Lagos State Executive Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected a purported state congress allegedly held on Saturday by a faction within the party, describing it as unconstitutional and a threat to party unity.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, the State PDP Chairman, Mr. Philip Aivoji, flanked by other members of the executive council, strongly condemned the congress, reportedly backed by a group loyal to former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George.
Aivoji dismissed the event as a violation of party procedure and declared it null and void.
> “For today’s state congress, it’s unconstitutional, illegal and a wasted effort that cannot stand the test of time,” he said.
Citing the PDP Constitution, Aivoji insisted that the current State Executive Council remains in office until March 2026 and, therefore, any attempt to elect new officers before then is illegitimate.
> “Section 25 sub-section 1 of our party constitution on State Party Congress unambiguously states that there shall be a State Party Congress, which shall consist of (a) the State Chairman, who shall be the Chairman… but I, as the State Chairman, am not the one presiding over the congress being conducted by a group in the party.”
> “Jettisoning this aspect of the party constitution renders the congress invalid, illegal and unconstitutional,” he added.
According to Aivoji, the parallel congress was a deliberate attempt to impose a faction’s will on the party’s structure.
> “This congress was hurriedly put in place to satisfy the whims and caprices of a few leaders of the party at the expense of teeming party members.”
He warned that such divisive actions could deepen internal rifts and lead to a mass exodus of members.
> “Some loyal party members have vowed to leave the party if this illegality is allowed to stay,” he cautioned.
“It is unfortunate that internal democracy that some of us are trying to build has been jettisoned for some parochial interests.”
Aivoji explained that when Lagos State was erroneously included in the list of states scheduled for congresses, the State Exco alerted the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC) to correct the error.
> “We were duly informed that the National Working Committee had excluded Lagos State from the list of states where the congress would be held today, but we are surprised to see this happening.”
He added that the state PDP leadership formally requested a letter from the National Organising Secretary (NOS) confirming that no congress would hold until the current exco’s tenure ends.
> “The NOS promised to do so via a letter, but to our dismay, up until the recently held Ward and LGA congresses, that letter never arrived.”
Aivoji further alleged that no screening of aspirants was conducted prior to the congress and that nomination forms were secretly distributed to loyalists of the faction without involvement from the State Executive Council.
> “We later discovered that the forms had been given out to their cronies without screening by the appropriate party organ, which is the State Exco.
Our complaints on this issue were ignored by the National Secretariat,” he added.
He called on PDP stakeholders to desist from organising parallel congresses, warning that such actions only breed chaos and instability.
> “We are for peace and harmony. Toeing lines of chaos will negate what we stand for and we cannot be part of any arrangement that will cause chaos in the party.”
> “The conduct is wrong as it was hastily put in place by those who are afraid of a free and fair state congress. None of the members of the current State Exco is part of this charade, where the party constitution was violated and due process was not followed.”
Also speaking, the PDP Vice Chairman (Lagos Central), Mr. Hakeem Olalemi, urged party leaders to set aside differences and focus on unity ahead of future elections.
> “PDP should be seen putting its house together to rescue Nigeria,” Olalemi said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that several local government executives, party members, and other stakeholders attended the press conference.
