Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, has warned against what he described as attempts to capture and destabilise the opposition party through judicial manipulation and the misuse of state institutions.
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George, in a statement issued on Tuesday, alleged that powerful political interests were seeking to weaken the PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections by interfering in its leadership crisis.
He described the development as an assault on constitutional democracy, warning that state institutions must not be deployed to determine who leads an opposition party.
According to him, political parties and their members—not the government or external interests—should determine their leaders and candidates in accordance with their constitutions and applicable laws.
The PDP has remained divided between the leadership headed by Abdulrahman Mohammed and National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, which is recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, and the Interim National Working Committee led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN.
The Supreme Court, in a split three-to-two judgment delivered on April 30, 2026, invalidated the PDP national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025. The convention, supported by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, had produced the Turaki-led National Working Committee.
Following the judgment, the PDP Board of Trustees chaired by Senator Adolphus Wabara assumed temporary control of the party and subsequently reconstituted an interim leadership, retaining Turaki and some members of the nullified executive.
However, the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led faction, which is associated with the camp backed by Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, has continued preparations for the 2027 elections.
The faction sold nomination and expression-of-interest forms, conducted primaries and received INEC access codes to upload its candidates’ details.
The Turaki-led group has also issued nomination forms and produced candidates through a parallel process, despite not receiving the same recognition or access to INEC’s candidates’ portal. Several court cases relating to the competing leadership structures remain pending.
Reacting to the crisis, George said there was nothing dishonourable about Abdulrahman Mohammed reportedly having worked as a driver, stressing that honest labour deserved dignity and respect.
He maintained, however, that the controversy concerned Abdulrahman’s political experience and the process through which he emerged as the party’s national chairman.
George questioned Abdulrahman’s history within the PDP, his role in building the party and his contribution to its democratic struggles.
“Leadership cannot be manufactured overnight,” George said, alleging that influential interests were attempting to impose an individual without established democratic legitimacy on one of Africa’s largest political parties.
He argued that party leadership should be earned through service, loyalty, sacrifice and democratic participation, rather than conferred through executive influence or political manipulation.
George alleged that the objective was not merely to promote one individual but to infiltrate and weaken the PDP from within ahead of the general elections.
The elder statesman urged the judiciary and INEC to uphold the Constitution and remain independent of partisan political interests.
He said superior courts had repeatedly recognised the right of political parties to regulate their internal affairs, provided their actions remained within the law and their respective constitutions.
George maintained that INEC’s duty was to register and monitor political parties and conduct credible elections—not to create the impression that it was selecting or imposing leaders on political organisations.
He warned that allowing state institutions to determine the leadership of an opposition party would place Nigeria’s constitutional democracy in jeopardy.
“Power is temporary. Institutions must endure,” he said, cautioning those allegedly seeking to capture state institutions that governments would eventually leave office while history would record every abuse of authority.
George had previously called on INEC to implement his interpretation of the April 30 Supreme Court judgment, arguing that failure to act in accordance with court decisions could undermine public confidence in democratic institutions.
George further warned that no government had the constitutional or moral authority to determine who should lead an opposition party or contest an election on its platform.
He said those decisions belonged to the political party concerned and, ultimately, to the Nigerian electorate.
“Democracy does not belong to the APC. It does not belong to the Presidency. It belongs to the Nigerian people,” he said.
He cautioned that continuously weakening opposition parties could threaten national stability, adding that democracy could not survive without a credible and functional opposition.
George called on President Bola Tinubu to ensure that INEC, the judiciary and other government institutions remained above partisan interests.
According to him, a President’s enduring legacy should not be measured only by political victories but by the strength and independence of the democratic institutions left behind.
He also urged INEC to discharge its responsibilities without fear or favour and called on the judiciary to remain faithful to the Constitution.
The PDP chieftain pledged that members of his camp would continue to defend their interpretation of the party’s constitution and the country’s democracy through lawful and constitutional means.
“No individual is greater than Nigeria. No political party is greater than the Constitution. Democracy must prevail,” George declared.
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