Arapaja: Another Arrow Against PDP-APM’s Soul | Taiwo Adisa
General Editor, Politics of Nigerian Tribune, TAIWO ADISA, examines the resolve of the National Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to explore party options outside the main opposition party.
FOR the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the battle for survival has been cagey and unwinding. Chieftains have had to move from one court premises to another after the decision of the nation’s apex court to void the national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November 2025. The factional crisis has been ongoing, with neither of the two camps that emerged in the build-up to the November 2025 Ibadan national convention appearing ready to back down. There is the Governor Seyi Makinde-led camp, headed by the former Minister of Special Duties, Saminu Turaki (SAN), and then the camp backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, whose national chairman is Alhaji Abdulahaman Mohammed.
As the Turaki-led group was warming up for the Ibadan convention, Wike and other allies came together in Abuja. They put in place a caretaker committee, which they believe would inherit the reins from the then outgoing national chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, who took over the party in an acting capacity following the rowdy exit of Dr. Iyochia Ayu. Though the composition of parallel bodies for the party did not mark the start of its travails, it accelerated the crisis that had been digging holes around the main opposition party in the country since 2022.
At the Ibadan convention, Damagum handed over to Tanimu Turaki, while the Wike-backed camp continued to nurture its caretaker committee until March 2026, when it held a national convention in Abuja to elect Mohammed. At the Ibadan convention, where Turaki emerged, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja was also elected the national Secretary of the party. He used to be the Deputy National Chairman in the Damagum-led executive. With hope and despair walking alongside each other, the Wike-backed PDP and the Makinde-led camps soldiered on for months. They dragged themselves through the courts and to the apex court, which nullified the Ibadan convention. All through the battles, Arapaja emerged as the standard party pillar behind the Makinde-backed group, and it was looking like the duo was going to emerge as Siamese twins in the politics of their home state, Oyo, especially in the build-up to the 2027 polls.
But like a bolt from the blue, an indication emerged that Arapaja was feeling sidelined and let down in the process of the emergence of the governorship candidate of the Makinde faction of the party in the state. It would be recalled that Arapaja had joined the gubernatorial race late in the day, in a move that jolted many. The fact that he was not one of those screened by the Oyo State Governor’s Advisory Council was said to have hinted at something fishy, but party members brushed aside any hint of division. Many believed that Arapaja had already received his reward from the camp with his elevation to the post of national secretary of the party.
The man, however, did not see things that way as he silently nursed his displeasure at being allegedly sidelined in the processes leading to the emergence of the preferred governorship candidate of Makinde’s camp. The camp equally adopted the Allied People’s Movement as its platform for the electoral contest following the dispute that greeted the ruling of the Supreme Court on the leadership tussle in the party. While Wike’s camp claimed victory, the Board of Trustees of the PDP took sides with Turaki and insisted that the ruling of the court also affirmed the suspension, especially of Senator Sam Anyanwu, who emerged as the national secretary of the caretaker committee and later the national executive put in place by the Wike-backed party.
With the APM carting away the fortunes of the state chapter of the PDP in Oyo, Arapaja and those who sought to fly the flag of the Turaki-led party in the 2027 election saw themselves wandering deeper into the wilderness. This became further affirmed with the Independent National Electoral Commission refusing to de-recognise the Abdulrahman Mohammed leadership of the PDP on its website. It thus became apparent that the names to be uploaded on the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for publication as the authentic candidates of the PDP would emerge from the Wike-backed PDP.
In the midst of all that, reports emerged that Arapaja had embraced overtures from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and that he might soon team up with his old allies, including the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, among others. Therefore, when the news broke that the factional PDP national secretary might leave his party, the surprise element was minimal among close watchers of the politics of Oyo State.
A meeting of Arapaja’s loyalists was to be held last week in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, where his followers asked him to seek political accommodation outside the PDP. A communique released at the end of the meeting said in part: “Today, a critical stakeholders’ meeting was convened by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate for the 2027 general elections and current Acting National Secretary of the party, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja. The strategic meeting was well-attended by all PDP candidates for the upcoming elections, including three (3) Senatorial candidates, fourteen House of Representatives candidates, and thirty-two House of Assembly candidates in Oyo State.
The communique, which was signed by the quartet of Barr. Michael Folorunsho Lana, Hon. Ogunsola Muritala Niyi, Hon. Peter Olusina Olapoju, and Hon. Sunday Babatunde said that the group reviewed the state of the PDP and the politics of Oyo State and that, following extensive deliberations on the political landscape in Oyo State, the meeting resolved to show concern about the future of its members and equally resolved to pass a vote of confidence in Arapaja.
The communique read in part: “The candidates reaffirmed their absolute confidence in the leadership, integrity, and rich political pedigree of Ambassador Arapaja. As a prominent and foundational member of the historic Molete political dynasty, his extensive experience and political influence that extend far beyond the shores of Nigeria.
The forum alleged that the governor of Oyo State had marginalised the group, adding that there was an “inevitable demise” of the PDP in the state.
The communique further read: “In light of recent court verdicts that have effectively crippled the party, the stakeholders observed that the PDP is practically defunct, offering no viable future or political security for its members.
“Based on the stark reality of the party’s collapse, the forum earnestly advised Ambassador Arapaja to discontinue his 2027 gubernatorial ambition under the banner of the PDP. The forum unanimously agreed that it is time to seek a fairer, alternative political platform that will genuinely protect their collective interests and serve the welfare of the general public.”
The meeting also announced what it called its unflinching loyalty to Arapaja’s leadership, as it stated that: “The candidates declared their unalloyed loyalty to what they termed ‘Team Arapaja. They solemnly pledged to follow him to any political party he chooses to align with, affirming that their allegiance remains firmly with him wherever the people’s interests are best served.
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The group further stated: “The forum issued a stern warning to certain dissidents and former loyalists who have turned into detractors, attacking Ambassador Arapaja in exchange for crumbs from the Governor Makinde administration. They were urged to cease their hostile actions immediately.
“We, the legislative candidates of the PDP, remain united and resolute to work under the name of TEAM ARAPAJA. We stand ready to transition and mobilize toward a new political dawn that guarantees equity, justice, and progress for the people of Oyo State.”
Though Arapaja had avoided public statements, as he did not respond to calls by this newspaper, pictures emerging on social media platforms have continued to showcase him among leaders of the APC in Oyo State and Abuja. Sources have affirmed that it is only a matter of days before the APC formally unveils him as its big catch, as he is said to have reached a point of no return.
Sources had hinted to the newspaper that Arapaja’s entry into the APC was being planned as one of the key masterstrokes by the party against the bid by the PDP to retain the leadership of Oyo State through the APM platform in 2027. Incidentally, the announcement from Team Arapaja came on the heels of the “Thank You” tour embarked upon by the governorship candidate of the APM in the state, Bimbo Adekanmbi, the preferred successor endorsed by Governor Makinde. During the tour so far, Adekanmbi had harvested some estranged members of the APC, who have announced their defection to the APM platform, while reports indicated that the APC was equally planning its own poaching spree to weaken the challenge from Makinde’s camp.
At the troubled Wadata Plaza, not a few would view Arapaja’s shot as a painful arrow, hitting an already debilitating sore. The exit of the national secretary of the caucus in the midst of a raging battle should amount to some setbacks. Hopefully, the veterans can sort out the void his exit would create without further drama.
The march towards the 2027 election in the Pacesetter State promises some interesting back-and-forth from the key contending parties. But it appears the battle would be hottest between loyalists of Governor Makinde in the PDP/APM alliance and the federal-propelled All Progressives Congress (APC).
