At the PDP national convention in Abuja
Abdulrahman Mohammed now PDP National Chairman, Anyanwu as Secretary after convention
Abdulrahman Mohammed and Samuel Anyanwu have been elected as substantive National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the faction backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Mohammed and Anyanwu emerged through consensus, alongside 19 other members of the new national working committee, at the party’s 2026 national convention held at the velodrome of the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Sunday.
Other prominent party members in attendance included a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; a former Senate president, Bukola Saraki; and a former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi.
Wike, who was identified as the national leader of the party, declared that the process of healing within the PDP had commenced.
He assured members that the party would be on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
“So many people have spoken here. Saraki has said, with Abba Moro, and they were asking, ‘Is the PDP going to contest the 2027 election at all?’” Wike recalled.
“I have told Senator Saraki that, by the grace of God, the PDP will be on the ballot in 2027. We have seen the real convention, the convention that is being monitored by the electoral umpire. That is the convention that is recognised,” he said amid cheers from the delegates.
He stated that the future of the party must be built on inclusiveness, with equal opportunity for all members, and commended the delegates for demonstrating good character.
The former Rivers State governor also asserted that the party would recover its mandate from those who had taken it.
“I congratulate all of you who stood firm when the storm raged. You showed exemplary resilience when push came to shove. You refused to be downcast when those who pretended to be leaders of the party betrayed you disgracefully,” Wike said.
“You survived the taunts of the naysayers. Together, we are standing on the positive side of purpose and committed to the task of making Nigeria a truly prosperous country,” he added.
Mohammed stated that under his leadership, the party would belong to all members.
Earlier, he had called on members to embrace inclusiveness as the party repositioned itself for the 2027 elections.
“Today, we choose a higher path. We choose inclusiveness over exclusion, unity over division, we choose renewal over decline,” Mohammed said at the convention.
“The PDP has not come here to mourn itself; the PDP has come here to renew itself. This convention is therefore not just about the election; this convention is about restoration, order, not just about position.
“Distinguished delegates, this is not an ordinary day. Today is a moment of reflection, a moment of responsibility, and above all, a moment of renewal. We gather here after a difficult season, a season of disagreement, legal contestation, a season that tested the strength and soul of this party,” he added.
The Chairman of the convention planning committee and former governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, who put the number of delegates at 2,035, said the party’s door of reconciliation would remain open after the convention.
In the lead-up to the convention, the PDP had been embroiled in a crisis over its leadership structure, which led to the emergence of two factions.
While the Tanimu Turaki faction, backed by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, claims leadership on one side, the group backed by Wike controls the other.
The convention held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in November 2025, had snowballed into a series of legal battles.
On March 9, the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the judgment of a Federal High Court, which had restrained the PDP from conducting the Ibadan convention.
Delivering judgment on March 23, a three-member panel of the appellate court dismissed an appeal filed by the PDP challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Abuja to entertain the suit.
Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who delivered the judgment, held that the PDP had violated constitutional provisions governing the conduct of its convention.
The Turaki group has since headed to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgment.
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