A former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party is “in a state of comatose,” insisting that the opposition party is grappling with an internal crisis that may be beyond recovery. Fayose stated this on Tuesday while speaking as a guest on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.
According to him, the PDP’s problems have deepened, particularly with recent court rulings and growing internal divisions. He criticised a recent order issued by an Oyo State High Court regarding the party’s leadership crisis, describing it as “judicial overreach.” Fayose said, “I have to tell you the hard truth. And I want to say to you, nobody in this country today has ever come to confront me to say, ‘Fayose, you said this 10 years ago and you’re saying it again today.’ Nobody. PDP is in trouble. The trouble has gone bad, and they are in a comatose. “When has a state high court become an appellate court for a federal high court? The Oyo State High Court does not have jurisdiction.” The former governor alleged that the judge compromised the matter, warning that such rulings could set a dangerous precedent for electoral disputes.
He said, “If you open the doors, INEC will start taking all judgments from state high courts. The judge went ahead and compromised the matter and granted an ex parte order.” Fayose added that the situation in the PDP stemmed from a failure of leadership at the highest level. “When fish decays from the body, you can salvage it. But when the fish decays from the head, you cannot salvage it. Currently, the PDP has decayed from the head,” he stated. Reacting to comments by a former National Vice Chairman of the party, Eddy Olafeso, Fayose declined to engage in personal exchanges, saying, “I will not join issues with him. He shall remain my brother.”
He reiterated that despite the internal turmoil, he would not leave the PDP and had always been transparent about his political stance. Fayose also claimed that three PDP governors had already defected and predicted that more would soon leave the party. “Three governors have left. Another one will leave very soon. When I come back here, I will remind you,” he said.
He maintained that his comments were not an attempt to discredit the party but a reflection of its current reality.
We reports that the PDP has been embroiled in a deepening leadership crisis that has split the party into two factions. Tension heightened after the party announced plans to hold a national convention.
A Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, had earlier restrained the PDP from proceeding with the convention, ruling that the party failed to follow due process, including proper notification to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
However, controversy erupted when, just a week later, Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court issued an ex parte order allowing the party to go ahead with the same convention in Ibadan.
The contradictory rulings sparked outrage among stakeholders, prompting a petition to the National Judicial Council accusing Justice Akintola of judicial misconduct and undermining an existing Federal High Court order.
The legal tussle has further intensified the PDP’s internal divisions, with one faction led by the suspended National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu—backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike—and the other by the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.
The conflicting court orders have deepened the party’s internal crisis, highlighting the ongoing struggle for control within the PDP.
