The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party continues to face internal strife, as the faction believed to be aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has inaugurated its own executive team in Ondo State.
The faction’s new state executive was elected during a congress held in Akure, the state capital, on Tuesday. Olaniyi Ogungbuji was chosen as chairman of the faction in the state, while Yagba Timilehin became the state secretary.
Representatives from the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Department of State Security Services, and the police, among other stakeholders, observed the exercise.
Speaking at the factional congress, the Chairman of the Congress Committee for Ondo 2026, responsible for wards, LGAs, and the state, Mr. Adebiyi Abiodun-Philips, urged members to unite and prioritize the party’s interests over personal gains. He said, “The PDP is fully back on its feet. If you look at what is happening, even nationally, like what our leaders said and all the other leaders of the party, both in the South-West and the nation as a whole, we want peace to reign, we want reconciliation.
“We want it to be on record that as of today, we don’t have any faction again in PDP. Any faction in PDP is now a thing of the past. Yes, we had the crisis, we had the misunderstanding, but it has been settled. So, we are now one, we work together as one family.
“The door is open for those who are aggrieved, those who believe they want to come back to the party. Some of our members who have gone to ADC or APC, if they want to come back, the door is open for everybody. And for those of us who are very much at home, then we should continue with the good job.”
In his acceptance speech, the new factional chairman, Olaniyi Ogungbuji, emphasized that the immediate priority of the executives was to reposition the party for the 2027 general elections. He urged members to set aside internal differences and focus on strengthening the party through unity and membership mobilization.
Ogungbuji stated, “We are here now to change everything, to redirect the future of PDP and for us to be able to get results in our future elections. So, I can assure you and Ondo State that PDP has today taken off with a new focus to ensure and create meaning in the political atmosphere of this state and Nigeria at large.
“We are members of the same family, and don’t forget that at the national level, reconciliation is already going on. So, at the state level too, we constitute ourselves and work together to move the party ahead. The victory is for us all.”
Other officers elected at the congress include Akinwamide Adedeji (state deputy chairman), Alake Olumuyiwa (state treasurer), Barrister Clement Adefemi (state legal adviser), Akintemi Akinduyite (state financial secretary), Sadiq Fatai (state publicity secretary), and 32 additional executive members.
However, the Dupe Aisida-led executive rejected the factional congress, describing it as a gathering of “confused politicians with no value to the state PDP.”
The state Publicity Secretary of that executive, Mr. Wande Ajayi, told our correspondent, “It’s a charade and has no effect. They are a bunch of confused people who don’t understand the tenets of the PDP and the constitution of our great party.
“You can’t build something on nothing. Who are the delegates who attended the so-called state congress? Can you have a state congress without ward and LG congresses? We have concluded all these processes here in Ondo State.”
