A member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf, has delivered a sweeping and scathing assessment of the deepening crisis within the party, disclosing that some selfish governors and party leaders who are being blinded by ego and misled by others may be inadvertently positioning themselves to “collapse the PDP” ahead of December 7, 2025, when the tenure of the current NWC expires.
“If this crisis is unresolved by December 7, technically, there will be no PDP. Those pushing this agenda know what they are doing. They are being used.”
Yusuf, who has served in the House of Representatives for 12 years, painted a picture of a party trapped in a vicious cycle of ego battles, legal landmines, internal sabotage and constitutional violations — a situation that threatens the very survival of the PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He warned that reliance on propaganda, factionalism and impunity will only lead the opposition deeper into chaos.
“PDP is bigger than any governor. Bigger than a few men. If we don’t return to the rules, this party will collapse under the weight of our recklessness.”
In an extensive interview in Abuja, Yusuf said the turmoil rocking the party stems from power struggles, unlawful congresses, disregard of the party constitution and a deliberate attempt by some governors to hijack the party structure for personal advantage ahead of the 2027 polls.
Yusuf dismissed the Ibadan gathering as “a social event with no legal standing,” insisting that it failed to meet any constitutional or procedural requirement of the PDP.
“There was no convention in Ibadan. It was a gathering of people to socialise and massage ego. A convention is a product of due process, including zoning, congresses, INEC presence and proper notice. None existed.”
He faulted the decision to proceed despite subsisting court orders, disputed congresses in the South-East and South-South, and internal advisory memos warning the leadership against violating judgments.
According to him, the genesis of the crisis lies in the struggle for control of the PDP national secretariat.
He cited claims that Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde attempted to undermine the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and used his influence over key administrative offices to tilt internal processes in his favour.
Yusuf said the push to remove Anyanwu — and earlier, the party’s Director of Organisation and National Secretary — had no basis in the PDP constitution and was driven purely by political calculation.
On the disputed congresses and disregarded court orders, Yusuf revealed that several PDP congresses in Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra and parts of the South-South were conducted in violation of court rulings.
He accused the National Working Committee (NWC) of selectively recognising factions favoured by a small power bloc while ignoring rulings that nullified their actions.
“How can you conduct a convention when zonal congresses haven’t been done? Who then represents those states? Court rulings were simply thrown into the dustbin.”
The former lawmaker expressed disappointment in the role played by some governors, particularly Bala Mohammed of Bauchi and Makinde of Oyo, describing them as leaders who allowed personal ambition to supersede party cohesion.
“These governors have disappointed us. They allowed ego, misinformation and ambition to blind them to political reality.”
He accused some of them of zoning positions for a convention they knew could not stand, even as some had defected or were in talks to defect to the APC.
Recounting the violence that broke out at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja last Tuesday, Yusuf described the incident as the clearest indicator yet of an attempt by a faction to hijack the party through intimidation rather than procedure.
On the purported expulsion of former governor Nyesom Wike and others, Yusuf insisted the action has “no legal effect,” arguing that no disciplinary procedure, query or investigative report was issued as required by the PDP constitution.
“Suspending people for going to court? When did seeking legal redress become an offence? Their so-called suspension is dead on arrival.”
The BoT member further lamented that the Ibadan convention was planned to fail, disclosing that party elders, including Senators Bukola Saraki and Abba Moro, pleaded with the pro-Ibadan group to suspend the convention and adopt a caretaker committee model similar to the 2016 Port Harcourt episode that produced the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee, but that the appeals were ignored.
Yusuf insisted that the only path forward is full compliance with court orders, proper congresses across affected states and the creation of a neutral transitional leadership acceptable to all factions.
He ruled out leaving the PDP, saying:
“I worked for PDP in 2023. I am still here. If I want to leave, I will walk out openly. But I won’t allow anyone to blackmail me for insisting on what is right.”
