Crisis Brews at the PDP North Central Congress while Ajiya resists pressure to resign – Thage

Aliya

The tension is flared by the central zonal congress of the North Central North Central Party (PDP) which is held today in Jos, in the state of the plateau, as an aspirant on the front line for the position of national vice president, North Central, Hon. Stephen Abraham Ajiya, rejected the growing pressure of the leaders of the high rank party to resign for a favorite candidate.

The development comes among the previous warnings of Ajiya, who had constantly affirmed a conspiracy to divert the northern structure of the party in favor of the sentence of all progressives (APC) in view of the general elections of 2027.

The position of the national vice-president, North Central, who was micro-zone in the territory of the federal capital (FCT), has become the epicenter of what seems to be an intense internal power struggle within the PDP.

Sources at the headquarters revealed that Ajiya was summoned to a Caucus meeting behind closed doors on Saturday morning, before the official start of the Zonal Congress.

The meeting, held in a strategic position in Jos, had presented some of the most influential figures of the party, including the governor of the state of the plateau, a former governor of the state of the Niger, the leader of the minority of the Senate, two other senators in session, another former senator and the party presidential presidents throughout the area.

During the meeting, Ajiya was invited to withdraw from the race in favor of a candidate who believed to be supported by the party inner Caucus and widely hypothesized to be aligned with external interests. The intention, according to sources close to the matter, was to achieve a consent and present a united front. However, Ajiya has vehemently refused to get back, insisting on a transparent and democratic election.

In a provocative response that sent ripples in the party corridors of the party, Ajiya said: “Now I can understand why the PDP is such a disaster. I don’t go anywhere.”

This bold position strengthens its previous accusations according to which the elements within the party, working in alliance with external actors faithful to the APC in power, are orchestranery a manipulation of the congress to install flexible leadership in the area.

Ajiya had previously accused two leaders of the PDP of guiding a plot to impose a favorite candidate, Abdulraham, in an attempt to compromise the independence of the PDP in the central region of the North.

“This is not democracy; it is subversion,” Ajiya warned in a recent press conference, asking the delegates to resist what he described as a dangerous attempt to collapse the PDP structures in the APC. “The North Central Zone is not a pawn in a political game of chess: it is the birthplace of the PDP,” he said, referring to the inheritance of the deceased Chief Solomon Lar, the first national president of the party.

Saturday’s clash now puts the internal crisis bare that threatens to swallow the PDP in the North Center, an area that has long been considered one of the party strongholds. Ajiya’s refusal to retire has drawn support from basic delegates and party lealist who consider him a symbol of resistance against elite imposition and political compromise.

The observers warn that the way in which the leadership of the PDP manages the drama in progress today will not only modify the result of the Zonal Congress, but will also influence the credibility and cohesion of the party in view of the general elections of 2027 or it becomes further fragmented by internal discord and external infiltration.

While the events continue to take place in Jos, the Hon. Stephen Abraham Ajiya remains firm in his position. “This election does not concern me: it is about having a PDP that really belongs to its members or that becomes an extension of the party to power,” he said in a previous appeal to delegates.

The congress continues in the midst of a greater anticipation, since all eyes remain fixed on Jos to see if the PDP will get up to defend its democratic ideals, or falter under the weight of its internal contradictions.

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