NEWS
BREAKING NEWS: INEC Cleans Up PDP Leadership List, Dumps Makinde Loyalists for Wike Camp
The deepening leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a dramatic turn as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially updated its political party portal, removing Ahmed Yayari and Daniel Woyengikuro from their positions as National Treasurer and National Financial Secretary of the party.
In a fresh update that has intensified political tensions within the opposition party, the electoral commission replaced the duo with Odeyemi Mackson Oladiran as the new National Treasurer and Eyim Donatus Henry as the new National Financial Secretary.
The latest development is widely seen as another major victory for the camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, amid the lingering supremacy battle tearing the PDP apart.
Ahmed Yayari and Daniel Woyengikuro were known allies of the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led faction backed strongly by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde. Their removal from the commission’s official records now signals a total consolidation of the Wike-backed structure within the PDP leadership recognized by INEC.
Political observers note that before the latest update, confusion had persisted because the names of Ahmed and Daniel still appeared on the portal despite earlier recognitions granted to key Wike allies within the party hierarchy.
The electoral body had previously acknowledged Abdulrahman Mohammed as the PDP National Chairman and Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary, both figures aligned with the Wike political camp.
However, the retention of Ahmed Yayari and Daniel Woyengikuro on the leadership roster had continued to fuel uncertainty over which faction truly held legitimacy within the party structure.
With the latest revision, the entire PDP leadership list published on the INEC portal now reflects officials loyal to the FCT Minister’s bloc, further cementing the influence of Wike within the troubled opposition party.
The PDP has remained engulfed in a fierce internal war between the faction loyal to Nyesom Wike and the rival camp led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, who emerged from the controversial late 2025 convention held in Ibadan.
During the Ibadan convention, Turaki was elected National Chairman while moves were also initiated to suspend Wike and several of his associates from the party.
The Wike camp, however, rejected the convention outright, describing it as illegal and lacking constitutional backing. In response, the faction announced an alternative 13-member Caretaker Committee headed by Abdulrahman Mohammed.
The crisis eventually snowballed into multiple legal battles that produced conflicting court judgments.
An Oyo State High Court had initially upheld the Ibadan convention and validated the Turaki-led National Working Committee, directing INEC to recognize the faction.
But in a dramatic judicial reversal, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja later nullified the Ibadan convention and voided the emergence of Kabiru Tanimu Turaki as National Chairman.
The latest action by INEC is now being interpreted in political circles as a strong indication that the commission has fully aligned its official recognition with the Wike-backed leadership structure, a move likely to deepen the already bitter divisions threatening the stability of the PDP ahead of
future political contests.
