Makinde–Wike feud deepens PDP crisis ahead of 2027

By Baba Martins, Al-Mustapha A. Mustapha & Peter Moses

This is hardly the best of times for Nigeria’s main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party is not only deeply factionalised, but its leading figures are now openly at war, battling for control of what many insiders describe as the party’s remaining soul.

At the centre of the latest turmoil are Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and his former ally, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. Once among the most powerful blocs within the PDP, the two men are now locked in a fierce struggle over who controls the party’s structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.

As preparations for 2027 gather pace, the disagreement that led to the formation of the Wike-led G-5 in 2023 has widened. Wike, now a minister in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has openly vowed to work for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. That position has sharply divided the PDP and drawn strong resistance from Makinde and other governors, who insist the party must field its own presidential candidate.

The development has polarised the PDP, with governors and mainstream party leaders on one side, and Wike and his allies operating what critics describe as a parallel leadership structure.

Sources within the party told Daily Trust that the battle for the PDP’s soul and structure is directly linked to permutations for 2027.

Makinde is said to be among those nursing presidential ambitions within the PDP, while Wike has remained firm in his support for Tinubu’s second-term bid.

“What they are fighting for is the soul of the party,” a senior PDP source said. “While Wike is ready to work for the APC, Makinde, other governors and party leaders believe the PDP must produce its own presidential candidate.”

The source questioned the logic of the PDP backing a candidate from another party, describing such a move as an aberration.

According to him, failure to present a presidential candidate in 2027 could spell the end of the PDP as a serious opposition force.

Multiple sources further alleged that Wike’s strategy is to keep the PDP as a bargaining chip ahead of 2031, when he may seek to negotiate for a vice-presidential slot.

The crisis has been compounded by the existence of two rival leadership structures: the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) elected in Ibadan, Oyo State, and the caretaker committee backed by Wike. Both factions have been operating at cross-purposes.

On Monday, the Wike camp held what it described as a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, ahead of a national convention slated for March.

At the gathering, Wike was quoted as vowing not to allow “vampires” to take over the party, an apparent reference to Makinde, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and their allies.

He also said he was closely monitoring developments in the Oyo State chapter of the PDP, insisting that his involvement was driven solely by the desire to see the party survive.

“Let me declare my interest clearly: I am interested in the survival and success of this party. I am also interested in all the happenings in Oyo State PDP. That is all I am interested in,” he said.

Wike further insisted that his camp could not be intimidated.

“Who will intimidate us to the end? Some of us, by the grace of God, do not see what anyone can threaten us with. The legal battle has collapsed. They have no option but to recognise the caretaker committee,” he added.

Makinde fires back

Makinde appeared to respond to Wike’s comments on Tuesday, describing those expelled from the party as “vagabonds”.

Speaking during the unveiling of the Oyo State PDP secretariat in Ibadan, the governor said the party was now free of internal dispute.

“In Yorubaland, we always say that if you see a house or a compound that is peaceful, the vagabond in that house has not grown up,” he said.

According to him, the PDP’s loss of power at the federal level in 2015 created a leadership vacuum that allowed such elements to gain influence.

“Otherwise, those vagabonds would never have been able to take hold of the PDP. But they were expelled in November 2025. So, there is no more vagabond in the PDP,” he said.

Makinde admitted that they were once allies.

“Let me confess. I came into government in 2019, and towards 2023, I was yoked with them. But now, I have repented,” he said.

He added that the party’s leadership would not allow them to retain influence.

“For them to hold PDP for another two years, no, no, no,” he said.

He also said it was surprising that “someone that has not been able to do anything about Rivers PDP” was vowing to be interested in Oyo PDP.

Wike central to crisis — Ehilebo

A chieftain of the party, Tony Ehilebo, also blamed Wike for the party’s ongoing crisis.

Speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, Ehilebo said the FCT minister remained bitter over his loss at the 2022 presidential primary.

Ehilebo said Wike’s grievances had lingered longer than expected and fell short of acceptable leadership standards.

He further alleged that former vice-presidential candidate Peter Obi and Works Minister Dave Umahi defected partly due to Wike’s influence within the party.

“Wike controlled Anambra PDP. Peter Obi did not even have a say in his own state,” he said.

Founding fathers must intervene — Vaughan

Meanwhile, a former National Ex-Officio of the party, David Vaughan, urged the party’s founding fathers and the Board of Trustees (BoT) to urgently intervene, warning that the crisis threatens the party’s survival.

Vaughan, speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, said unresolved internal disputes and factional struggles could further weaken the PDP ahead of future elections.

Vaughan noted that the same actors who worked against the party under the G-5 arrangement in 2023 were still at the centre of the current conflict.

He warned that the divisions between camps loyal to Makinde and Wike had continued to polarise members, drive defections and weaken party cohesion.

“Elections are won through unity of purpose, not division. PDP is too big for one man. We need everybody,” he said.

He cautioned against further one-sided conventions, warning that another NEC meeting planned by the Wike camp in March could deepen the crisis.

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