Two former Senate Presidents and leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senators Adolphus Wabara and Bukola Saraki, have disagreed over holding the party’s national convention billed to start tomorrow in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

While Wabara, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT, said the exercise must go on against the plans of those he said wanted to kill the PDP, Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State, said holding the convention amid ongoing legal disputes would worsen the crisis ravaging the party.

In a statement signed by Dr. Saraki, after meeting with members of the BoT Reconciliation Team led by Ambassador Hassan Adamu (Wakili Adamawa), he urged the party to set up a Caretaker Committee to manage its affairs temporarily and restore calm.

Saraki said it was regrettable that, despite the selfless efforts of many party members, the planned convention had become mired in controversy, both politically and legally. He warned that the situation posed a serious threat not just to the PDP but also to Nigeria’s democracy.

“It is clear that going ahead with the National Convention in Ibadan on November 15–16, 2025, will only serve to further fuel the present crisis. Therefore, going ahead with the Convention as scheduled is a waste of efforts. It does not have my support,” Saraki declared.

He explained that conflicting court orders regarding the convention had created uncertainty about its legitimacy, saying no one could guarantee that the exercise or its outcome would stand.

“As it stands, there are conflicting court orders in relation to the validity of the scheduled convention. As a result, there is no assurance as to whether the conduct and outcome of the convention will stand,” he stated.

Saraki cautioned that political conflicts should not be resolved through the courts, adding that the only path to lasting peace was for stakeholders to sit down and resolve their issues amicably.

“I made it clear to the BoT team that political matters can hardly be resolved through the courts. Affairs of political parties are best resolved amicably with all sides seated round the table. Legal battles will only continue to cause friction,” he said.

The former Kwara State Governor noted that his position stemmed from a sense of responsibility to protect the political interests of his people and uphold democratic stability.

As a leader, on whose shoulder lies the political weight of the yearnings and aspiration of my people, I cannot in all good conscience take or be part of any action that will jeopardise their aspirations,” he stated.

He advised that the best way forward was to constitute a Caretaker Committee within two days to pilot the party’s affairs, restore confidence among members, and create room for reconciliation.

However, Wabara said the long-awaited national convention will go ahead as planned, despite growing calls from some members for a caretaker committee to be set up instead.

Wabara made the declaration, yesterday, at his Abuja residence during the presentation of the report of the PDP BoT Reconciliation Committee.

The committee, chaired by Ambassador Hassan Adamu with Chief Mike Oghiadomhe as secretary, was inaugurated to resolve internal disputes and pave the way for a smooth convention.

The BoT chairman said all major organs of the PDP, including the Governors’ Forum, the National Working Committee, NWC, and the Board itself, had already agreed to hold the convention, insisting that only a court order could stop it.

“It is absolutely practical for us to go to the convention. All the organs of the party, before these individual opinions, had agreed to go to the convention. The Governors’ Forum, the NWC, and the Board of Trustees in our last meeting made mention of us going for the convention,” Wabara declared.

He noted that while the party would always respect the rule of law, it was disturbing that some court orders appeared to contradict Supreme Court pronouncements.

“You don’t make all kinds of orders when the Supreme Court has deliberated on a matter. So, you are more or less challenging the Supreme Court of the land, but in Nigeria, anything goes. As far as the organs of the party are concerned, the convention will hold,” he said.

Responding to claims that the BoT had intervened too late in the party’s internal crisis, Wabara dismissed such suggestions, describing the situation as self-inflicted and rooted in personal ambition among party leaders.

“There is actually no crisis. All these problems we have in the PDP are self-inflicted. The problem is elective interests, which they have even fixed up till 2031. Some people want the party dead now, and then they will resurrect it in 2031 for their use,” he maintained.

Wabara said he and other senior BoT members had no personal political ambitions, stressing that their only concern was to keep the party alive and functional.

He also reminded party members that opposition politics should focus on constructive criticism, not just power struggles.

“Opposition does not mean taking over power. Opposition generally is to guide the ruling party to do the right thing, provided those criticisms are very objective. The secretary, to the best of my knowledge, has no interest other than that the party must survive,” he said.

He lamented the BoT’s lack of financial resources to fully enforce its mandates or support its reconciliation initiatives, saying earlier post-election efforts were hindered by funding challenges.

“We in the BoT don’t have what it takes to support our positions. After the 2023 elections, the BoT swung into action, headed by David Mark on code of conduct, but because we didn’t have money, we could not go ahead. Those who were supposed to provide that money did not do so up to today,” he explained.

In his remarks, Committee Secretary Chief Mike Oghiadomhe said the team held wide-ranging consultations with top stakeholders, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the PDP Governors’ Forum, the NWC, suspended national officers, and former Senate President Bukola Saraki.

“We noted that this is a very arduous task because the time was short and a lot of positions had been taken. We met with the FCT Minister, the Governors’ Forum, the NWC led by the Deputy National Chairman, and the suspended officers. We also consulted Dr. Bukola Saraki before drafting our observations and recommendations,” Oghiadomhe explained.

He said the committee’s report offered a roadmap for sustainable and progressive party administration, based on the realities confronting the PDP.

“We believe we have tried to connect all the issues plaguing our party today. Our recommendations are based on our desire to present a roadmap for sustainable and progressive party administration at this point in time,” Oghiadomhe said (Vanguard)