PDP Governors Brainstorm As Party’s Crisis Deepens

Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are having a brainstorming session in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The session, which began on Sunday, will see the governors discussing through Monday in what observers described as a critical moment in the life of the party.

The PDP is currently embroiled in an internal crisis, partly triggered by the festering feud between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

A source close to the meeting told The Whistler on Sunday night that issues like the emergency rule in Rivers State and the dismantling of democratic structures in the state are on the front burner.

Specifically, they will be discussing available legal options to counter the emergency rule and fight for the reinstatement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Recall that the governors have filed a suit at the apex court seeking interpretation of Section 305 of the Constitution, which President Bola Tinubu cited in his emergency rule proclamation.

The PDP had vehemently rejected the emergency rule a few hours after Tinubu proclaimed it on March 18.

The party had said in a strongly worded statement, “The PDP outrightly rejects this attempt by the president to override the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and undermine the votes and will of the people of Rivers State by seeking to depose a democratic government and foist an undemocratic rule in the state.

“The unconstitutional declaration by President Tinubu of the suspension of the democratically elected Governor of Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and the appointment of an unelected individual, Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd), to govern the State is a clear attack on our nation’s democracy, an abrogation of the votes, and a violation of the democratic right of the people of Rivers State to choose their leader under the Constitution.

“The action of Mr President, therefore, clearly borders on an attempt at state capture. It is the climax of a well-oiled plot to forcefully take over Rivers State, for which the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been bent on stoking a crisis to ensure that democracy is ultimately truncated in the state.

“Nigerians are invited to note that the situation in Rivers State and the reasons adduced by the President cannot justify the declaration of a state of emergency in the State under the 1999 Constitution, rendering the declaration completely incompetent.”

Also on the card are the divergent positions taken by the two claimants to the party’s National Secretary and their separate interpretations of the Supreme Court ruling on the position.

Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye are laying claim to the position of National Secretary as the two party officials have continued to insist that the apex court ruling was in their favour.

Similarly, the governors are also deliberating over the propriety or otherwise of the PDP joining a coalition ahead of the 2027 general election.

They will decide whether the PDP should go into the 2027 election alone or align forces with other political parties against the All Progressives Congress (APC).