Wike Demanded PDP Drop 2027 Presidential Bid as Reconciliation Condition — Umar Sani Alleges
A senior member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Sani, has alleged that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, demanded far-reaching conditions—including a push for the PDP to forgo presenting a presidential candidate in 2027—as part of negotiations to resolve the party’s deepening internal conflict.
Sani made the claim during a Monday appearance on Arise Television News while reacting to the controversial expulsion of Wike and 11 others at the PDP convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State. PulseNets learnt that his remarks have reignited debates over the protracted rift within the opposition party.
According to Sani, repeated attempts to reconcile feuding factions had failed long before the Ibadan convention. He argued that the party had delayed decisive action for too long, insisting that those recently expelled had exercised disproportionate influence for years.
He explained that the PDP’s Board of Trustees had set up a reconciliation committee in a last-minute effort to mend the crisis. However, Sani said the process collapsed after Wike allegedly tabled an uncompromising condition.
“When the committee met with him, he insisted that the PDP must openly commit to not fielding a presidential candidate in 2027. According to him, that was the only path to peace; otherwise, he was ready for what he called a no-retreat-no-surrender battle,” Sani stated.
Efforts to reach Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, were unsuccessful, as calls placed by PulseNets were not answered.
The PDP has grappled with internal turmoil since before the 2023 general elections. But tensions escalated dramatically when the Damagum-aligned faction proceeded with the Ibadan convention, ultimately expelling Wike; former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose; national secretary Samuel Anyanwu; and national legal adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN). Also removed were national organising secretary Umar Bature; factional acting national chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman; the faction’s newly inaugurated BoT chairman Mao Ohuabunwa; Austin Nwachukwu; George Turner; Abraham Amali; and Dan Orbih. Fayose’s expulsion coincidentally came on the day he marked his 65th birthday in Lagos.
However, PulseNets obtained confirmation that two PDP governors—Adamawa’s Ahmadu Fintiri and Plateau’s Caleb Mutfwang—immediately distanced themselves from the expulsions. They warned that such decisions risked pushing the opposition party into an even more fractious and uncertain future.
In a further blow to the convention’s legitimacy, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were absent, following two subsisting Federal High Court rulings in Abuja directing the electoral body to stay away from the exercise.
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Many notable PDP figures similarly stayed away, including former Senate President Bukola Saraki and former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Special Duties Kabiru Tanimu Turaki from Kebbi State emerged unopposed as national chairman, after his co-aspirant, Senator Yakubu Lado of Katsina State, unexpectedly stepped down—a development PDP insiders told PulseNets had been brewing behind the scenes.
