PDP Crisis Deepens as Ortom, Fayose Back Wike-Led Faction, Blame Damagum for Party’s Collapse

The internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a new turn as former governors Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) publicly declared support for the Nyesom Wike-led faction of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

Their endorsements come amid fresh power tussles between loyalists of Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and the Wike camp, ahead of the party’s National Elective Convention slated for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan.

In separate statements on Sunday, Ortom and Fayose backed the faction led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, the PDP’s National Vice Chairman (North Central), while blaming the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, for the deepening divisions within the opposition party.

Tensions escalated on Friday when the Federal High Court in Abuja granted an interim injunction stopping the PDP from holding its convention until it complies with its constitution and the Electoral Act. The ruling, delivered by Justice James Omotosho, has intensified the factional battles within the party.

Following the judgment, the Damagum-led NWC suspended key members—including National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu and National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN)—for alleged anti-party activities. In retaliation, the rival faction led by Anyanwu counter-suspended Damagum, National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, and Deputy National Chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja over alleged financial misconduct.

Ortom, a member of the PDP’s Board of Trustees, accused the leadership of ignoring his repeated warnings on inclusiveness and reconciliation. He described Abdulrahman Mohammed’s emergence as “a fresh opportunity to rebuild trust and heal internal wounds.”

Fayose, in a press briefing in Ado-Ekiti, described the Damagum-led NWC as “undertakers who came to bury the PDP,” while calling Mohammed “the doctor who could revive it.” He likened Damagum’s leadership to that of former chairman Iyorchia Ayu, predicting he would “go the same way.”

Meanwhile, sources close to Governor Makinde revealed that his bloc is strategizing to overturn the court injunction and restore control of the party’s direction. “We have the majority,” one insider said. “Discussions are ongoing to appeal the judgment and keep convention preparations alive.”

Former presidential candidate Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim criticized the court’s intervention, calling it “a deliberate attempt to weaken the opposition and weaponise the judiciary.”

In Osun State, former PDP senator Adenigba Fadahunsi, who recently joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), declared the PDP “as good as dead,” adding that “those still in it should not sink with the ship.”