In a dramatic escalation of the lingering crisis within Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken the extraordinary step of issuing formal certificates of expulsion to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and several other prominent members who were thrown out at the party’s controversial national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The certificates were physically issued on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, during a meeting of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja. The event also witnessed the formal handover of the acting national chairmanship from Ambassador Umar Damagum to Senator Kabiru Turaki, a former Minister of Special Duties and one-time presidential aspirant. Moments after the brief ceremony, the party’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle posted photographs of the certificates and a statement confirming the development.
The expulsions had initially been ratified by the Ibadan convention on November 16, 2025, on the grounds of alleged anti-party activities, particularly the open support some of the affected members gave to candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 general elections and subsequent off-cycle governorship polls.
Addressing journalists shortly after the NWC meeting, the new Acting National Chairman, Senator Kabiru Turaki, explained that the decision to issue actual certificates—rather than mere press statements—was deliberate and rooted in Nigerian electoral law. “Our laws are very clear that no citizen is allowed to belong to more than one political party at the same time,” Turaki said. “To remove every shade of doubt and to assist the expelled members in their future political journeys, we have issued them certificates that formally confirm their exit from the PDP.”
He emphasised that the documents would serve as legal proof when the expelled members eventually approach other political parties for membership. “When they go to INEC to register with another party, they will tender these certificates so that nobody accuses them of double registration or dual membership, which is an offence under our laws,” he added.
According to Turaki, the certificates have already been couriered to the affected individuals through reputable courier services. The full list of recipients includes:
- Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (Minister of the FCT and immediate past Governor of Rivers State)
- Chief Ayodele Fayose (former Governor of Ekiti State)
- Senator Samuel N. Anyanwu (embattled National Secretary)
- Alhaji Umaru Bature
- Kamarudeen Ajibade, SAN
- Abdurahman Muhammad
- Senator Mao Ohuabunwa
- Chief Austin Umahi Nwachukwu
- Professor Abraham Amah Nnanna
- Chief George Turnah
- Chief Dan Orbih (South-South Zonal Vice Chairman)
Turaki stated that copies of the expulsion certificates have also been forwarded to critical state institutions, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). “These agencies must be formally notified that these individuals are no longer members of the PDP. They have been expelled, they remain expelled, and their expulsion has now been certified,” he stressed.
The PDP, through its new acting chairman, warned that any individual or political group that continues to transact party business with the expelled members does so at their own risk. The party promised a series of public disclaimers in national newspapers and on its digital platforms to reinforce the finality of the action.
Describing the move as a surgical cleansing exercise, Turaki declared, “With this action, the PDP has finally gotten rid of the cankerworms that have been eating deep into the fabric of our great party. We are now repositioning to offer Nigerians credible, united, and purposeful opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.”
Yet, beneath the triumphant rhetoric lies a deeply fractured party. The Ibadan convention that ratified the expulsions was itself held in defiance of multiple court orders that had restrained the PDP from proceeding with the gathering pending the determination of suits challenging the validity of parallel state congresses in several states, particularly Rivers, Oyo, and Benue.
A rival faction loyal to Nyesom Wike, still recognising Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary and Mohammed Abdulrahman as acting National Chairman, had on November 18, 2025, convened its own National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja. At that gathering, the Wike camp retaliated by announcing the expulsion of several chieftains from the opposing faction, including Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), and Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), as well as former Board of Trustees Chairman Senator Adolphus Wabara and Senator Kabiru Turaki himself.
The Wike faction branded the Ibadan convention “an illegal charade” and insisted that only its own NEC remains the authentic leadership organ of the party. Legal experts note that until the various court cases are conclusively determined—some of which have reached the Supreme Court—the status of both factions remains in limbo, and any action taken by either side, including the issuance of expulsion certificates, could be declared null and void by the courts.
As things stand, Nigeria’s once-dominant opposition party is effectively operating as two parallel entities, each claiming legitimacy, each expelling the other’s key figures, and each preparing separate strategies for the 2027 presidential election. What began as personality clashes and disagreements over the 2023 presidential ticket has now morphed into an existential crisis that threatens to render the PDP a significantly diminished force in the country’s political landscape.
For Nyesom Wike, widely believed to be preparing ground for a possible defection to the ruling APC or the formation of a new political platform ahead of 2027, the certificate of expulsion may turn out to be the very document he needs to complete that transition without legal encumbrances. For the PDP, the hope is that cutting off what it calls “destructive elements” will finally bring stability. Whether that hope survives the avalanche of litigation now pending before the courts remains one of the biggest questions in Nigerian politics as 2025 draws to a close.
