By SUNTV Global Channel
December 19, 2025 | News
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has moved to contain the deepening leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), convening an emergency meeting with the party’s two rival factions at its headquarters in Abuja.
SUNTV Global Channel reliably gathered that the high-level meeting, currently underway, is being chaired by INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, amid growing concerns over the opposition party’s internal stability, administrative coherence, and compliance with electoral regulations ahead of future elections.
In attendance are representatives of the Governor Seyi Makinde-backed faction, led by Tanimu Turaki, as well as delegates from the Nyesom Wike-aligned group, headed by Abdulrahman Mohammed. The meeting comes after weeks of escalating tension over which faction legitimately controls the PDP’s national leadership and structures.
The Turaki-led group, which insists it is the authentic National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, arrived at INEC with several senior party officials. Among those present are members of its NWC, top secretariat staff, and former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, a respected party elder seen as a key influencer within PDP ranks.
On the other side, the Abdulrahman Mohammed faction—widely believed to enjoy the backing of former Rivers State Governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike—was represented by members of its National Caretaker Committee. The delegation includes its secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, whose disputed reinstatement as PDP National Secretary remains a major flashpoint in the crisis.
Sources at the commission say the meeting is part of INEC’s intervention to prevent a further breakdown of order within the party, as both factions continue to lay claim to the PDP’s national secretariat, official communications, and statutory authority to conduct party affairs.
The PDP has in recent months been mired in confusion, with multiple court cases, parallel NEC meetings, and conflicting directives deepening internal divisions and weakening the party’s role as Nigeria’s main opposition force.
INEC’s latest move signals rising institutional concern that the prolonged crisis, if unresolved, could undermine the party’s legal standing and preparedness for upcoming electoral contests.
