The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described Saturday’s national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), held in Ibadan, as a political “funeral in disguise,” insisting the opposition party has slipped into irrelevance.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Mr. Oluseye Oladejo, the APC said the convention—marked by boycotts, low turnout, and controversy—was a “charade” that exposed the deepening crisis within the PDP.
The ruling party mocked the event as a “valedictory service” rather than a convention, noting that several PDP governors and senior stakeholders stayed away, a development it said confirmed the party’s terminal decline.
The APC also highlighted the refusal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to monitor the exercise, describing it as the final seal on what it termed an illegitimate and irrelevant gathering.
“The spectacle that unfolded at the so-called 2026 PDP National Convention – an event trumpeted as a rebirth but which, in reality, resembled a political obsequies for a once-dominant party now trapped in irreversible decline.
“What transpired was nothing but a charade – a poorly scripted show of confusion and desperation, an embarrassment to the political class, and a new low for an erstwhile national party that once wore the toga of invincibility and gripped the nation’s political space by the jugular. Those glory days are clearly over,” the statement read.
Despite the controversies, the PDP went ahead with the election of its new national leadership. Former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. Kabiru Turaki, emerged as national chairman after polling 1,516 votes.
His rival, Katsina governorship candidate Lado Danmarke—who had earlier withdrawn from the race—received 275 votes.
Senator Ben Obi, who announced the results, said 1,834 votes were cast, with 43 declared void. He added that 3,131 delegates participated in the convention, while 2,745 were accredited.
Seventeen positions were filled unopposed, while elections for the youth leader and deputy national legal adviser were stepped down.
The emergence of a northern chairman aligns with the party’s earlier decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South.
However, the APC said the leadership changes could not mask what it called a “rudderless” and “comatose” opposition, arguing that the PDP had failed to provide Nigerians with credible alternatives.
“Today’s PDP is no longer a national institution – it is a refuge for internally displaced politicians, career defectors, and political daydreamers struggling for survival. Nigerians are not confused: a party that cannot manage itself cannot offer leadership to a nation,” Oladejo said.
The PDP convention was attended by Governors Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), and former acting National Chairman Umar Damagum.
However, Governors Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers), and Agbu Kefas (Taraba) stayed away without official explanations.
APC said the boycott by some governors and delegates from multiple states suggested that even core PDP members were distancing themselves from the troubled party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Without unnecessarily pre-empting the outcome, it is indeed an endgame. The PDP’s internal disarray has already written a preface to its political obituary – the rest is merely a matter of time,” the ruling party said.
The APC added that while the ruling party is strengthening institutions and delivering governance under President Bola Tinubu, the PDP is in self-destructive mode.
“The Lagos APC reiterates that, while the ruling party is consolidating reforms, strengthening institutions, and delivering governance under the dynamic leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the PDP is busy conducting the funeral rites of its own relevance,” the APC said.