- Crisis Deepens as Lagos PDP Chairman Dismisses Parallel Congress
- Philip Aivoji, described the exercise as “a charade, invalid, illegal and unconstitutional
- Cited Section 25 (1) of the PDP constitution
The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected a purported state congress allegedly organised by a faction loyal to former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George.
Eko Hot Blog reports that while speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Saturday, the State Chairman, Philip Aivoji, described the exercise as “a charade, invalid, illegal and unconstitutional,” stressing that the tenure of the current executive runs until March 2026.
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“For today’s state congress, it’s unconstitutional, illegal and a wasted effort that cannot stand the test of time,” Aivoji declared.
Citing Section 25 (1) of the PDP constitution, he argued that only the recognised state chairman could preside over such a congress. “Jettisoning this aspect of the party constitution renders the congress invalid, illegal and unconstitutional,” he said.
Aivoji warned that the parallel exercise would only deepen divisions within the party. “The state exco members hereby disassociate ourselves from today’s illegal state congress, which was hurriedly put in place to satisfy the whims and caprices of a few leaders of the party at the expense of the teeming party members,” he said.
He added that loyal members were already threatening to leave if the “illegality” was allowed to stand. “It is unfortunate that internal democracy that some of us are trying to build has been jettisoned for some parochial interests,” he said.
The PDP chairman noted that Lagos was not among states scheduled for congresses, a position he said had been confirmed in writing by the National Working Committee (NWC).
“We were duly informed that the NWC had excluded Lagos State from the list of states where the congress would be held today, but we are surprised to see this happening,” Aivoji said.
According to him, the state exco had sought formal clarification but got no response. He further alleged that nomination forms were handed to “cronies” without proper screening.
“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 said.
Aivoji urged party leaders to desist from dividing the PDP with parallel congresses. “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,” he said.
Also speaking, PDP Vice Chairman (Lagos Central), Hakeem Olalemi, appealed for unity. “PDP should be seen putting its house together to rescue Nigeria,” he said.
The press briefing was attended by state and local government executives, party leaders, and supporters.
The Lagos PDP has long been plagued by internal disputes over congresses. While Chief George recently accused some NWC members of attempting to hijack nomination forms, Aivoji has maintained that parallel committees and exercises remain illegal.
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