The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has on Tuesday inaugurated its 2025 National Convention Organizing Committee.
This was as the party declared that nothing will stop its convention slated for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State, despite threats from the camp of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, alongside the party’s Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, insisted that the convention remains sacrosanct.
The 119-member National Convention Organizing Committee is chaired by Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State.
The committee was officially inaugurated on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, with a mandate to deliver a transparent, inclusive, and credible national convention.
Bala Mohammed stated that the PDP could no longer remain silent in the face of repeated threats but maintained that the party would not engage in unnecessary confrontation.
“We cannot keep quiet anymore, but we will not go into the gutter with anyone,” he said.
On his part, Damagum stressed that the November convention would hold as planned.
“The convention is sacrosanct. Nothing will hinder it,” the PDP chairman declared.
Also lending his voice, the Secretary of the PDP Board of Trustees and former Governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, clarified that while the party had zoned positions ahead of the convention, the field remains open to all aspirants.
“Even though positions have been zoned, any interested member can purchase forms and contest,” Makarfi noted.
The remarks come in response to threats issued on Monday by Wike’s loyalists under the aegis of Eminent Leaders and Concerned Stakeholders of the PDP.
After their meeting, the group warned that if their demands were not met, the national convention would face legitimacy issues.
In their communiqué, they stated: “It is pertinent to caution that failure to comply with the above resolutions and demands shall render any purported national convention invalid, as legitimate members of the party would be disenfranchised.”
Despite the threats, PDP leaders insist that preparations are in top gear and the convention will go ahead as scheduled.