Wike-Backed Bauchi PDP Denies Defection to APM, Threatens Legal Action Against Impostors

From Paul Orude, Bauchi

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) faction loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike in Bauchi State has rejected reports that its structure has collapsed into the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), describing the claim as misleading and the product of impersonation.

The party’s Legal Adviser, Barrister Yahaya Garkuwa, made the clarification on Tuesday during a press conference at the PDP secretariat along Maiduguri Bypass, Bauchi.

Garkuwa said the PDP leadership recognised by law in Bauchi remained the structure headed by Hon. Ibrahim Kashim Toro, while the national leadership was under Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed.

He said the leadership crisis that had divided the party had gone through several levels of judicial review, with the courts, according to him, consistently upholding the leadership structure backed by his faction.

The legal adviser explained that the Federal High Court had recognised the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led caretaker committee as the authentic national leadership of the party.

He said the judgment was challenged by the faction associated with Tanimu Turaki, but the Court of Appeal subsequently upheld the lower court’s decision and affirmed the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led leadership at the national level and Ibrahim Kashim Toro as the party leader in Bauchi.

According to Garkuwa, the dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court following another appeal by the opposing faction.

He claimed that the apex court’s decision further strengthened their position, arguing that the Tanimu Turaki-led faction had no legal basis to present itself as the authentic leadership of the party.

Garkuwa alleged that following the conclusion of the litigation, members of the rival camp resorted to impersonating PDP officials and circulating what he described as false information about the party’s political status.

He said the latest claim that the PDP had collapsed into the APM was part of an attempt to create confusion among party members and the general public.

“Now that they don’t have anywhere to go by the judgment of the Supreme Court, they have started impersonating that they are leaders of the PDP,” he said.

The legal adviser stressed that members of the recognised PDP structure had neither defected nor entered into any arrangement to join another political party.

“We, the authentic members of the PDP, are still in the PDP. We have not joined any other political party; we still remain in the PDP,” he stated.

He disclosed that the state leadership was considering legal action against individuals allegedly presenting themselves as PDP officials without authorisation.

Garkuwa also challenged those behind the alleged merger claim to identify the candidates they had purportedly nominated under the PDP for the 2027 elections.

“If they are truly members of the PDP, let them name their candidates. They don’t have candidates,” he said.

He assured PDP supporters that the party remained operational and would contest the 2027 general elections, dismissing suggestions that it was losing its political structure in Bauchi State.

“PDP is not collapsing into any political party. PDP is still standing, PDP is still strong and is fully prepared for the 2027 general elections,” he added.

The briefing was attended by the state chairman of the party, other officials, stakeholders and supporters.

Garkuwa further said the party had produced candidates capable of securing victory in the forthcoming elections, while highlighting the PDP’s contributions to development in Bauchi State and Nigeria during its periods in government.

He disclosed that the party had presented Hon. Usman Adamu Ahmed Suphi as its governorship candidate for the 2027 Bauchi State governorship election, with Alhaji Abdulkadir Aliyu Bababa as his running mate.