Olushola Omogbehin
As preparation for the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital gets to climax, two former Senate Presidents and leaders of the party, Senators Adolphus Wabara and Bukola Saraki, have again disagreed on whether or not the convention slated for tomorrow should continue.
Wabara, who is the chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT, said the exercise must go on against the plans of those he said wanted to kill the PDP while Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State, said holding the convention amid ongoing legal disputes would worsen the crisis ravaging the party.
Dr. Saraki, in a statement he released after meeting with members of the BoT Reconciliation Team led by Ambassador Hassan Adamu (Wakili Adamawa), he appealed that the party should set up a Caretaker Committee to manage its affairs temporarily and restore calm.
Speaking further, he said it is sad that despite the selfless efforts of many party members, the convention had been politically and legally controversial which posed a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
“It is clear that going ahead with the National Convention in Ibadan on November 15–16, 2025, will only serve to further fuel the present crisis. Therefore, going ahead with the Convention as scheduled is a waste of efforts. It does not have my support.
“As it stands, there are conflicting court orders in relation to the validity of the scheduled convention. As a result, there is no assurance as to whether the conduct and outcome of the convention will stand,” he stated.
The former senate president cautioned that political conflicts should not be resolved through the courts, because according to him, the only path to lasting peace was for stakeholders to sit down and resolve their issues amicably.
“I made it clear to the BoT team that political matters can hardly be resolved through the courts. Affairs of political parties are best resolved amicably with all sides seated round the table. Legal battles will only continue to cause friction,” he said.
Contrary to Saraki’s position in Wabara who said that the long-awaited national convention will go ahead as planned, despite growing calls from some members for a caretaker committee to be set up instead.
Wabara made the declaration, yesterday, at his Abuja residence during the presentation of the report of the PDP BoT Reconciliation Committee.
According to him, all major organs of the PDP, such as the Governors’ Forum, the National Working Committee, NWC, and the Board itself, had already agreed to hold the convention, insisting that only a court order could stop it.
“It is absolutely practical for us to go to the convention. All the organs of the party, before these individual opinions, had agreed to go to the convention. The Governors’ Forum, the NWC, and the Board of Trustees in our last meeting made mention of us going for the convention.
“You don’t make all kinds of orders when the Supreme Court has deliberated on a matter. So, you are more or less challenging the Supreme Court of the land, but in Nigeria, anything goes. As far as the organs of the party are concerned, the convention will hold,” he said.
Wabara who said his concern was to keep the party alive and functional, reminded party members that opposition politics should focus on constructive criticism, not just power struggles.
“Opposition does not mean taking over power. Opposition generally is to guide the ruling party to do the right thing, provided those criticisms are very objective. The secretary, to the best of my knowledge, has no interest other than that the party must survive,” he said.
Speaking, the Committee Secretary Chief Mike Oghiadomhe said the team held wide-ranging consultations with top stakeholders, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the PDP Governors’ Forum, the NWC, suspended national officers, and former Senate President Bukola Saraki.
“We noted that this is a very arduous task because the time was short and a lot of positions had been taken. We met with the FCT Minister, the Governors’ Forum, the NWC led by the Deputy National Chairman, and the suspended officers. We also consulted Dr. Bukola Saraki before drafting our observations and recommendations,” Oghiadomhe explained.
