The internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) worsened significantly on Friday as the mainstream party leadership, backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, formally disowned the purported adoption of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as the party’s sole presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
In a sharply worded statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, the party’s recognized National Working Committee (NWC) declared that it has not approved, scheduled, or endorsed any convention or ratification meeting aimed at putting forward the former president. The party urged its members nationwide to completely disregard what it described as an unauthorized exercise designed to mislead the public and disrupt the political landscape.
The Turaki Factional Push
The open rebellion within the opposition party reached a climax this week when a parallel faction led by a former minister, Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, announced plans to hold a special ratification convention on Saturday at the A Class Event Centre in the Wuse 2 district of Abuja.
The Turaki-led group had earlier announced that a Presidential Screening Committee—chaired by former Vice President Namadi Sambo and represented by former Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu—had cleared Goodluck Jonathan as its sole presidential aspirant. According to Babangida Aliyu, the committee bypassed the rigorous screening protocols typically required of aspirants, arguing that Jonathan’s historic political trajectory from deputy governor to the presidency made further institutional vetting redundant.
However, the mainstream PDP structure has completely rejected the validity of that committee. The statement from Jungudo Mohammed reads:
“The Peoples Democratic Party has successfully concluded all its primary elections, including those for governorship, State Houses of Assembly, National Assembly, and the presidential election primaries, in strict accordance with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines, the provisions of the Electoral Act, and the constitution of our party.
We respectfully call on former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to publicly dissociate himself from this charade in order to protect the integrity of the democratic process and preserve the credibility he earned while serving the nation.”
The FCTA Administrative Counter-Offensive
Beyond the rhetorical warfare issued from the party secretariat, the pro-Wike faction has deployed the administrative machinery of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to halt the parallel convention.
In a directive issued by Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications to the FCT Minister, the FCTA issued a stern warning to hotel owners, public halls, and event center managers across the capital city. The administration threatened to immediately revoke the statutory land titles and Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) of any public building or private facility that allows its premises to be utilized for gatherings by “unregistered or illegal political factions.”
[Abuja Factional Control Points]
│
┌───────────────┴───────────────┐
▼ ▼
[Wike-Backed NWC] [Turaki Faction]
• Controls Official Ticket • Pushing Jonathan Ticket
• Appointed Sandy Onor • Cleared by B. Aliyu
• Deploys FCTA Land Laws • Defiant on Saturday Event
While the Turaki group quickly issued a counter-statement through its media arm, insisting it would resist every attempt to intimidate its members and that the Saturday event would proceed as planned, the threat of real estate sanctions has thrown the logistics of the event into chaos.
For many political observers, this administrative intervention mirrors Wike’s established political style: utilizing regulatory state powers to protect his structural investments within the political space. With the pro-Wike faction having already unveiled former federal lawmaker Sandy Onor as its chosen consensus candidate for 2027, the emergence of a highly recognizable figure like Goodluck Jonathan poses an immediate challenge that the mainstream leadership is determined to crush before it gains momentum.
