Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is “dead and comatose,” blaming its collapse on poor leadership, internal wrangling, and mass defections of key members.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, on Tuesday, Fayose lamented that the opposition party has become a shadow of its former self, unable to recover from years of internal division and unresolved disputes.
“A year ago, I said the PDP was in trouble, and if nothing was done, it would die.
”The party is now dead. I’m only saying the hard truth, PDP is in serious trouble, and it has gone comatose,” he stated.
The former governor pointed to the defection of top PDP members and the leadership’s failure to act decisively as evidence of the party’s collapse.
“Many of the party’s key players have jumped ship.
“Who is left to save Jerusalem when those supposed to defend it have all abandoned the boat?” Fayose asked.
Fayose’s comments came amid fresh legal battles over the PDP’s planned national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had restrained the party from holding the event, ruling in favor of a suit filed by former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, who alleged he was unlawfully barred from purchasing a nomination form for the chairmanship position.
Justice Lifu said the PDP failed to publish a proper timetable for the convention and ignored due process, warning that the neglect of court orders could “lead to anarchy.”
Fayose also criticised an Oyo State High Court for granting the PDP temporary clearance to proceed with the convention, describing the ruling as judicial overreach.
“When has a state high court become an appellate court over a Federal High Court? Such rulings only deepen the crisis in the PDP,” he said, adding that judicial inconsistencies were further destabilizing the party.
The PDP has been grappling with a widening leadership crisis, factional disputes, and a wave of defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In 2025 alone, four serving governors—Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), and Peter Mbah (Enugu)—have defected to the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The conflict between acting National Chairman Umar Damagum and National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu has also split the party, with both men suspending each other’s loyalists in a deepening internal feud.
Adding to the turmoil, former vice president and PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar resigned from the party in July, citing irreconcilable differences.
He has since begun leading coalition talks under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to form a new opposition alliance against the APC.
With multiple court cases, defections, and leadership rivalries tearing through its ranks, Fayose said the PDP now stands “on the edge of total collapse,” warning that without urgent reform, the party could soon cease to exist as a national political force.
