“PDP beyond rescue,” Olawepo-Hashim declares party a lost cause amid Wike rift

Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, former presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  has declared that efforts to rescue the opposition party have failed, describing the situation as a “lost battle” amid deepening internal divisions and allegations of external influence.

 

Speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television Tuesday, Olawepo-Hashim said he had abandoned attempts to salvage the PDP, citing what he described as the party’s capture by vested interests aligned with the ruling government. His comments come shortly after his exit from the party, which has been engulfed in a protracted leadership crisis.

 

“The PDP has now degenerated into a party in the pockets of a PDP minister who is working with the opposition. I give up; it is a lost battle trying to save the PDP,” he said, in a scathing assessment of the party’s current state.

 

Olawepo-Hashim revealed that he had initially supported reconciliation efforts among the party’s warring factions, expressing hope that internal disputes could be resolved through dialogue and compromise. According to him, there had been an understanding to harmonise the party’s leadership structure before any national convention, with plans to convene a joint National Executive Committee meeting to ratify a unified list of executives.

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However, that process broke down following actions by a faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. Olawepo-Hashim accused the group of unilaterally conducting its own convention, effectively sidelining earlier agreements and deepening divisions within the party.

 

He noted that while the parallel convention was troubling, his greater concern was the growing narrative within the faction suggesting support for the re-election of Bola Tinubu in 2027. The development, he implied, contradicted the PDP’s role as an opposition party and raised questions about its political direction.

 

Olawepo-Hashim said the breach of prior agreements and the emergence of conflicting leadership structures had eroded trust among stakeholders, making meaningful reconciliation increasingly unlikely. He maintained that any credible unity process should have been built on consensus rather than unilateral decisions.

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His resignation underscores the widening cracks within the PDP, which has struggled to maintain cohesion since the 2023 general elections. The party remains divided along factional lines, with competing claims to leadership and strategy ahead of future electoral contests.

Analysts say Olawepo-Hashim’s departure reflects broader disillusionment among key stakeholders, as the PDP grapples with internal power struggles and questions over its ability to function as a cohesive opposition force.