….The PDP new NWC members emerged through a consensus.
Abdulrahman Mohammed and Samuel Anyanwu have been elected as substantive National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Mohammed and Anyanwu emerged through a consensus, along with 19 other members of the new national working committee of the PDP, at the party’s 2026 national convention held at the velodrome of the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Sunday.
Other prominent party members who attended the convention were a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; a former Senate president, Bukola Saraki; and a former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi, among others.
Wike, who was identified as the national leader of the party, said the healing in the PDP had begun.
He assured the members that the PDP would be on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
“So many people have spoken here. Saraki has said, with Abba Moro, and they were asking, ‘Is the PDP going to contest the 2027 election at all?’
“I have told Senator Saraki that, by the grace of God, the PDP will be on the ballot in 2027. We have seen the real convention, the convention that is being monitored by the electoral umpire. That is the convention that is recognised,” he said amid cheers among the delegates.
He said the future of the party must be built on inclusiveness, with equal opportunity for party members.
He commended the delegates for demonstrating good character.
The former Rivers State governor also said that the party would recover its mandate from those who took it.
“I congratulate all of you who stood firm when the storm raged. You showed exemplary resilience when push came to shove. You refused to be downcast when those who pretended to be leaders of the party betrayed you disgracefully.
“You survived the taunts of the naysayers. Together, we are standing on the positive side of purpose and committed to the task of making Nigeria a truly prosperous country,” the minister added.
‘Unity Over Division’
Mohammed said the party would belong to all members under his leadership.
Earlier, he called on members to embrace inclusiveness as the party repositions itself for the 2027 general elections.
“Today, we choose a higher path. We choose inclusiveness over exclusion, unity over division, we choose renewal over decline,” Mohammed stated at the 2026 PDP National Convention, which was held at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja, on Sunday.
“The PDP has not come here to mourn itself; the PDP has come here to renew itself. This convention is therefore not just about the election; this convention is about restoration, order, not just about position.
“Distinguished delegates, this is not an official day. Today is a moment of reflection, a moment of responsibility, and above all, a moment of renewal. We gather here after a difficult session, a session of disagreement, legal contestation, a session that tested the strength and soul of this party,” he added.
The Chairman of the convention planning committee and former governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, who pegged the number of delegates at 2035, said the party’s door of reconciliation would remain open after the convention.
In the build-up to the convention, the PDP has been embroiled in a crisis over the party’s leadership structure.
Leadership Crisis
The PDP has been entangled in an internal crisis that led to the emergence of two factions.
While the Tanimu Turaki faction, backed by the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, claims leadership on one side, the group backed by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, controls the other faction.
The convention held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in November 2025, snowballed into a series of legal battles.
But on March 9, the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the judgment of a Federal High Court, which restrained the PDP from conducting the Ibadan convention.
Delivering judgment on March 23, a three-member panel of the appellate court dismissed an appeal filed by the PDP challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Abuja to entertain the suit.
Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who delivered the judgment, held that the PDP violated constitutional provisions guiding the conduct of its convention.
But the Turaki group headed to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgment.
