Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have drummed up support for the party’s upcoming national convention.
A new set of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) that will run the day-to-day affairs of the party for four years, will be elected at the convention, scheduled for Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on 15th and 16th November 2025.
Rising from a meeting in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital on Saturday, the PDP governors urged stakeholders and members alike to resist attempts to derail the convention.
The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said no amount of defections from the PDP can destroy or diminish the party’s grassroots support.
Mohammed, who is the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, stated this in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, shortly after the a meeting of the governors.
The Forum also reaffirmed commitment to the resolutions of the party’s to hold the national convention.
Addressing party members after the meeting, Mohammed said, “Resist all attempts to derail the convention by anti-party forces; but to see the PDP as the only democratic institution and viable alternative for restoring Nigeria along the path of good governance and national development.”
The governor said the Forum extensively deliberated on the state of the nation, security situation, the erosion of democratic values as well as ongoing efforts to reposition the party and make adequate preparation for its forthcoming national convention.
The Forum further expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the recent by-elections and expressed gratitude to members of their party for their support and courageous resilience.
“We appreciate supporters of the PDP nationwide for their steadfast loyalty in the face of serious intimidation and untold anti-democratic actions by the APC-led federal government in the last by- elections.
The Forum also commended the resilience of the PDP leaders and members who resisted temptations to the ruling party.
“Your resilience from orchestrated defections and distractions which cannot diminish our party’s strong grassroots appeal is worthy of recommendation and the growing public yearning for the return of affordable living and relative security experienced under PDP-led administrations will soon bounce back,” he assured.
“Nigeria and Nigerians from the divisive governance style of the APC, whose policies have continued to cause more hardship and misery to the people,” the governor said.
Those at the meeting, which was chaired by the Bauchi Governor, were Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Agbu Kefas (Taraba), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo).
In a related development, a former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has appealed to members who left the PDP to “return home.”
According to him, only a united PDP can rescue Nigeria in 2027, stressing that attempts to form new coalitions outside the PDP were a waste of time.
Lamido described the David Mark-led African Democratic Congress (ADC) as fragile and reactionary.
The former governor said many of today’s opposition leaders were original members of the PDP and called on them to return tnk the party.
“Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Kwankwaso, El-Rufai – they are all PDP people. Rather than chasing fragile coalitions, let them return home and submit to the discipline of the PDP. That is the only way Nigeria can be saved,” Lamido declared.
According to him, the PDP remains a model of Nigeria’s democracy, “having pulled the country out of military rule in 1999.”
He reminded the politicians forming alliances and plotting coalitions that they found national relevance through the PDP.
“PDP rescued Nigeria before, and it can do so again if its members return and restore discipline,” he said.
The former governor cautioned that the survival of the opposition coalition depends on the choice of its presidential candidate, warning that a wrong decision could “scatter efforts” before the 2027 polls.
“If we get it right, Nigeria will be safe. If we get it wrong, then we are in trouble,” he warned.
Lamido accused the APC of using Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to destabilise the PDP. According to him, Wike has turned himself into a willing tool of the ruling party.
He said, “Tinubu is using Wike as a black sheep within the PDP. He disrupts everything and weakens the party from inside. If the PDP enforces discipline, Nigerians will believe in it again”.
He described the APC adminstartion as a disaster, accusing President Bola Tinubu of personalising governance and weaponising state power.
“Since 2015, the APC has only deepened insecurity, corruption and hardship. Nigerians are not better off,” he said.
Lamido charged the PDP to rebuild trust, enforce discipline and rally its estranged members under one umbrella.
He called on estranged PDP members to “return home,” saying that’s the only path to “rescuing Nigeria.”