Mao Ohuabunwa PDP crisis comments blame disobedience to the constitution and unchecked ambitions for deepening divisions within the opposition party.
Mao Ohuabunwa PDP crisis has reignited internal debate within the Peoples Democratic Party, as the factional Board of Trustees Chairman accused senior leaders of disobedience and selfish ambition, saying these failings had plunged the party into turmoil.
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Speaking on Arise News on Monday, Senator Ohuabunwa described the PDP’s internal strife as “self-inflicted”, arguing that the party’s collapse in discipline stemmed from a consistent disregard for its own constitution.
“We got to this point for no other reason than disobedience to our own constitution,” he said. “If we had obeyed our rules, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Unfortunately, we’ve refused to learn our lessons.”
The former Abia North senator, who now leads a parallel PDP Board of Trustees, said his faction was created to recover and reconcile the party after years of what he termed moral decay and indiscipline.
He recalled that after the PDP lost power in 2015, the Ekweremadu Committee made crucial reform recommendations that were never implemented. “We continued behaving as if we were still in power,” Ohuabunwa said. “The same mistakes repeated themselves in 2019 and again in 2023.”
According to him, most of the PDP’s problems arise from personal ambition and greed. “From the history of the PDP, every crisis has been about who wants to be president,” he said, accusing some returnees of seeking instant dominance despite the constitution’s rule that defectors lose seniority.
The Mao Ohuabunwa PDP crisis statement also took aim at the handling of the party’s leadership succession after the resignation of former National Chairman Dr Iyorchia Ayu. Ohuabunwa said the party violated its zoning principle by failing to replace Ayu with another candidate from the North Central region.
He criticised the suspension of key national officers, including the National Secretary, the Organising Secretary, and the Legal Adviser, calling them “the pillars of the party” whose removal had weakened its structure.
Rejecting claims that his faction’s BoT was illegitimate, Ohuabunwa insisted it was formed constitutionally after the existing board became “complicit and partisan.” He said the faction’s mission was to restore discipline, unity, and respect for due process.
“Yes, we are a faction, but we are the conscience of the party,” he said. “Our mission is to recover the PDP and make it what it was meant to be — a disciplined, democratic institution guided by its constitution.”
The Mao Ohuabunwa PDP crisis follows the escalation of hostilities between the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee and the Samuel Anyanwu-led faction. Each side has suspended the other’s key members, deepening uncertainty within Nigeria’s main opposition party.
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While the Damagum group insists it remains the legitimate leadership, Ohuabunwa’s faction claims constitutional backing for its intervention, signalling a prolonged struggle for control over the PDP’s future direction.
