Ohuabunwa Appointed PDP Factional BoT Chairman
By Mba Nnenna
The lingering power tussle within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a new turn on Friday when a group of members allied with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, announced a shake-up in the party’s top advisory body. The faction declared Senator Mao Ohuabunwa as the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and Hon. Isah Dansidi as Secretary after dissolving the team led by Senator Adolphus Wabara. The move, which followed a court ruling that halted the PDP’s planned national convention, was said to be aimed at restoring integrity and discipline to the troubled party.
Meeting at Wike’s residence in Abuja, the factional leaders accused the previous BoT of losing credibility and straying from the principles that once guided the PDP. They vowed to rebuild the opposition party around transparency, fairness, and respect for judicial authority, promising to make it “the moral voice of democracy” once again.
Factional Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Muhammad, who presided over the gathering, said the restructuring was necessary to rescue the PDP from moral decline. He argued that the previous leadership failed to act as the conscience of the party, allowing division and impunity to fester unchecked.
Muhammad also criticised the suspended National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, accusing him of protecting members who broke party rules. He claimed that internal decay began years ago when personal ambition took precedence over the party’s zoning principle, weakening unity and trust.
He praised members who turned to the courts to challenge what he described as lawlessness, noting that the court’s intervention had “opened the door for the PDP to rediscover its soul.” According to him, the new BoT was selected not for loyalty but for integrity, and its mission was to rebuild public confidence in the PDP.
Former governor of old Anambra State and PDP founding member, Senator Jim Nwobodo, urged unity and forgiveness among members, stressing that reconciliation was vital for the party’s survival. He commended Wike’s performance as FCT Minister and expressed optimism that the same energy could rejuvenate the PDP, saying, “If you put that same effort into this party, it will rise again.”
After the meeting, the new BoT released a communiqué pledging commitment to justice, rule of law and party unity. It instructed all organs to respect the Federal High Court’s ruling and suggested postponing the national convention until all legal disputes are settled. The new board promised to serve as the PDP’s moral guide, promoting fairness, reconciliation and collective progress across the party.