PDP Crisis Deepens as Umar Sani Says Wike, Anyanwu ‘Have No Power’ to Suspend Party Members

A senior figure within Nigeria’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Sani, has dismissed the latest round of suspensions issued by a faction aligned with Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, insisting the group lacks any legal authority within the party.

Sani, who spoke on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Friday, said both Wike and PDP National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu had already been expelled at a duly convened national convention — a process he described as transparent, formal, and binding.

The PDP has been locked in a worsening leadership battle, with rival blocs announcing suspensions and counter-suspensions as they vie for control of the party’s national structure.

According to Sani, the expulsions of Wike and Anyanwu were not clandestine, contrary to claims by Wike’s loyalists. He stressed that the convention followed established procedures and has never been invalidated by any court.

“A person who has been expelled at the national convention of the party has no right whatsoever to resurface and start drafting lists of other people they claim to have expelled,” Sani said. “We did not expel them in hiding. A motion was moved by Chief Bode George, it was seconded, and it was passed. No court has declared that convention illegal or set it aside. The outcome of a convention is final.”

His remarks underscore the escalating confrontation within the PDP, raising fresh questions about the legitimacy of competing factions and the party’s direction ahead of future electoral contests.