Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is “in a state of comatose,” warning that the opposition party’s internal crisis may have reached a point of no return.
Fayose made the remarks on Tuesday while speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.
According to him, the PDP’s woes have worsened in recent months, deepened by conflicting court orders and widening divisions among its leaders.
He described a recent order by an Oyo State High Court relating to the party’s leadership tussle as “judicial overreach.”
“I have to tell you the hard truth,” Fayose said. “Nobody in this country has ever confronted me to say, ‘Fayose, you said this ten years ago and you’re saying it again today.’ PDP is in trouble. The trouble has gone bad, and it is in a comatose state.
When has a state high court become an appellate court for a federal high court? The Oyo State High Court does not have jurisdiction.”
Fayose alleged that the presiding judge compromised the case and warned that such rulings could set a dangerous precedent for future electoral disputes.
“If you open the doors, INEC will start taking all judgments from state high courts,” he said. “The judge went ahead, compromised the matter, and granted an ex parte order.”
The former governor blamed the party’s situation on a collapse of leadership at the top, saying the PDP’s decay began from its “head.”
“When fish decays from the body, you can salvage it. But when the fish decays from the head, you cannot. Currently, the PDP has decayed from the head,” he said.
Reacting to comments by former PDP National Vice Chairman Eddy Olafeso, Fayose declined to engage in personal exchanges, saying, “I will not join issues with him. He shall remain my brother.”
Despite the deepening crisis, Fayose maintained that he would not defect from the party and insisted that his comments reflected reality, not disloyalty.
“Three governors have left. Another one will leave very soon. When I come back here, I will remind you,” he added.
The Telegraph reports that the PDP remains deeply divided over its planned national convention.
A Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, had earlier restrained the party from proceeding with the convention, citing failure to comply with due process and to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, a week later, Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court issued an ex parte order allowing the PDP to go ahead with the same convention in Ibadan.
The conflicting judgments sparked outrage among party members, leading to a petition before the National Judicial Council accusing Justice Akintola of judicial misconduct and undermining an existing Federal High Court order.
The controversy has further polarised the PDP, with one faction led by suspended National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu—backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike—and another led by Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum.
The contradictory rulings have deepened the party’s leadership crisis, underscoring the battle for control within the main opposition party.
