Crisis: Saraki leads PDP reconciliation committee to Enugu, meets Gov Mbah

In a strategic move to quell the deepening crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party’s Special Reconciliation Committee, chaired by former Senate President Bukola Saraki, met on Friday with Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, who is also the party’s leader in the South East region.

The closed-door meeting took place at the Government House, Enugu, and had in attendance other key committee members, including former Bayelsa Governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, and former Gombe Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo.

The visit follows recent tensions in the South-East PDP bloc, particularly surrounding the renomination of Sunday Udeh-Okoye, former National Youth Leader, to complete the tenure of the National Secretary.

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Leaders from the region, during a zonal executive council meeting held two weeks ago, issued a stern communiqué threatening mass defection if their decision was not upheld.

“In the event that our position is not promptly implemented by the Party, the South East PDP, as a family, will be compelled to reconsider our relationship with the PDP going forward,” the communique read.

But addressing journalists after the closed-door meeting with Mbah, Saraki said, “We are members of the PDP Reconciliation and Strategy Committee that was set up recently by the PDP Governors’ Forum to work towards ensuring that our upcoming National Executive Council meeting and also likely convention is rancor-free and and works smoothly.

“In line with that, we are here in Enugu State to consult with one of our leaders, Governor Peter Mbah, who is the leader of South East PDP.

“This is the first state we are coming to because we appreciate the importance of the South East in our PDP family. As you all know, the South East has played a key role as the bedrock of the popularity and the strength of our party.

“In recognition of that, we are here to consult with him and first to commend him on the leadership role he has been playing in the party. More importantly also, to commend what he is doing in Enugu State, which is a reflection for Nigerians to see what happens when you have a PDP government.”

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki leads a PDP delegation to Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, in Enugu on May 23, 2025.

“In doing that, we discussed how we will ensure that we carry out the assignment given to us and go ahead to have our NEC and our convention. We will have one that is rancor-free and smooth, peaceful and lays the foundation for the PDP that we all are wishing for.

“We have had a very good discussion. Frankly, we have had a very, very useful discussion. We are going away with some of the suggestions that we have here and hopefully work on that.

“With this, we can say here in Enugu we laid the foundation for a greater new PDP that is coming.

“What we have also seen today is that there is nothing insurmountable in the challenge ahead and the spirit, the commitment of all of us, especially our leaders, is very very inspiring,” he stated.

The opposition party had set up a committee to reconcile aggrieved members, following a gale of defection that hit it recently.