PDP Ibadan Convention ‘A political farce, funeral in disguise’ — APC

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed the 2026 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention held on Saturday in Ibadan as a “political farce” and a symbolic funeral for a party it says is trapped in irreversible decline.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Sunday, the Lagos APC Publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo, said the gathering—widely advertised by the PDP as a rebirth—turned out to be “a poorly scripted show of confusion and desperation,” further confirming the opposition party’s dwindling relevance.

Oladejo described the convention as an embarrassment to Nigeria’s political class, noting that the PDP’s once-formidable influence has evaporated.

According to him, the absence of several key PDP leaders, including serving governors, spoke volumes.

“Their refusal to attend only underscored what Nigerians have long suspected—that the PDP is terminally ill, surviving on media noise and nostalgic illusions. When a house is collapsing, even its architects flee,” he stated.

He also highlighted reports that delegates from 13 states stayed away from the convention entirely, describing it as a clear sign that the party’s internal crisis has reached a critical stage.

“When a party’s own delegates choose absence over association, the diagnosis is clear: the patient is not merely unwell; it is clinically unresponsive,” he added.

Oladejo further noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not monitor the convention, saying the commission’s refusal stripped the event of legitimacy.

“When the electoral umpire declines to acknowledge your convention, what remains is a gathering devoid of relevance and meaning,” he said.

The APC spokesperson described the Ibadan meeting as a “valedictory service” where the PDP’s “dwindling membership” gathered to bid farewell before migrating to yet another political platform.

“For many, this was not a convention but a formal goodbye to a political structure that has outlived its usefulness,” he said.

He accused the PDP of refusing to confront its long-standing problems—leadership decay, ideological inconsistency, and repeated electoral defeats—arguing that the party has become a liability to Nigeria’s democracy.

“A democracy without credible opposition is weakened, and the PDP in its current comatose state offers nothing but noise without substance,” he said.

Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, Oladejo predicted that the PDP’s internal turmoil would only deepen as it approaches candidate selection.

“Its internal disarray has already written the preface to its political obituary. The rest is only a matter of time,” he asserted.

While contrasting the PDP with the ruling party, the Lagos APC maintained that the APC is strengthening governance under President Bola Tinubu, while the PDP “conducts the funeral rites of its own relevance.”

“Today’s PDP is no longer a national institution—it is a refuge for internally displaced politicians and career defectors seeking survival. Nigerians are not confused: a party unable to manage itself cannot offer leadership to a nation,” Oladejo said.

He concluded by posing a rhetorical question to PDP members and supporters:

“Was this truly a convention or the formal burial of a fading political empire?”

According to him, Nigerians have already made their choice: “progress under the APC, not nostalgia under a PDP drifting toward oblivion.”

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