend communiqué signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, Osadolor insists that a broad-based coalition is essential to challenge the APC’s dominance in 2027.
Said Osadolor in Abuja during the weekend: “We all have to realize that the APC cannot be dislodged without unity among all opposition leaders and parties; the APC has entrenched itself svery deeply and no single political party can take on it head-on without collaboration, so, it is a matter of necessity, not convenience for political leaders to join hands to give Nigeria a new lease of life in 2027.”
He explained that as Nigeria’s leading opposition party that cannot be ignored in such political plan, the PDP needs to sit down with other parties and play a lead role in any purposeful political coalition now.