Former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said the deepening crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is being driven primarily by the presidential ambition of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, and not allegations of anti-party activities leveled against key party figures.
Fayose made the assertion Friday evening during an interview on the TVC’s Politics Tonight, where he argued that unresolved ambition, internal legal contradictions and leadership failures have accelerated the collapse of the nation’s major opposition party.
“Let us be honest with ourselves,” Fayose said. “The problem of the PDP today is ambition – nothing else. Ambition is legitimate in politics, but you don’t have to lie about it. If you want to be president, say it.”
He dismissed claims that the crisis was caused by the actions of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who has been accused by some PDP leaders of anti-party conduct for serving in an APC-led federal government.
“There is no anti-party activity,” Fayose said. “Serving in government is not anti-party. This country has a history of alliances. Don’t let us fool ourselves.”
PDP’s rapid decline
Fayose pointed to the sharp decline in the PDP’s control of states as evidence of a structural breakdown within the party. According to him, the PDP has shrunk from 11 governors earlier in the year to just four, a development he said could not be blamed on one individual.
“How do you explain that a party that had 11 governors now has four?” he asked. “Did Wike remove the governors of Delta, Akwa Ibom or Cross River? They left because the PDP is embattled.”
He blamed unresolved disputes between the party’s national leadership, noting that conflicting court cases and factional conventions have made the PDP legally unstable and unattractive to sitting governors.
“When the fish decays from the head, there is a problem,” Fayose said. “This party has leadership and legal problems. INEC cannot even receive correspondence because the chairman and secretary are on different sides.”
Vindication of the G5
Fayose said recent defections and political realignments have vindicated the much-criticised G5 governors, who opposed the PDP presidential ticket during the 2023 general election.
“At that time, they were called traitors,” he said. “Today, the presidential candidate left, the vice-presidential candidate left, governors left, senators left. So who was right?”
He insisted that the G5 did not hide their position and warned that their concerns about the party’s direction were ignored until it was too late.
“What they saw early, others refused to see,” Fayose added. “Now events have proven them right.”
On anti-party claims and federal appointments
Responding to arguments that Wike’s appointment in the APC government undermines PDP’s credibility as an opposition party, Fayose said such claims were selective and misleading.
“PDP has no credibility right now,” he said bluntly. “Let us tell ourselves the truth. There is practically no party.”
He also accused some PDP leaders of withholding full disclosure in their criticism of the federal government, insisting that political engagements should be judged fairly.
“Stop painting the president black,” Fayose said, referring to President Bola Tinubu. “Give him credit where he deserves it. You cannot tell half of a story and expect people to applaud you.”
No reconciliation in sight
Fayose ruled out the possibility of a near-term reconciliation within the PDP, saying the party’s internal contradictions were too deep.
“There is no reconciliation that can fix this,” he said. “The umbrella is no longer there.”
He warned that unless ambition is openly managed and the party’s legal and leadership crises are resolved, the PDP risks further implosion ahead of the 2027 general elections.
