The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike has elected Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed and Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Chairman and Secretary, respectively, in substantive capacity.
Until the national convention, held by the faction in Abuja on Sunday, both office held the same positions in the caretaker committee constituted by the group.
The other faction of the party elected Dr. Kabiru Turaki as National Chairman, and other officers during its controversial national convention in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, last November.
Mohammed, Anyanwu and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) were elected through consensus during the elective national convention held at the velodrome of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
The Senator representing Kogi Central, Mrs. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, had earlier moved a motion to dissolve the national caretaker committee.
At the convention, a former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, appealed to aggrieved members to return to the party.
‘We are willing to forgive everyone. Come back, stay focused, and return to the PDP’, he said.
A former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who is the leader of the Kwara State chapter of the party, said that the PDP remains vibrant and resilient.
‘The PDP is alive, active, and here to stay. It is deeply rooted in this country and firmly in the minds of Nigerians’, he said.
The Kwara State delegation also attended the other faction’s convention in Ibadan four months ago.
The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, urged members to unite to reclaim power in 2027.
‘We need to recover the power that we have lost. We must come together to recover our country. Every member has a responsibility’, he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, said that members who rejected the peace efforts have all abandoned the party.
‘Those who insisted there would be no peace in the PDP have all negotiated their way out of the party. We now have only two governors’, he said.
He commended Wike for remaining committed to the PDP.
‘Wike has remained steadfast in the PDP. He must be commended’, Moro said.
Wike urged members to commit to rebuilding the party, adding that leadership requires responsibility and dedication.
Expressing confidence that the party would field candidates in the 2027 elections, Wike said that the PDP would reclaim its mandate from those who defected to other parties.
Last Friday, the Turaki faction asked the Supreme Court to restrain the Wike camp from holding the national convention.
