BoT Panel Writes Off PDP Convention, Calls For Caretaker Committee

… Wike Camp Backs Call

A six-member committee set up by the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has written off the planned national convention.

Instead, the panel has called for a caretaker committee to run the affairs of the party in the interim.

This was contained in the recommendations contained in the report of the committee set up for the purposes of reconciling the two warring factions in the PDP leadership.

A faction, backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has engaged the mainstream PDP in a supremacy battle for the control of the party’s structure at the national, zonal and state levels.

Worried by the stalemate, the BoT, chaired by a former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, had on 5th November, set up the committee with a view to resolving the friction between the two factions.

A report prepared by the committee and submitted to the various organs of the leadership of the PDP on Thursday, 13th November, called for the suspension of the national convention.

The convention, which is being organised by a faction loyal to the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, is scheduled to be held in Ibadan, the state capital, on Saturday through Sunday, November 15 and 16.

The report of the BoT panel, chaired by Ambassador Hassan Adamu, stated, among other things, that going ahead with the convention could further escalate divisions in the PDP.

Other members of the panel who also signed the report are Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, Chief Ugochukwu Okeke, Senator Zaynab Kure, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Dr Mohammed Gusau.

The report stated in part, “Considering the multiple court orders, INEC is unlikely to monitor the convention.
An all-inclusive caretaker committee is recommended, because a failed convention will incapacitate the party.

“All NWC members should return to the status quo immediately. Suspensions should be lifted and all parties brought together for genuine reconciliation.

“BoT must be restored to its proper place, the party must be supreme, and internal discipline must be upheld.”

The six panel members were picked from each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Apparently relying on the report, a former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, had on Thursday called for the suspension of the convention and the setting up of a caretaker committee instead.

Wike Camp Backs Call

The Wike camp, in a swift reaction, backed the call for a caretaker committee in the interest of peace, unity and reconciliation.

At a media briefing in Abuja on Friday, three members of the camp decried the decision of the Makinde camp to go ahead with the convention, describing it as anti-democratic.

The members—George Turna, Amah Abraham, and Austin Nwachukwu, who addressed journalists—faulted the process leading to the convention.

Recall that the trio had obtained a judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on October 31, halting the convention.

In a speech read at the briefing, the members said, “The processes leading up to our convention, in the view of many, did not align with our party constitution, the Electoral Act, the party’s electoral guidelines, and of course, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Principal among our concerns was the conduct of state congresses. We believed that, by our procedures, state congresses ought to have been concluded in almost all states — or at least a substantial number — to form the bulk of delegates to the national convention.

“We looked forward to guidelines; none were issued. We expected a timetable; we couldn’t find any. We sought information on procedures, including the purchase of forms; nothing was made available.

“Out of these frustrations, we approached the court to seek answers. It is now public knowledge that we obtained judgment in our favour, delivered by Honourable Justice James of the Federal High Court on 31st October 2025.

“It is important to clarify, because false narratives have spread, that we acted as proxies to stop the PDP convention or that we are undermining the party’s progress.

“In the buildup to this and following the judgment, the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT) set up a fact-finding committee. The committee reviewed the crisis and produced a report. As party members, we had access to the report.

“We wish to draw your attention to a key point from the committee’s meeting with members of the NWC loyal to the suspended National Chairman, His Excellency Ambassador Iliya Damagum.

“According to the committee report, Damagum himself stated that the National Organising Secretary was running a one-man show and had a hidden agenda that negatively affected state congresses.

“This confirms our earlier position that congresses were not properly conducted in at least 14 states. One wonders how a national convention could proceed while disenfranchising delegates from 14 states, including the South-East.”

The members of the Wike camp echoed the recommendations of the BoT panel, that going ahead with the convention
must be subject to a favourable legal status and INEC’s position.

“But instead of implementing these recommendations, the other group has jettisoned a report produced by a high-level BoT committee and insists on proceeding with a convention.

“But this report vindicates us—both the court and the BoT have affirmed that the issues we raised were legitimate.
Therefore, Nigerians must know the truth — who is on the side of the law, and who is on the side of impunity,” they said.