In a bid to arrest the escalating wave of defections and internal strife rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), governors elected on the party’s platform convened an emergency strategy meeting with former governors, National Assembly presiding officers, and members of the Board of Trustees in Abuja on Sunday.
The high-stakes gathering, which came amid fresh concerns about the PDP’s stability ahead of the 2027 general elections, was held behind closed doors and signaled a renewed urgency by party leadership to recalibrate its political fortunes.
An insider disclosed that the meeting was a direct response to recent high-profile defections, most notably those of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, alongside key state functionaries, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The exit of these leaders, compounded by the defection of Senators Adamu Aliero, Yahaya Abdullahi, and Garba Maidoki of Kebbi State, has rattled the PDP’s power base.
According to sources, Sunday’s meeting focused on four key issues: addressing the defections, rallying support for the upcoming National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, preparing for the August National Elective Convention, and resolving persistent leadership disputes, including the South-South zonal crisis and the vacant National Secretary position.
The Director General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Emmanuel Agbo, confirmed that the emergency meeting was convened to unify ranks and consolidate earlier resolutions from a prior meeting in Ibadan.
“The governors are meeting with ex-governors and party elders to secure backing for the strategic decisions taken in Ibadan,” Agbo told Sunday PUNCH. “This is about ownership of the process and building consensus ahead of the National Convention.”
Also speaking, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the engagements are part of constitutional mechanisms aimed at strengthening internal dispute resolution.
“We are confident that these meetings will produce a revitalized PDP. Nigerians can expect a credible opposition capable of reclaiming power in 2027,” Ologunagba stated.
Acting PDP National Chairman Umar Damagum did not mince words about recent defections. Describing the defectors as lacking political character, he said their departures only exposed their opportunistic nature. “Those who defected did so without conscience. What chased them from the PDP will eventually chase them out of the APC,” he declared.
Similarly, National Organising Secretary Umar Bature downplayed the defections, predicting a reverse movement of APC members into the PDP soon.
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, linked the trend to Nigeria’s declining political ideology. “These defections show we need a political reorientation. Today’s politics is less about ideology and more about personal gain,” he observed.
With the NEC meeting slated for May 27, party insiders suggest it could be a defining moment. Former PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Diran Odeyemi, called the NEC the party’s “supreme decision-making body,” while Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor expressed strong optimism that the meeting would lead to meaningful reconciliation.
“All eyes are on this NEC. From the unresolved secretaryship to the ratification of congresses, a lot hinges on it,” Osadolor noted. “But there’s hope—the party leadership is now acting with purpose.”
As the PDP fights to remain relevant in a shifting political landscape, Sunday’s meeting may serve as a litmus test for its survival, cohesion, and ability to project a unified front against the APC ahead of 2027.