A few days ago, the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, said he was not aware that the PDP NEC had picked Ibadan for the party’s national convention.
Governor Ayo Makinde of Oyo State does not want to join issues with anyone over the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), particularly about its national convention.
Makinde spoke on Thursday in Lagos during the PDP Southern Consultative Summit ahead of its NEC meeting billed for Monday.
“Personally, when people go low or they go into the gutters, I don’t go with them. We will reach out to them. That is democracy. We will reach out to them. I can disagree with people, but there shouldn’t be anything personal here,” the governor told party chieftains gathered at the event in Nigeria’s commercial capital.
A few days ago, the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, said he was not aware that the national executive committee (NEC) of the PDP had picked Ibadan, Oyo State, as the venue for the party’s national convention for November 15 and 16.
“I am not aware that they are going to a convention in Ibadan. As an NEC member, I have not been informed, nor have I been invited to the NEC meeting,” Wike said on an edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
However, Makinde says the party will reach out to its members ahead of the convention
@OfficialPDPNig NEC TO DECIDE ZONING ON MONDAY …@seyiamakinde SAYS HE WON’T GO INTO THE GUTTERS pic.twitter.com/azFMAQA2VB
— Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) August 21, 2025
The PDP has been embroiled in crisis in the aftermath of the 2023 elections, with its presidential candidate in that poll, Atiku Abubakar, his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, and a host of governors, among other bigwigs, leaving the party.
While many observers believe the party that ruled Nigeria from 1999 to 2015 is dead and buried, the Oyo governor is not giving up on the PDP.
“We want to give [Nigerians] a virile PDP. In Oyo State, Nigerians showed last Saturday that PDP is not dead, and in most other places of the 12 states where by-elections took place, PDP came second,” the 57-year-old said.
“It is an indication to us that if we continue to work hard, if we continue to strive hard, if we continue to bring our people together, we will get to a point where Nigerians will really start listening to us.”
The governor maintained that the Consultative Summit was held to foster inclusiveness, which, according to him, is the beauty of democracy, and to make some decisions.
“Democracy is about the minority having its say and the majority having its way. That is democracy. So, we are democrats. The South has taken far-reaching decisions and, in the days ahead, leading to our NEC, wider consultations will also take place and we are sure that those that have been saying that PDP is dead and now a carcass, will know that, at least with the calibre of people that you have seen here, sitting governors, former governors, leaders and elders, a former senate president, Chairman of BOT, we are all here and committed to PDP taking back its rightful position in Nigeria.
“So, in the days ahead, some of the things discussed here, you will see them unfold. Governor Ademola Adeleke is here. He came back into this country this morning, and then he went straight to Osogbo to address some governance issues. But he said, ‘Look, whatever we decide here, he is with us’.
“Governor Duoye Diri is here. Governor Peter Mba, who couldn’t make it here physically, sent the deputy governor here. You have the Chairman of our Board of Trustees here. You also have at least 12 of the 17 members of the Zoning Committee from the South. It is one per state. So, you have 12 states here. We also have National Assembly members and PDP BoT members from the three zones in the South here.
“We are here for consultation, and consultation means you keep reaching out, you keep engaging. So, from this meeting, we will also reach out and engage and even do more. What exactly are we trying to do? We are trying to get all stakeholders, all tendencies in the PDP, together so that we can give a credible alternative to Nigerians in the years ahead.
“Yes, we discussed zoning and micro-zoning, and a decision is coming. It is a NEC decision. This consultative meeting is not something that is statutory in the constitution of PDP, but democracy is inclusivity, reaching out, and ensuring that all stakeholders are carried along, which is what we’ve done today.
“NEC is on Monday; today is Thursday. We will definitely have a decision. We have not even gotten there. We need to have a party first before you start talking about presidential candidates and, presidency. If we don’t have a party, anything that you are trying to do will fall flat. So, our effort right now is directed towards having a virile and united PDP that Nigerians will be proud of and believe in.”
