Concerned leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have raised alarm over the party’s worsening internal crisis and Nigeria’s deteriorating governance under the All Progressives Congress (APC), following a high-level meeting held on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the PDP stalwarts lamented what they described as a breakdown in party discipline, leadership vacuum, and external threats from the APC-led federal government. They blamed the current state of the PDP on both internal mismanagement and alleged misuse of state institutions by the ruling APC to weaken democracy and opposition politics.
The meeting noted that since the party’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election and the exit of former National Chairman Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, the PDP has lost its footing, deviating from the ideals of its founding fathers and its legacy of stabilizing Nigeria’s democracy.
“The inability of the PDP leadership to run the Party according to its Constitution and rules has led to chaos and indiscipline. The party has been reduced to a shadow of its former self,” the communiqué stated.
The leaders criticized the APC government, labeling it a “disaster” that rose to power on “false and evil propaganda.” They cited Nigeria’s growing insecurity, economic hardship, rampant corruption, and weakened global standing as evidence of failed governance under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
“Painfully, Nigeria is now a diminished country and an embarrassment on the world stage,” the leaders said, expressing concern that even less endowed nations now outperform Nigeria in global influence and leadership.
After extensive deliberations on national unity, democracy, security, economy, and governance, the PDP leaders resolved to:
- Mobilize efforts to vote out the APC in the next general elections.
- Encourage all patriotic Nigerians and genuine PDP members to support a broad opposition coalition.
- Call for unity among coalition partners on national unity, anti-corruption, economic revival, and restoration of democracy.
- Urge the coalition to develop grassroots and national strategies tailored to local peculiarities in order to secure victory in upcoming elections.
The communiqué described the APC’s hold on power as increasingly sustained by “threats, blackmail and patronage,” which it said had eroded party loyalty and forced many elected officials to abandon the PDP.
While not naming coalition partners explicitly, the meeting affirmed that only a united front, anchored on shared national priorities, could rescue Nigeria from its current state of decline.
The resolutions signal a renewed push by disaffected PDP factions and opposition figures to mount a credible challenge against the APC in the 2027 general elections.
