PDP Convenes Crisis Meeting as Rivers Senator Defects to APC
Nigeria's main opposition party faces internal turmoil following a court ruling that nullified its national convention, while defections to the ruling APC continue ahead of the 2027 elections.
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Nigeria's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has summoned an emergency expanded meeting of its Board of Trustees to address a deepening crisis following an Appeal Court judgment that nullified the party's November national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, according to Daily Trust.
The meeting, which began Tuesday and continues today, aims to chart a path forward for the opposition party as it grapples with legal challenges to its leadership structure. The development comes as the PDP continues to hemorrhage members to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Senator Ipalibo Banigo, representing Rivers West Senatorial District, announced her defection from the PDP to the APC during Tuesday's Senate plenary. In a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Banigo cited "protracted division within her former party" as the reason for her departure, Daily Trust reported. The defection reflects ongoing political realignments in Rivers State, where tensions between PDP factions have intensified.
The PDP's leadership crisis coincides with early positioning for the 2027 presidential election. Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah called on the South East region to "play strategic politics to be at the centre of decision-making," lamenting that the zone had "never been as politically fragmented and disconnected from the centre as experienced in recent years," according to Vanguard News. Mbah's remarks came as the City Boy Movement gathers momentum in Enugu State.
Meanwhile, voices within the ruling APC are already advocating for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's re-election. Islamic cleric Sheikh Muyideen Salman urged Nigerians to grant Tinubu a second term "to complete his reform programmes," The Nation Newspaper reported. The Centre for a Better Society in Nigeria echoed this position, describing the administration's policies as "bold structural measures capable" of transforming the economy.
The PDP Board of Trustees meeting is expected to produce a definitive position on the Appeal Court ruling and determine whether the party will challenge the decision at the Supreme Court. The party's ability to resolve its internal divisions may prove critical to mounting an effective challenge to the APC in 2027.