The Peoples Democratic Party, backed by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has expressed confidence in its chances ahead of the 2027 general elections, declaring that it has no alliance with the ruling All Progressives Congress and remains determined to defeat the party at the polls.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Tuesday.
Speaking on the reported alliance between the APC and PDP, Mohammed described the insinuation as mischievous.
“Some people have continued to make claims that the PDP is in alliance with the APC, but such statements are mischievous.
“Considering the current situation within the APC and the defections the PDP is receiving, there is no basis for such allegations.
“We have no alliance or romance with the APC. The PDP is on its own, and our target is to defeat the APC. And we will defeat APC come 2027,” he said.
He added that the party’s ongoing screening and nomination exercise has been progressing smoothly, with aspirants from different states already submitting their forms.
He stated, “The screening of aspirants for the 2027 election will commence tomorrow. Screening for some aspirants will be conducted in their respective states, while the screening for governorship and presidential aspirants will be held at Legacy House on Thursday. There will be no screening exercise at the secretariat.
“So far, the process has been highly commendable and is progressing smoothly.
“Aspirants are already returning their forms. As I speak with you, I am at Wadata Plaza waiting for people submitting their forms from Bauchi and other states.
“We have received a good number of governorship aspirants who have returned their forms, including three aspirants each from Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, and several other states.
“The exercise has been smooth, with no hitches. Aspirants have shown great enthusiasm, happiness, and confidence in the process. We are optimistic about the outcome of the exercise and hopeful that after the primaries, 2027 will be a good year for the PDP.”
In a related development, PDP stakeholders have insisted that no court judgment nullified the Abdulrahman Mohammed and Samuel Anyanwu-led National Working Committee, maintaining that the existing leadership structure of the party remains legally binding.
The stakeholders, under the aegis of the PDP Survival Movement, speaking through its President, Okoh Bartholomew, during a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, also questioned the legality of the Tanimu Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee.
Bartholomew dismissed claims that the Supreme Court judgment affected the position of the party’s national secretary, Anyanwu, insisting that the ruling was deliberately being misrepresented to mislead party members and the public.
He revealed that court records and Certified True Copies of the judgments from the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court showed that the matter before the apex court only involved the PDP National Legal Adviser, Adeyemi Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), and not Anyanwu.
He stated, “The facts are straightforward. Senator Samuel N. Anyanwu was not a party to the specific cross-appeal being referenced by those pushing this propaganda.
“His name did not appear in the matter now being mischievously interpreted to mislead party members.
“We challenge anyone to produce a CTC where Senator Samuel N. Anyanwu’s name was specifically mentioned in the judgment.
“The law is settled: no court can make binding pronouncements against an individual who was not a party before it in the specific proceedings being determined.
“You cannot bind a man to a judgment in a suit where he was not a party. The attempt to link his name to this case is a legal hallucination intended to create a crisis where none exists.”
He added, “Assuming, though not conceding, that a suspension occurred, it is a matter of record contained in the very document being relied upon and the PDP Constitution that such an action was limited to 30 days only by those now pushing exaggerated political consequences.
“During this 30-day window, Anyanwu took no executive decisions that could have legally or administratively truncated the Abuja convention, while the clock on the purported suspension ran out.
“No court declared the convention illegal. No court nullified the convention discussions. No judicial order extinguished the authority of the subsisting NWC structure aligned with Senator Anyanwu.
“What then is the constitutional basis for the propaganda currently being circulated? There is none. What exists instead is an attempt to manufacture legal consequences that simply do not exist in law or judicial pronouncement.”
The PDP Survival Movement clarified that the November 3, 2025, letter introducing Abdulrahman as acting national chairman was never acted upon by INEC, which was awaiting a Court of Appeal judgment at the time.
He added that attempts to merge that letter with a separate December 7 correspondence were misleading, stressing that both documents differed in timing, context, and legal effect.
“During the period of the disputed suspension, a letter was written introducing Hon Abdulrahman as acting national chairman.
“However, INEC never recognised or acted on that letter. At the time, rival factions within the party were sending conflicting communications to the commission, creating obvious institutional uncertainty.
“INEC, therefore, took the responsible position of waiting for the outcome of the Court of Appeal proceedings before taking any definitive action.
“That means the November 3rd letter never produced any operative legal or administrative effect. It remained a disputed internal communication without institutional implementation.
“The December 7th correspondence emerged under entirely different circumstances. By that time, the purported suspension period had expired, and the tenure timeline surrounding the NWC elected on December 9, 2021, was approaching expiration on December 10.
“There had been significant judicial developments, including proceedings connected to the Federal High Court in Ibadan and matters before the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.
“Unlike the earlier communication, the December 7th letter attained institutional recognition and eventually led to the emergence of the Hon Abdulrahman-led caretaker committee. These are material and constitutional distinctions that cannot honestly be ignored,” Bartholomew said.
He said the November 3 letter named Abdulrahman acting national chairman, while the December 7 letter made him head of a caretaker committee after the 30-day suspension expired, adding that merging both letters was misleading and dishonest.
Bartholomew also raised concerns over what it described as contradictions within the group currently referring to itself as the Interim National Working Committee, saying the development raises questions about consistency and legitimacy.
He stated, “These are the same individuals who previously argued publicly that caretaker committees at the national level were unknown to the PDP Constitution. Today, the same people have suddenly invented the nomenclature INWC for their caretaker committee.
“We therefore ask: Where exactly is the INWC created within the PDP Constitution? Under which constitutional provision does it derive legitimacy? What is the difference between this so-called INWC and the caretaker committee they once condemned?
“If caretaker structures were unconstitutional yesterday, how did they suddenly become constitutional today under the nomenclature INWC?”
He insisted that the Abdulrahman/Anyanwu-led NWC remained the only court-recognised leadership structure in the PDP, urging members to disregard misinformation, constitutional distortions, and politically driven propaganda.
On April 30, the Supreme Court, in a narrow 3–2 decision, annulled the PDP national convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, which was backed by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and produced the Turaki (SAN)-led leadership.
The court ruled that the convention breached existing restraining orders that prohibited the party from proceeding until set conditions were met, faulting the PDP for going ahead despite clear judicial directives.
Reacting, the Board of Trustees chairman aligned with the Makinde camp, Adolphus Wabara, said the Supreme Court’s stance on the suspension of Anyanwu and others meant the party currently lacked a recognised leadership structure.
Subsequently, the Makinde-aligned 103rd NEC of the PDP on Monday approved a 13-member caretaker committee headed by Turaki (SAN) as chairman.
Leave a comment