Fresh Trouble in PDP as Two Governorship Candidates Emerge 

The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has escalated with the recent presentation of Certificates of Return to two competing candidates for the 2027 governorship election in Benue State.

Michael Aondoakaa, a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, received his Certificate of Return at the PDP National Secretariat in Wadata Plaza, Abuja.

He was selected as the governorship candidate by the faction aligned with Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

Aondoakaa was joined by his running mate, Oyije Ochaekiti Ogbenjuwa, as well as several prominent PDP leaders and stakeholders from Benue State during the ceremony.

However, in a parallel development, the rival faction of the party led by former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), also presented a Certificate of Return to Emmanuel Agbo, Director-General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, after declaring him the winner of its governorship primary.

While the Wike-backed faction held its certificate presentation at the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, the venue of the ceremony organised by the Turaki-led faction was the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.

The parallel presentation of Certificates of Return marks the latest chapter in the protracted leadership crisis that has divided the PDP into rival camps, with both factions laying claim to the party’s structure and leadership.