Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has delivered a scathing assessment of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), noting that the main opposition group is now “comatose” and functionally “dead” due to overwhelming internal conflict.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Fayose attributed the party’s downfall to poor leadership, persistent disunity, and the significant loss of influential members.
Fayose stated that the party’s current predicament is an escalation of a crisis he warned about a year ago, stressing that the party failed to address its foundational issues in time.
READ ALSO: Fayose slams PDP protest at US embassy, calls it “shameful last kick of a dead committee”
He highlighted the defection of key figures as evidence of the deep-seated problems plaguing the PDP.
“The people who are supposed to save Jerusalem have jumped out of the water,” he remarked, underscoring the severity of the crisis reflected in the mass exodus of prominent members.
The PDP’s planned national convention, initially set for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, has been derailed by legal challenges.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja imposed an injunction, halting the convention.
This followed a suit by former Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido, who claimed he was unfairly prevented from obtaining the nomination form for the chairmanship race.
Justice Lifu ruled that the PDP had neglected due process by failing to publish a convention timetable in accordance with the law, emphasising that ignoring the rule of law risks chaos, and ordered the suspension until all statutory requirements are met.
Reacting to the judicial turmoil, Fayose launched a heavy critique against the Oyo State High Court.
He accused the state court of overstepping its authority by temporarily permitting the PDP to proceed with the convention, despite the Federal High Court’s restraining order.
“The judge in Oyo has now sat on an appeal of a Federal High Court. When has a state court become an appellate court?” Fayose questioned, warning that such judicial irregularities could further complicate the PDP’s woes and create a bad precedent for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The PDP has been embroiled in months of relentless internal battles, characterised by deep factionalism, reciprocal suspensions of loyalists, and leadership tussles.
The party has seen a significant weakening of its structure in 2024 alone, losing four sitting governors—Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), and Peter Mbah (Enugu)—to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 polls.
READ ALSO: Fayose dismisses Oyo court order on PDP convention as “judicial awada kerikeri”
The internal schism has been particularly pronounced between the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, and the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, with both camps issuing suspensions against their opponents.
Further compounding the party’s challenges, former presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar resigned in July, citing irreconcilable differences, and is now actively engaged in coalition talks under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to forge a new anti-APC opposition bloc.
