Amid conflicting court orders and growing internal disquiet, there are strong indications that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may settle for the constitution of a caretaker committee as a temporary measure to avert a total breakdown of order within the party.
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According to Vanguard, some leaders and elders of the opposition party are increasingly pushing for the caretaker committee option as efforts intensify to resolve the protracted crisis rocking the PDP.
The development comes against the backdrop of earlier advice by former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who had urged the party to shelve its planned national convention scheduled for November 15–16, 2025, and instead appoint a caretaker committee to stabilise the party.
“My advice to the BOT team is that the only solution available to us now is for the party to set up a Caretaker Committee to steer the affairs of the party for the time being,” Saraki wrote on his X handle after a stakeholders’ meeting.
Multiple sources within the PDP told Vanguard that party leaders and elders are currently making behind-the-scenes efforts to resolve the crisis, review the party’s constitution, and chart a viable path ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A senior party leader familiar with the reconciliation efforts disclosed that consultations are ongoing with factional leaders, noting that there is growing consensus that the PDP must return to what he described as “the Saraki suggestion” if it hopes to survive the current turmoil.
“It was agreed that for the PDP to survive, it has to return to the Saraki suggestion,” the source said.
The source further explained that party leaders had been cautioned from the outset to avoid factionalisation, warning that internal divisions would only weaken the party.
“Saraki has advised that PDP leaders should manage their affairs such that they will not need to resort to court because he envisaged that litigation would stifle the progress and unity of the party,” the source said.
“He urged them to avoid factionalisation. Factions, he said, will only play into the hands of the enemy.”
Another party insider told Vanguard that despite Saraki’s counsel, some leaders pushed ahead, resulting in multiple court cases and the emergence of factions.
“The party leaders did not listen. They pushed the matter until there were resultant court cases and factions,” the source said.
“With the litigations, Saraki advised that the best move was to stop the convention and set up a caretaker committee to resolve the issues and reconcile the factions. Still, the feuding parties refused to listen and went ahead to hold a convention that has now become an exercise in futility.”
The source added that following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) position on the party’s leadership crisis, the PDP was now effectively rudderless.
“With the decision of INEC, PDP has now become a flock of sheep without shepherds; a ship without a captain,” the source said.
On the next steps, another PDP leader told Vanguard that party elders must urgently return to Saraki’s proposed formula and begin internal reconciliation without waiting for court verdicts.
“The next move is to return to the Saraki formula,” the source said. “The leaders should not wait for the court to give judgment in any of the cases. They should move among themselves and start talking about resolving the disagreements.”
The PDP has been embroiled in leadership disputes and legal battles that have threatened its cohesion as Nigeria’s main opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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