Bukola Saraki, former senate president and chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reconciliation and convention committee, says recent defections from the party are driven by the elite.
Saraki spoke on Friday during an interview with ‘Prime Time’, a programme on Arise TV.
The former Kwara governor said while the party is navigating a turbulent period, its base remains strong and committed.
“When you go round the country, the state chapters, the local government chapters, the party is still very strong in the grassroots,” he said.
“In some areas in the country, they are not even aware of what is happening at our level, in Abuja.
“The reactions we are seeing at the grassroots give us a lot of encouragement. But what we need to do is to get to the bottom, and start to build.”
‘WORST OF DEFECTIONS YET TO COME’
Saraki, however, warned that more high-profile exits may occur if the party does not urgently resolve its internal crisis, especially the lingering dispute over the rightful occupant of the position of national secretary.
“PDP would likely see one or two more defections, and we should prepare ourselves for that, there is a possibility,” he said.
“We haven’t seen the worst of the defections for PDP. We would probably see maybe one or two governors who will defect, and we might see some senators who will defect.
“For some of us, this happening early in PDP is an advantage. We are lucky that this is not happening, let’s say late 2026, we would not even have had time to recover and regroup.
“We have just under two years to election, and we are lucky to have that. I think, with a lot of commitment and understanding, it is not a lost cause.
“A party of over 26 years of history, that has been around, the largest party, we will definitely have low times like this.”
He described the unresolved secretaryship dispute as the major obstacle preventing the PDP from convening a proper national executive committee (NEC) meeting or organising a credible national convention.
Saraki confirmed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognises Samuel Anyanwu as the legitimate PDP secretary, based on a supreme court judgment delivered on March 21, 2025.
