After the dust settled at the last general elections in 2013, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) retained its dominance in the polity – accounting for 23 out of the nation’s 36 gubernatorial seats. With the dramatic events that played at yesterday’s mini-convention in Abuja, the balance of power in Nigeria has been radically altered.
With the factionalisation of the party – and almost certain loss of seven governors, the PDP will be left in control of just 16 states. That position could marginally improve if it manages to win at November’s Anambra State gubernatorial election. But that is still a far cry from controlling 23 states.
Today’s reality is that a party with overweening hubris used to describe itself as ‘Africa’s largest party’, is fast shrinking before our very eyes in the run-up to 2015. With loyalty not the strong suit of the Nigerian politician, the prospect of more governors abandoning a sinking ship cannot be overruled
