PDP Denies Bauchi Merger Claims, Ekiti Candidate Drops Case

The PDP Bauchi merger claim has been rejected by the Peoples Democratic Party, while its former Ekiti governorship candidate has withdrawn his challenge to the election result.

The PDP’s Legal Adviser in Bauchi State, Yahaya Garkuwa, described reports of a merger with the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) as false during a press conference in Bauchi on Tuesday.

Garkuwa said the PDP structure in Bauchi remained intact. He accused members of a rival faction of pretending to represent the party and spreading false information in an attempt to confuse members and the wider public.

He said the faction he represents recognises the Bauchi structure led by Ibrahim Kashim Toro. At the national level, he identified Abdulrahman Mohammed as the leader recognised by his faction.

The legal adviser also noted that the long-running PDP dispute had reached different levels of the judiciary.

According to Garkuwa, the Federal High Court had previously recognised the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led caretaker leadership of the party at the national level.

“Dissatisfied with the decision, the Tanimu Turaki faction went to the Court of Appeal, where the Court of Appeal still confirmed the leadership of the PDP under Abdulrahman Mohammed and in Bauchi State under Hon. Ibrahim’s leadership,” Garkuwa said.

The dispute comes as political parties and their factions position themselves ahead of the 2027 general elections, making questions over party structures particularly significant.

Meanwhile, the PDP’s governorship candidate in the June 20, 2026 Ekiti State election, Oluwole Oluyede, has withdrawn his petition challenging the re-election of Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal subsequently struck out the case at its first sitting in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday after Oluyede and the PDP applied to withdraw it.

Oluyede said after the proceedings that he decided to end the legal challenge following appeals from President Bola Tinubu and other people he described as important to him.

He also said he planned to work towards Tinubu’s victory in the forthcoming presidential election, while maintaining that he remained a member of the PDP.

Oluyede had taken the matter to the tribunal after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Oyebanji the winner of the June 20 governorship election.

However, before the substantive hearing began, the PDP candidate submitted a motion seeking to withdraw the petition.

His lawyer, Paul Komolafe, who also represented the PDP, presented the application before the three-member tribunal panel comprising Justices Abubakar Idris Kutigi, Aminu Tukur and Maurice Okediya.

Counsel representing Oyebanji, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), as well as lawyers for the APC and INEC, Sulaiman Ibrahim, did not oppose the application.

The tribunal chairman, Justice Kutigi, consequently struck out the petition.

Speaking to journalists afterwards, Oluyede said he believed ending the case would give political leaders and other stakeholders more room to focus on the development of Ekiti State and Nigeria.

The two developments reflect different positions within the PDP as the party manages internal disputes and political relationships ahead of the next general election.

Do you think the PDP can resolve its internal disputes and maintain a united structure ahead of the 2027 elections?