By Ehichioya Ezomon
In my Monday, June 30, 2025, copy entitled, “Questions over PDP’s June 30 NEC meeting,” two posers stood out from the public spat involving stakeholders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regarding the 100th meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC) scheduled for June 30 at the party Wadata Plaza headquarters in Wuse Zone of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The first question was whether the meeting would hold, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had spotted an obvious lacuna of non-compliance with the PDP constitution in the letter of notification, prompting the commission to decline attendance, as technically, “there is no notice of the NEC before the Commission.”
The issue at play was the PDP Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum’s June 25, 2025, indefinite postponement of the NEC 100th meeting fixed at its 99th meeting of May 27, ironically presided by Damagum by virtue of being Chairman of the National Working Committee (NWC).
The meeting’s deferment was greeted with a push-back by a reported majority of the NWC members, the National Ex-Officio Members’ Forum and the Board of Trustees (BoT) – all vowing the meeting would hold, as “Damagum’s action violated PDP’s constitution,” and a disregard for the decision of the 99th NEC meeting “that’s binding on all organs of the party.”
The second question was: Whose prompting and command would members of the NEC listen to and obey on June 30: The “advisory” Chairman of the BoT and former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, or the “superintending” National Chairman Damagum? I posited that polity watchers would know the answer in a matter of hours that Monday.
It’s indeed predictive, as observers were, for hours, treated to absurdities, including clashes by supporters of rival camps; sealing of the PDP secretariat by heavily-armed security operatives; barring of party members and journalists from the complex; and relocation of the BoT pre-NEC meeting to the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre in the Central Business District of Abuja.
Besides shifting of the NEC meeting, Damagum announced “immediate reinstatement” of Sen. Samuel Anyanwu – PDP’s duly-elected National Secretary in 2021 for a term of four years ending in October 2025 – who’s rejected by a section of the party on grounds of alleged forfeiture of the position he left midstream to contest for Imo State governor in November 2023.
The supremacy battle in the PDP – dating back to pre-2023 General Election – initially pitted former Vice President and presidential candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (who “decamped” to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on July 2, 2025) against former Rivers State Governor and Minister of the FCT, Chief Nyesom Wike.
But ahead of June 30, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, the “inheritor” of the prior Atiku faction – who’d reportedly parted ways with Wike, and was able to push the PDP Deputy National Secretary, Setonji Koshoedo, to replace the Wike-backed Anyanwu as acting national secretary – joined by 11 of 19-man NWC, some Governors, the BoT and Ex-Officio Forum members, supported the 100th NEC meeting, but opposed Anyanwu’s return as national secretary.
In contrast, the Wike camp, consisting of Damagum and eight NWC members, some Governors and other stakeholders, was against the 100th NEC meeting, but favoured Anyanwu’s reinstatement as national secretary.
These contestations threatened to push the PDP further towards the precipice, as the stakeholders arrived in Abuja on June 30 to a barricaded party headquarters by security operatives on “orders from above” – a reference to a higher police officer and/or government official. But common sense eventually prevailed, and the party leaders, in the spirit of give and take, “successfully” held the 100th NEC meeting.
The NEC meeting followed a closed-door meeting by some PDP governors at the Bauchi State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja. As reported by Channels TV on June 30, the parley had in attendance Bauchi State Governor and Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, Sen. Bala Mohammed, Governor Makinde, Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri, and former Kwara Governor and ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki.
In his opening remarks, presiding Damagum explained that the PDP had resolved its internal disagreements and agreed to proceed with the NEC meeting at the Wadata Plaza already vacated by armed security operatives, who the FCT Police Command had said were drafted there to “maintain law and order,” to prevent hoodlums (political thugs) hijacking the chaotic scenes.
“The issue at hand, which creates a lot of tension and discussion within us, has been discussed, and we have taken a position and, fortunately, to allow the NEC to step in, which has prompted this meeting. It was a helpful decision,” Damagum said.
“The beauty of our party is that we have always handled our problems in our own ways. So, after due consultations with our leaders, the governors, leaders of other organs, we say even though we’ve slated this NEC and we had challenges, this is our own NEC,” he added.
Unlike in his June 25 cancellation of the 100th NEC meeting, and reinstatement of Anyanwu as national secretary, Damagum’s less dramatic pronouncing the NEC decision: The next NEC meeting is fixed for July 23, 2025, to discuss all contentious issues and take decisions on them, leading to the National Convention; and Sen. Anyanwu is to continue to serve as national secretary.
If it were a game of soccer, that’d be a “one-all-draw”. A truly “give-and-take” outcome: The Governor Makinde camp having its way with the 100th NEC meeting, and the Wike faction securing a reprive for Anyanwu as national secretary.
Addressing the earlier police presence at the PDP secretariat, which many members criticised as a “siege orchestrated by the government to prevent the NEC meeting from holding,” Governor Mohammed told journalists that the blockade was “necessary to prevent miscreants hijacking the meeting,” tacitly confirming the security operatives’ claim of “orders from above” for their deployment at the Plaza.
Summing up the NEC meeting as a win-win of “no victor, no vanquished,” Dr Saraki, chairman of the PDP Reconciliation Committee, in a statement on June 30, said: “This evening, our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), successfully concluded the 100th edition of its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
“Today, there was no victor and no vanquished. The winner today is the PDP. Another winner is Nigeria’s democracy because, without a vibrant opposition, democracy dies. Again, millions of our party members and supporters, who are located in all the 774 LGAs across the country, also emerged winners.
“It was a symbolic gathering, as the meeting could have either been the breaking point, going by events of the last 48 hours, or the junction to cross the Rubicon and march forward into greater heights. Our esteemed leaders chose the latter,” Saraki said, as reported by DailyPost.Ng on July 1.
“I am particularly happy about the meeting for two reasons. One, we all agreed on the need for unity as a way of sending a signal to the entire nation that the PDP can only wax stronger. Two, the spirit of give and take dominated our frank discussions.”
For the BoT chair, Wabara, the NEC meeting is one river crossed. Waxing biblical, and with a ting of warning to PDP members, he promised: “We shall survive. The God of politics is in this party. If it is Allah, the Allah of politics is in this party. For any other party to succeed, we have to release our God to bless them. But our God knows that PDP is the beacon of hope for this country.
“What is happening here today will shock so many people. I’m sure they (alleged external forces and infiltrators) will start planning again to bring problems. NWC, please don’t allow a crack anymore because, once they have seen us now coming together, they would say, what? What happened? Who is the native doctor that made this possible? They don’t believe in God. They will start doing something to destabilise us, which we will not agree.
“So, whatever we are doing here today, we are doing because of our service to this nation, because of our service to the suffering masses. That’s why we have all sacrificed one thing or the other. So, I thank you so much for coming; thank Nigerians for their support, and we hope to take over power in 2027.”
For now, “All is well that ends well” for the PDP! But for how long is the question that’ll continue to bother genuinely-concerned members, even as the initial main antagonists – Atiku and Wike, who beat the drums that fueled the division within – were absent on June 30, but left their footsoldiers to size themselves up and come to a compromise on the two most sticky issues: the 100th NEC meeting and national secretaryship.
Will the “returned” common sense – which, pre-June 30, appeared a scarce commodity in the once acclaimed “largest political party in Africa” that boasted of an uninterrupted 60-year dominance of Nigeria’s governance – be a fleeting moment or a bird of passage? Again, polity watchers have a duty to train their binoculars on the PDP!
*Mr Ezomon, journalist and media consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria. Can be reached on X, Threads, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp @EhichioyaEzomon. Tel: 08033078357.
