Hon. Ajiya
By Pauline Podka
TENSION flared at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) North Central Zonal Congress holding today in Jos, Plateau State, as frontline aspirant for the position of National Vice Chairman, North Central, Hon. Stephen Abraham Ajiya, rejected mounting pressure from high-ranking party leaders to step down for a preferred candidate.
The development comes amid earlier warnings from Ajiya, who had persistently alleged a plot to hijack the party’s North Central structure in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The position of National Vice Chairman, North Central, which has been micro-zoned to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has become the epicenter of what appears to be an intense internal power struggle within the PDP.
Sources at the venue disclosed that Ajiya was summoned to a closed-door caucus meeting on Saturday morning, ahead of the official commencement of the zonal congress.
The meeting, held at a strategic location in Jos, had in attendance some of the party’s most influential figures, including the Governor of Plateau State, a former governor of Niger State, the Senate Minority Leader, two other sitting senators, another former senator, and the state chairmen of the party across the zone.
During the meeting, Ajiya was reportedly urged to withdraw from the race in favour of a candidate believed to be backed by the inner caucus of the party and widely speculated to be aligned with external interests.
The intention, according to sources close to the matter, was to achieve a consensus and present a united front.
However, Ajiya vehemently refused to back down, insisting on a transparent and democratic election.
In a defiant response that has sent ripples across the party’s power corridors, Ajiya declared, “I can now understand why PDP is such a mess. I am going nowhere.”
This bold stance reinforces his earlier accusations that elements within the party, working in alliance with external actors loyal to the ruling APC, are orchestrating a manipulation of the congress to install a pliant leadership in the zone.
Ajiya had previously accused two PDP leaders of spearheading a plot to impose a preferred candidate, Mr. Abdulraham, in a bid to compromise the PDP’s independence in the North Central region.
“This is not democracy; it is subversion,” Ajiya warned in a recent press conference, calling on delegates to resist what he described as a dangerous attempt to collapse the PDP’s structures into the APC.
“The North Central zone is not a pawn in a political chess game—it is the birthplace of the PDP,” he had said, referencing the legacy of the late Chief Solomon Lar, the first national chairman of the party.
Saturday’s confrontation now lays bare the internal crisis threatening to engulf the PDP in the North Central, a zone that has long been considered one of the party’s strongholds.
Ajiya’s refusal to withdraw has drawn support from grassroots delegates and party loyalists who view him as a symbol of resistance against elite imposition and political compromise.
Observers warn that how the PDP leadership handles today’s unfolding drama will not only shape the outcome of the zonal congress but also impact the party’s credibility and cohesion ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Party insiders say the stakes are extraordinarily high, with the congress potentially determining whether the PDP remains a viable opposition force in the region—or becomes further fragmented by internal discord and external infiltration.
As events continue to unfold in Jos, Hon. Stephen Abraham Ajiya remains firm in his position.
“This election is not about me—it is about whether we will have a PDP that truly belongs to its members or one that becomes an extension of the ruling party,” he said in an earlier appeal to delegates.
The congress continues amidst heightened anticipation, as all eyes remain fixed on Jos to see whether the PDP will rise to defend its democratic ideals—or falter under the weight of its internal contradictions.