Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held a closed-door meeting with party leaders on Sunday at the Bauchi State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.

Convened by Governor Bala Mohammed, Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, the meeting drew key figures including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Governors in attendance included Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), and Peter Mbah (Enugu). Also present were former governors Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Achike Udenwa (Imo), Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), and Samuel Ortom (Benue).

PDP Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, former Caretaker Chairman Ahmed Makarfi, and other members of the National Working Committee also attended.

Although the agenda was not formally disclosed, the meeting is seen as a crucial move to address ongoing defections and internal disputes. It is the Forum’s second public meeting this year and the first since the defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his cabinet to the APC.

The party has struggled to contain the political fallout from the crisis in Rivers State between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Wike. Several interventions by party organs, including the NWC, BoT, NEC, and the Governors’ Forum, have failed to bring lasting peace.

On 23 April, Oborevwori, along with former Delta governor Ifeanyi Okowa, officially joined the ruling party. Around the same time, Senators Adamu Aliero, Yahaya Abdullahi, and Garba Maidoki – all from Kebbi – also switched to the APC after a meeting with President Tinubu.

PDP leaders have described the ongoing defections as an orchestrated move to undermine multi-party democracy in Nigeria.