A former Secretary of the Kebbi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Abubakar Bawa Kalgo, has alleged that the party in the state has been compromised, declaring that members of the state executive committee are set to resign en masse.
Kalgo, who announced his resignation on Monday in Birnin Kebbi, said the decision followed what he described as a betrayal of the party’s role as a credible opposition.
“I can assure you that after the convention, the state executive committee unanimously agreed to leave the party because we discovered that the party had already been sold,” he said.
Explaining the internal crisis, Kalgo noted that Kebbi PDP executives initially boycotted a factional convention that produced Kabiru Tanimu Turaki due to a subsisting court order restraining the exercise.
He said the executives later participated in another convention linked to Nyesom Wike, believing it was legally valid.
“We stayed away from the earlier convention because there was a court order.
“But when the one led by Wike came up, there was no legal restriction, so we participated in good faith,” Kalgo explained.
However, he said their confidence in the process waned after Wike publicly endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We were shocked when Wike openly endorsed President Tinubu.
“Initially, we thought it was his personal position, but we later discovered that many of those elected at the convention shared the same alignment,” he added.
Kalgo stressed that such alignment undermines the fundamental role of an opposition party.
“As members of an opposition party, we cannot be working for or aligning with the ruling party. That defeats the whole essence of democracy,” he said.
He further revealed that the decision to leave the PDP was a collective one involving the entire state leadership.
“All the party executives, from the chairman downward, are resigning. We have agreed to move together,” he stated.
The development highlights the deepening crisis within the PDP, Nigeria’s main opposition party, which has been grappling with leadership disputes, factional conventions, and defections across several states.
Kalgo said the situation in Kebbi has been worsened by disputes over the legitimacy of party structures and concerns about alleged alliances with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Lamenting the party’s trajectory, he said, “This is a party we built over decades. It is painful to see what it has become today.”
He added that the outgoing executives are considering alternative political platforms.
“We will look for a formidable platform through which we can continue to oppose the APC-led administration,” Kalgo said.
Kebbi PDP executives plan mass resignation amid ‘sell-out’ allegations — Kalgo