The Wike/Anyanwu faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday unfolded plans to hold the National Convention on March 28 and 29 in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The proposed convention followed last week’s judgment of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, affirming Abdulrahman Mohammed’s caretaker committee as the authentic leadership of the party.

Justice Uche Agomoh also voided the November 16, 2025, convention of the PDP in Ibadan and all the decisions taken thereafter because the convention was stopped by two Federal High Court judgments.

Kabiru Turaki (SAN) was elected at the convention along with other members of his National Working Committee (NWC).

The convention also expelled senior figures of the party, including Nyesome WIke, former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, Senator Mao Ohunabuwa, among others.

All these were nullified by the judgment.

Justice Agomoh also directed that only a caretaker committee can run the PDP until another convention elects the leadership.

New members of the National Working Committee (NWC) would be elected at the March 28 convention, according to a statement by the Caretaker Chairman, Mohammed, and National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.

According to the statement, the decision to hold the convention was taken at the 105th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at the official residence of the Minister of the FCT, Wike.

The party secretariat, popularly known as Wadata Plaza, has been under lock and key by the police following a bloody battle there between the two factions.

To restore stability and constitutional order, the NEC approved a comprehensive schedule for party congresses across the country.

The Ward and Local Government Congresses will be held in February, while the State Congresses will be held in March 2026.

The NEC mandated the National Caretaker Committee to immediately “activate Convention Sub-Committees and commence full logistical, administrative, and consultative preparations” to ensure the process remains transparent and credible.

The NEC reconfirmed the Mohammed-led National Caretaker Committee as the “only lawful national administrative organ of the Party.”

To prevent any administrative vacuum, the NEC also extended the tenure of Caretaker Committees at the State and Zonal levels.

The faction welcomed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, which validated its current leadership structure.

It said: “NEC welcomed and affirmed the judgment… which upheld the legality of the Party’s leadership and administrative arrangements and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognize the duly constituted National Caretaker Committee.”

Mohammed declared that the “cloud of uncertainty” hanging over the party had fizzled out.

He described the judgment as a “much-needed legal clarity” that affirmed the legitimacy of his leadership and that of Anyanwu.

He said: “The judgment has conferred existential credibility on the leadership of our great party as presently constituted. This outcome did not come by accident. It is the reward of your collective decision to stand on the side of the law. “

The chairman described 2025 as a “testing and refining period,” noting that the party survived internal attempts to bypass established procedures.

He said the PDP did not collapse under the pressure of judicial challenges but emerged “refined, strengthened and reoriented.”

Mohammed said, “We are today firmly positioned to roll out our activities without hesitation or uncertainty.”

Urging reconciliation, he added: “In this process, there are no absolute losers. I call on all members of our great party, at every level, to jettison divisive tendencies and destructive rhetoric. Now is the time to heal wounds and rebuild trust.”

Mohammed praised Wike for his “intellectual depth” and leadership during the “trying period”, and also extended gratitude to former Senate President Bukola Saraki for his insistence on due process and the “supremacy of the law.”

Wike, at the meeting, declared keen interest in all activities of the Oyo State chapter of the PDP.

Wike insisted that his concern is the survival, stability, and success of the party.

He said: “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.”

Wike said the party would wait for the Caretaker Committee to issue clear directives on the congresses.

However, the National Publicity Secretary of the Turaki faction, Ini Ememobong, dismissed the proposed convention as a ruse.

He said, “Wike and friends are merely living in fools paradise with their proposition. The world knows they are extensions of the APC and therefore cannot claim to be members of the PDP.

“We await the judgment of the appellate courts, and we are hopeful that when the judgments are in, the issues would have been resolved and the court will confirm the reality that the convention held in Ibadan was a reflection of the wishes of the true members of the People’s Democratic Party.”

The All Progressives Congress has confirmed that former Rivers State Governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is being actively engaged in ongoing efforts to resolve the political crisis in Rivers State, despite not being a registered member of the ruling party.

APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, made this disclosure on Thursday during an interview on TVC’s ‘Beyond The Headlines’, noting Wike’s critical role in the state’s political landscape and his support for President Bola Tinubu.

“Of course, as you know, Wike is an avowed supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, even though not a member of the political party,” Basiru said.

“Rivers State is critical to the success of President Tinubu, and definitely, he will be engaged. He’s been engaged in an amicable resolution in the state as expected.”

Basiru stressed that the ongoing consultations were largely confidential, noting that “not every measure being taken will be made public through the media.”

He assured Nigerians that the Rivers State crisis would be settled amicably, without winners or losers, and promised that details of the resolution would be shared publicly in the coming days.

Addressing criticisms that the APC is predominantly an elite party attracting only governors and political heavyweights, Basiru emphasised the mass appeal of the party:

“The APC is a very serious political party. We are a mass-based organisation, and going by the figures from our mass e-registration system, we are confident that APC is a party to beat in all elections. We are loved by the Nigerian people, and they are trooping out to join the APC.”

“Our tradition is socio-democratic, pro-people, and we are working to strengthen our party. We are mobilising, conscientising, and showing Nigerians why the pan-Nigerian political party, the APC, is the party to be in. The masses of Nigerian people are joining our party in large numbers.”

The statement comes against the backdrop of a long-standing political rift between Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara over control of Rivers State politics.

Fubara officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC on December 9, 2025, a move interpreted as a major political realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The defection followed earlier shifts by several prominent members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to the APC, ending Fubara’s long association with the PDP and positioning him as the ruling party’s central figure in the state.

After Fubara’s defection, Wike publicly criticized him for allegedly breaking prior agreements and questioned his chances of securing another term in office.

The FCT Minister further argued that Fubara does not enjoy genuine backing within the APC, suggesting he is being misadvised and faces slim prospects of winning the 2027 governorship race in the oil-producing state.

In an unexpected development, the majority of the Rivers State House of Assembly members—aligned with the APC, like the governor—commenced impeachment proceedings against Fubara on January 8, 2026.

Observers widely attributed the move to Wike’s influence in the state’s politics. The proceedings, however, remain stalled due to ongoing litigation.