The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi State has rejected reports that its structure has been merged with the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The party said it remains intact in the state and described the reported merger as false.
The position was made known by the Bauchi State PDP Legal Adviser, Yahaya Garkuwa, during a press conference at the party secretariat along Maiduguri Bypass in Bauchi on Tuesday.
Garkuwa also accused members of a rival faction of the party of impersonating PDP officials and deliberately spreading information capable of causing confusion among party members and the public.
He maintained that the PDP structure recognised by the party in Bauchi remains under the leadership of Ibrahim Kashim Toro.
According to him, the national leadership recognised by his faction is headed by Abdulrahman Mohammed.
The legal adviser said the disagreement within the PDP had been taken through several levels of the judiciary.
He argued that the judgments delivered so far had settled the question of which faction should be recognised as the authentic structure of the party.
Garkuwa said the Federal High Court had earlier recognised the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led caretaker leadership at the national level.
He added that the Tanimu Turaki-led faction challenged the decision at the Court of Appeal but failed to overturn the judgment.
“Dissatisfied with the decision, the Tanimu Turaki faction went to the Court of Appeal where the Appeal Court still confirmed the leadership of the PDP under Abdulrahman Mohammed, and in Bauchi State under Hon. Ibrahim’s leadership,” Garkuwa said.
He further claimed that the matter later reached the Supreme Court, where, according to him, the judgment again favoured the faction led by Mohammed.
“At the Supreme Court, judgment was given in our favour where the Supreme Court said the Tanimu Turaki faction is not known by law, that only the PDP under Abdulrahman Mohammed is known by law, while here in Bauchi State, the PDP known by law is the one under Honourable Ibrahim,” he said.
Garkuwa said the alleged merger with the APM was therefore not a decision taken by the PDP structure recognised by his faction.
He accused members of the rival group of attempting to create the impression that the PDP had ceased to exist in Bauchi after losing their legal battles.
“Now that they don’t have anywhere to go by the judgment of the Supreme Court, they now started impersonating that they are leaders of the PDP. And as they don’t have where to stay, they decided to create confusion to tell the public that the PDP structure has collapsed into APM,” he said.
The party legal adviser insisted that PDP members in Bauchi had not defected to the APM.
Allied People’s Movement (APM) Logo
Allied People’s Movement (APM) Logo
“We, the authentic members of the PDP, are still in the PDP. We have not joined any other political party; we still remain in the PDP,” he added.
He disclosed that the state leadership was considering legal action against persons allegedly presenting themselves as officials of the party without authorisation.
Garkuwa also pointed to the party’s preparations for the 2027 elections as evidence that the PDP structure remains active in Bauchi.
“You can see that we are the only PDP members whose candidates’ names were published by INEC ahead of the 2027 general elections,” he said.
He challenged the rival faction to identify its candidates and show the public the electoral platform under which they intend to contest the 2027 elections.
“If they are truly members of the PDP, let them name their candidates. They don’t have candidates,” Garkuwa said.
The PDP official assured supporters that the party would continue its activities across Bauchi and would participate in the 2027 elections.
“PDP is not collapsing into any political party. PDP is still standing, PDP is still strong and is fully prepared for the 2027 general elections,” he said.
Several politicians associated with the PDP have moved towards the APM in recent months.
In June, four members of the House of Representatives from Bauchi announced their defection from the PDP to the APM. They were Muhammad Shehu, Aliyu Garu, Sani Tanko and Mansur Soro.
Days later, another Bauchi PDP federal lawmaker, Aliyu Misau, also announced his defection to the APM, citing the prolonged crisis within the PDP as one of the reasons for his decision.
The APM has also continued to expand its political activities in Bauchi.
Governor Bala Mohammed has openly aligned himself with the party and recently appeared at the inauguration of its presidential campaign office in Abuja.
The governor has backed Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s presidential bid on the APM platform and urged Nigerians not to underestimate the party ahead of the 2027 election.Geographic Reference
The PDP and APM are among the opposition parties involved in discussions on possible coalition through the G-100 initiative.
The party’s state chairman, Ibrahim Kashim Toro, has also maintained that his faction remains the authentic PDP in Bauchi.
Speaking recently, Toro said those who announced their movement towards the APM were no longer legitimate members of the PDP, alleging that some had already been expelled before making the move.
“As you can see, every member of the PDP is here, there is no any other PDP anywhere in Bauchi State. Those who left are not legitimate members of the PDP because they had been expelled long before now,” he said.
Toro also said the PDP had already produced candidates for the 2027 elections and that their names had been uploaded on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) platform.
“We are the PDP and we have fielded candidates for all elective offices in the 2027 general elections. INEC has since uploaded our candidates on its portal as displayed,” he said.