The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has acknowledged that internal leadership failures, rather than outside political pressure, were responsible for the defection of former Osun governorship aspirant Ademola Adeleke to the Accord Party.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the party failed to act decisively at the right time to resolve issues that eventually drove Adeleke away.
“Adeleke is a victim of circumstances — and those circumstances were created by human failings inside the party,” Ememobong admitted.
He added that the party’s leadership did not intervene early enough:
“If firm action had been taken in 2023 when the decline began, the outcome may have been different.”
He blamed misplaced optimism within party circles, saying some leaders believed tensions would ease naturally over time.
“By the time the convention acted decisively in Ibadan, things had gone too far,” he said.
Fubara’s Case Not Similar to Adeleke’s — PDP
Ememobong dismissed attempts to compare Adeleke’s exit with the crisis involving Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, insisting the two issues are unrelated.
According to him, Fubara voluntarily became the party’s candidate and entered agreements with party stakeholders.
“Till today, he has not told anyone what the agreement was,” he said.
He added that the party became alarmed when Fubara publicly said he no longer felt safe within the PDP.
“We sympathise with him — he is a calm and gentle person pushed to the wall. But he publicly called it a father–son matter. This is like Stockholm syndrome — where the victim defends the captor,” he said.
Supreme Court Delays Blamed for Rivers Crisis Stalemate
Ememobong also revealed that part of the delay in resolving the legal battle in Rivers State was due to the Supreme Court not assigning a hearing date.
He added that the governor often discouraged those trying to defend him, insisting he could handle the crisis himself.
“You cannot cry more than the bereaved,” the spokesman said.
“No one can administer an injection to a patient who insists the injection will kill him.”
PDP Not Collapsing — Ememobong
Despite the recent crises, Ememobong rejected claims that the PDP is collapsing.
“A political party is a hotbed of conflict — a mix of competing interests,” he said.
He argued that internal conflicts do not mean failure, noting that even the ruling APC has its own internal battles.
He confirmed that the party is engaging with its governors ahead of the 2027 elections but said it would not beg anyone to remain.
“We are not begging anyone. We are reaching out, and the Turaki-led leadership is reaching out. Every executive has the legal right to make decisions — even if some may be moral or immoral,” he said.
