*Raises alarm over an imminent leadership ‘vacuum’

*Says INEC may cease to recognise the party’s leadership structure after deadline

*Describes situation as a ‘self-inflicted legal paralysis’

*Gives party 72 hours to take urgent corrective action

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has warned that the party is on the brink of ‘legal extinction’ if it fails to activate urgent procedural steps before the expiration of the National Working Committee’s tenure on 8 December 2025.

He said the PDP risks drifting into a leadership vacuum that could trigger non-recognition by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

In a detailed emergency plan posted on his Facebook page, Showunmi said the party has entered its most vulnerable constitutional moment in years, with overlapping deadlines that leave little room for error.

He warned that unless the PDP acts within the next 48 to 72 hours, it may slide into what he described as self-inflicted legal ‘paralysis’.

“The party will become extinct if they allow Dec 10 to go by. The law will not encourage contempt and not even the President would be able to help,” he wrote.

The crisis is erupting barely weeks after the PDP’s much-disputed national convention of November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, where Alhaji Kabiru Turaki was announced as National Chairman.

What was promoted as a unifying moment for the party has instead deepened old fractures, opening fresh arguments over whether the new leadership truly carries the mandate it claims.

The Senator Samuel Anyanwu faction, which is politically aligned with the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, has already dragged the party to court, asking the judiciary to void the entire Ibadan exercise.

At the same time, former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has filed a separate suit questioning both the procedures adopted and the recognitions granted during the convention.

With these multiple cases now converging in court, the PDP’s internal storm has intensified, and the pressure to meet constitutional deadlines has become even more urgent, failure could leave INEC or the courts with no option but to rule the party’s leadership structure invalid.

Showunmi, who declined to recognise the Turaki-led National Working Committee, stressed that the tenure of the Ambassador Iliya Umar Damagum–led NWC ends on December 8.

He noted that despite this looming deadline, the Electoral Act still demands a mandatory 21-day notice to INEC before any national convention or leadership election can take place.

He added that the National Executive Committee, NEC, itself requires seven days’ notice to convene. With the Board of Trustees already lapsed, he noted that the PDP currently has no stabilising internal structure capable of managing a transition unless immediate action is taken.

“The People’s Democratic Party is risking creating a political mess for the country occasioned purely by their recidivist tendencies over the years,” he added.

He stressed that the most urgent step is for the National Chairman to issue a notice for a NEC meeting within 24 hours.

If the Chairman refuses, he said the PDP constitution empowers two-thirds of NEC members to sign a written request compelling him to convene the meeting. Should the Chairman still decline, he said NEC members could meet under the principle of necessity, documenting his refusal and carrying out essential transition decisions.

Showunmi also urged the party to send preliminary notification to INEC indicating its intention to conduct leadership transition activities, even if the final date will be ratified by NEC.

He argued that such preliminary notice is critical to avoiding a technical breach of the 21-day INEC requirement, which could invalidate any leadership outcome.

He called on PDP governors, senior leaders and NEC elders to embark on emergency consultations to prevent boycotts, rival gatherings or quorum disputes that could invalidate NEC resolutions at this sensitive moment.

In his plan, the upcoming NEC meeting would be expected to adopt a uniform transition timetable, resolve the immediate question of leadership by either extending the NWC’s tenure briefly, appointing a caretaker committee, or allowing the NWC to function strictly for administrative purposes until convention, and reconstitute the Board of Trustees to restore internal oversight.

He said NEC must also formally authorise communications to INEC confirming compliance with all procedural requirements.

Showunmi further emphasised the need for the National Legal Adviser to prepare justification memos, compliance reports and evidence of notices, attendance and votes to withstand any potential court challenges.

He advised the National Publicity Secretary to publish a communication strategy that reassures members, counters misinformation and outlines the transition timeline across state chapters.

“Here is a plan if arrogance will not replace clear thinking,” he cautioned.

He stated that within 30 days, the PDP must secure a legally recognised interim or extended NWC, a transition calendar accepted by INEC, a reconstituted BoT and a fixed convention date, while projecting a unified, constitutionally-compliant public posture.

Failure to do so, he warned, could plunge the party into a legal blackout in which it lacks recognised leadership, cannot validly convene meetings, and becomes vulnerable to injunctions capable of immobilising it entirely.

The post PDP faces legal extinction by Dec 8, if… – Showunmi appeared first on Vanguard News.