The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has ratified Senator Ben Obi as Secretary of the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) for its 2025 Elective National Convention, set for November 15-16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Announced Wednesday by PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, who doubles as NCOC’s Publicity and Communication Sub-Committee Secretary, Obi’s appointment endorsed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) leverages his decades as a seasoned politician and former Presidential Adviser to ensure a hitch-free convention.
The NCOC, chaired by Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, is tasked with steering the party’s leadership elections amid a bruising crisis that saw Enugu Governor Peter Mbah and Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri defect to the APC this week, shrinking PDP’s gubernatorial ranks from 13 to eight.
Umar Sani, Senior Special Adviser to former Vice President Namadi Sambo, dismissed the defections’ impact in an Arise TV interview monitored by The Guardian, alleging external orchestration by “fifth columnists.”
“PDP is not domiciled in its headquarters. We only have issues with leadership,” Sani said, claiming Mbah’s Enugu mandate was fraudulently secured, with Labour Party (LP) as the true 2023 victor, a charge rooted in disputes over delayed result announcements resolved at INEC’s headquarters.
“Mbah is swimming against the tide. Enugu has been PDP since 1999,” he insisted.
The Forum of PDP State Chairmen, in a Monday communiqué from an emergency meeting in Abuja, accused the APC of deploying “intimidation, harassment, and coercive tactics” to poach governors and lawmakers, warning of a slide toward a one-party state.
Signed by Acting Secretary Edward Masha, the statement followed a hybrid gathering of 25 state and FCT chairmen.
The forum also suspended Imo’s Austine Nwachukwu and Abia’s Hon. Amah Abraham Nnana for filing lawsuits to halt the convention, naming Edo’s Tony Aziegbemi as its new chairman.
Internal sabotage allegations surfaced as the Northern Support Group of PDP, led by Yusuf Dingyadi, accused the NWC’s national secretary, legal adviser, and organising secretary of conspiring to derail convention plans through legal challenges, violating the party’s democratic principles.
“This deliberate effort to frustrate the process threatens our survival,” Dingyadi’s statement read, urging members to prioritize unity.
In Osun, PDP chieftain Dr. Muyiwa Oladimeji, speaking at the League of Veteran Journalists’ 49th Frontliners event in Osogbo, attributed the defections to Nigeria’s weak party ideologies, suggesting governors like Mbah and Diri jumped ship to dodge looming electoral losses.
He refuted rumors of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s defection, accusing APC propagandists of spreading lies to sway voters. Oladimeji linked vote-buying to poverty and ignorance, predicting its persistence absent economic relief.
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