ADO EKITI, Nigeria — Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti State, has thrown his weight behind the suspension of Umar Damagum as national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing the opposition party as “hopeless” and “on the verge of extinction” amid escalating internal conflict.
The PDP plunged deeper into crisis over the weekend as rival factions of its National Working Committee (NWC) issued suspensions against each other.
The leadership tussle reflects widening fractures within the party, once Nigeria’s dominant political force and now battling existential uncertainty after successive electoral defeats.
On Saturday, November 1, 2025, the faction of the NWC led by Damagum suspended several senior figures, including Samuel Anyanwu, the national secretary; Kamaldeen Ajibade, national legal adviser; Okechukwu Osuoha, deputy legal adviser; and Umaru Bature, national organising secretary, citing alleged anti-party activities.
The announcement, made by party spokesperson Debo Ologunagba after an emergency meeting in Abuja, was swiftly countered.
Within hours, Anyanwu’s bloc, aligned with Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, suspended Damagum, Ologunagba, Taofeek Arapaja, deputy national vice-chairman (south); Daniel Woyenguikoro, national financial secretary; Sulaiman Kadade, national youth leader; and Setonji Koshoedo, deputy national secretary.
Anyanwu declared Mohammed Abdulrahman, the party’s national vice-chairman (north-central), the acting national chairman.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, November 2, 2025, in Ado-Ekiti, Fayose offered his support to the faction backing Abdulrahman and dismissed the party’s prospects.
“There is no hope of PDP coming back for now. Even the captains of our boats are jumping ship. They are jumping from one bed to another. So who is going to hold the party together? PDP has reasonably gone into extinction, unfortunately,” he said.
He labelled the Damagum-led NWC “undertakers”, claiming they had arrived “to bury the party,” and expressed confidence in Abdulrahman’s emergence.
“But you never can tell. You can find a doctor in Abdulrahman who is willing to turn the tables around for the party. But right now, the party is in a comatose state… We are happy we have a new acting national chairman, Abdulrahman, who emerged yesterday as a result of the confidence reposed in him after the suspension of the former chairman.”
Fayose predicted Damagum would not return as chairman, comparing his fate to that of Iyorchia Ayu, who was suspended and later removed by a court.
“You will recall this is the same way PDP former chairman, Iyorchia Ayu’s crisis started. Damagum will go the way of Ayu, I can assure you… Damagun is not going to return as chairman to that office,” he said.
He accused Damagum of manipulating party processes and lacking capacity.
“In the first place, he was not supposed to be the chairman… He caused so much confusion everywhere. It shows that the man, Damagum, has been incompetent; he does not have what it takes to operate in that office and act in that capacity.”
Fayose urged Abdulrahman to restore unity, saying he should “go and rescue this party”.
