The ongoing crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) escalated on Friday as the faction loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, dissolved the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) chaired by former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara.
The move was justified by what the faction described as a loss of credibility and moral authority under the previous leadership.
The decision came during a meeting hosted by Wike at his Life Camp official residence in Abuja, where the factional Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Muhammad, inaugurated a new BoT.
Mao Ohuabunwa has been appointed the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, faction loyal to Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.
Isah Dansidi was named as Secretary of the factional PDP BoT.
They were appointed to replace Adolphus Wabara and Ahmed Makarfi on the board.
In his address ahead of a closed-door session, Muhammad framed the exercise as part of efforts to “restore discipline, constitutional order and moral direction within the party,” lamenting that these values had eroded under the former leadership.
Muhammad accused the dissolved Wabara-led BoT of losing “the moral balance expected of that noble institution,” citing Wabara’s suspension by the Abia State PDP chapter over alleged anti-party activities as rendering his continued leadership “untenable.”
“The Board that was meant to be the moral compass of our party became divided and ineffective. The credibility of that leadership was heavily questioned, and its continued role in national advisory matters became impossible to sustain,” he said.
He also criticised the tenure of the ‘suspended’ National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, for contributing to what he termed the party’s moral decline and disregard for judicial authority.
Muhammad accused Damagum of protecting individuals who violated the party’s constitution, prioritising “convenience over the rule of law.”
“When any political party begins to disregard its own constitution and laws, it loses the very soul that holds it together. This was the painful reality we faced,” he declared.
The Acting Chairman praised the intervention of three concerned party members who sought judicial redress to “save the PDP from itself,” noting that their action led to a recent Federal High Court ruling that cleared the path for the BoT’s reconstitution.
Muhammad described the court’s decision as “not an attack on the PDP; it was a reminder that no institution is greater than the law,” calling it “a wake-up call to return to our roots and reawaken the values that once made the PDP the pride of Africa.”
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On the newly inaugurated board, he said it would serve as a “symbol of rebirth” and act as the “conscience and compass” of the party. Muhammad emphasized that members were selected to prioritise integrity and fairness over factional loyalty.
“This is not a reward for loyalty; it is a sacred trust. Your voices must be voices of unity, your advice rooted in fairness, and your actions must inspire confidence in our collective future,” he stated.
Reflecting on the party’s internal challenges, Muhammad acknowledged that decay began when PDP abandoned its zoning principle ahead of the 2015 elections, allowing personal ambition to override equity. He pledged that the new leadership would rebuild the party on principles of transparency, justice, and respect for court rulings.
“We will rebuild this party with transparency. We will respect court judgements and the rule of law. We will conduct our congresses with fairness and integrity. We will restore public trust and make the PDP once again the moral voice of Nigeria’s democracy,” he said.
Muhammad also warned against using “internal affairs” as a shield for impunity, stressing that party autonomy must operate within constitutional limits.
“Internal affairs must still operate under constitutional order. Party autonomy cannot mean lawlessness. We must reform or risk irrelevance,” he stated.
Calling for unity and renewal, he concluded: “Let history record that when the PDP stood at the edge of the precipice, men and women of goodwill rose to pull it back. Together, we can heal our party and restore the PDP as the true hope of Nigeria’s democratic future.”
