The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approved that the earlier postponed party’s zonal congress in the South South Zone will now hold on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
A statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by Debo Ologunagba,
National Publicity Secretary disclosed that in the the same vein, the NWC also approved the shifting of the South West and North Central zonal congresses from the earlier scheduled date of Saturday, March 22, 2025 to Saturday, April 12, 2025.
The zonal congresses will hold simultaneously in Port Harcourt, Rivers State (South South Zone); Ibadan, Oyo State (South West Zone) and Jos, Plateau State (North Central Zone) to elect the Executives Officers and National Ex-Officio Members for the respective zonal chapters in line with the Constitution and Guidelines of our great Party.
The NWC charged all aspirants, leaders, critical stakeholders, teeming members of the party in the respective zones, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the media to note the scheduled date of Saturday, April 12, 2025 for the Zonal Congresses for South South, South West and North Central Zones of our Party and be guided accordingly.
Last week, the NWC had approved the composition of the South South Zonal Caretaker Committee to manage the affairs of the party in the zone from Monday, March 10, 2025.
The move dismissed the outcome of the recent South South zonal congress conducted by the National Vice Chairman (South-South), Chief Dan Orbih, which the party had described as a social gathering.
Despite the NWC’s official postponement of the South-South Zonal Congress for further consultations, Orbih went ahead to organize a parallel event in Calabar, Cross River State.
However, the PDP’s national leadership had disavowed the gathering, labeling it a “social event” with no official recognition or legitimacy.
The establishment of the caretaker committee, which the party said was pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017), saw the appointment of Bro. Emma Ogidi as chairman of the caretaker committee.
Members include Hon. Nicholas Ayuwa, Barr. Godwin Akpan Udonta, Mrs. Bekewei Ashanti, Idehen Ebomoyi, and Dame Vivian Ahanmisi.
The secretary is Chief Damiete Herbert-Miller.
According to a statement issued on Friday by Hon. Debo Ologunagba,
National Publicity Secretary, the
decision of the NWC is predicated on the need to avoid any vacuum and ensure the smooth running of the affairs of the larty in the South South Zone at the expiration of the tenure of the current Zonal Executive on Sunday, March 9, 2025.
It explained that the South South Zonal Caretaker Committee is to oversee the activities of the party in the Zone for a period of three month or until when a new Zonal Executive is elected in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the PDP.
The NWC enjoined all party leaders, critical stakeholders and members of the PDP in the South South Zone to be guided by this and continue to work together in the overall interest of the party in the Zone.
Before Orbih conducted his Calabar congress, tensions had erupted within the NWC following accusations that the party’s Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, unilaterally reinstated Orbih into the leadership fold, despite his suspension in July 2024 over alleged anti-party activities.
Multiple sources within the NWC had expressed outrage over Damagum’s decision, which they claimed was done without consultation and in defiance of an earlier party resolution.
Orbih was suspended on July 11, 2024, following accusations that he worked against the PDP’s interests in the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election.
At the time, the NWC had cited Orbih’s alleged alliance with former Rivers State Governor and current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, accusing him of undermining the party’s candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo.
The PDP went on to lose the election, deepening internal divisions.
In a statement signed by Ologunagba at the time, the party announced Orbih’s suspension and the establishment of a six-member committee led by Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, to investigate the matter.
As part of his suspension, Orbih was barred from attending NWC meetings, stripped of his leadership privileges, and removed from the party’s official WhatsApp communication platform.
However, NWC members were shocked to discover that Orbih had recently been reinstated into the party’s leadership structure, without any official announcement or resolution from the committee set up to investigate him.
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Sources revealed that Damagum, who administers the NWC WhatsApp platform, secretly added Orbih back to the group, signaling his quiet return to the PDP’s national leadership.
This move reportedly infuriated several NWC members, who argued that Orbih was never formally cleared of the allegations against him and should not have been reinstated without a proper review of the findings from the investigative panel.
Orbih’s return to the leadership fold had not only angered NWC members but has also exacerbated the crisis in the PDP’s South-South zone.
In a strongly worded press statement after the purported congress, Ologunagba reiterated that the NWC had not conducted the South-South Zonal Congress and urged party members, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, and the media to disregard the outcome of the Calabar gathering.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the PDP states in clear terms that it has not conducted its South-South Zonal Congress, neither is it in any way involved in the said gathering in Calabar,” Ologunagba declared.
The party cited specific sections of its 2017 amended constitution to justify the postponement, particularly: Section 29(2)(b): which empowers the NWC to act on behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in emergencies; Section 31(2)(c) and (j): which grants the NEC supervisory authority over all party organs, elections, and candidate selection processes.
With this legal backing, the PDP dismissed the Calabar Congress as illegitimate, accusing Orbih’s faction of attempting to undermine the party’s leadership.
The South-South PDP has been embroiled in leadership conflicts for months, fueled by defiance of party directives, factional rivalries, and struggles for control.
At the center of the turmoil is Orbih’s ongoing power play, which many believe is backed by Nyesom Wike, who has been at loggerheads with the mainstream PDP leadership.
The Cross River State chapter of the PDP has also distanced itself from the Calabar Congress, insisting that all official zonal activities must be held at the party’s recognized headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
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