Obituary for the PDP: Defections, Infighting, and the Fall of a Giant
The PDP’s diminution hit a symbolic peak this week as defections swept the National Assembly. Several senators, including ex-Sokoto governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, moved to the ADC. Many House members also left for the ADC or the APC. Not everyone has left, but I think it’s only a matter of time, with just two lame-duck governors in Bauchi and Oyo still in the fold. For those of us who watched the early Fourth Republic, this feels surreal. The PDP once ruled for 16 straight years and held 31 of 36 states. In 2008, chairman Vincent Ogbulafor boasted it would rule for 60 years. The 2015 loss to the APC broke that aura and sparked an exodus, even by former PDP chairmen. Instead of rebuilding, the party turned on itself. Nyesom Wike’s feud over the presidential ticket birthed the G-5 revolt and open flirtation with Bola Tinubu in 2023. The PDP refused to enforce discipline, so trust collapsed. It went into the 2023 polls divided and came out weaker. Crisis then became routine. Factions, court cases, and even an Abuja council winner defecting showed the hollowing out. The PDP still has offices but little authority. In the end, it is being undone by the defection culture it once normalized, and the APC should learn that dominance is not institution-building.
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