- Utomi, Galadima head Reconciliation Committee
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – With attention focused on delivering a successful performance in the 2027 general elections, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has launched an urgent high-stakes rescue mission to mend its deeply fractured ranks and heal old internal wounds.
Accordingly, in the battle to survive an internal collapse, the opposition party has vowed to resolve all pending issues and end its turmoil before the 2027 polls.
Battered by the fallout of its turbulent primary elections, the party officially admitted to severe internal fractures, saying that all is not well and time is running out to amicably resolve and heal divisions going forward.
As things continue to unfold, the Party Leadership has moved to arrest the growing internal dissent with the inauguration of a high-profile National Reconciliation Committee, chaired by renowned political economist, Professor Pat Utomi.
Unveiled on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, by the NDC National Chairman, Senator Clopas Moses, the Committee is mandated to harmonise a fractured party ahead of the January 2027 general elections.
Competent insiders disclosed that the party is facing mounting pressure to handle and amicably resolve disputes stemming from its congresses and primary elections nationwide but emerging signs are not quite welcoming.
The NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses said the Party has a narrow window to unify its ranks before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) opens the campaign floodgates on August 19.
“Time is short; time is running out,” Sen. Moses told party faithful in Abuja, adding: “We cannot waste our time and energy on individual ambition. We must all bring our best work together if we are to succeed in January.”
Acknowledging that the party is currently battling allegations of bias and financial misconduct following the selection of candidates, the National Chairman cautioned that unresolved grievances, often amplified by social media, threaten to undermine the presidential bid of Mr. Peter Gregory Obi and his running mate, Senator Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The Committee, which has Elder Statesman, Engineer Buba Galadima as Co-chairman and Mrs Dudu Manuga, the Party’s National Women Leader, as Secretary, is expected to submit its preliminary report by August 20, a day after the official commencement of electioneering campaigns.
In accepting the mandate, Professor Utomi pledged a transparent and fair process, saying: “Parties succeed not because they never experience disagreements, but because they have the wisdom to resolve them.”
On his part, the co-chairman, Engr Galadima said reconciling aggrieved members would be “a very hard nut to crack,” but insisted that the committee would do its utmost best in restoring party cohesion.
Reminding aspirants that only an individual can emerge from any contest, the veteran politician said, “Only one person can fly the flag of this party at a time”, even as he blamed Nigeria’s Electoral Act for fueling conflicts within opposition parties.
Furthermore, he argued that the current framework makes peaceful primaries nearly impossible, noting that: “The process of candidate selection mandated by the Electoral Act makes it difficult for any opposition party to produce a flagbearer without rancor”.
Citing his personal ordeal as proof of the destructive consequences of unresolved internal party friction, Galadima recounted how disputes arising from the now defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)’s primaries once left him with a N150 million court judgment and years of legal battles,
On the 2027 presidential race, Galadima, who slammed the poor governance delivery by President Bola Tinubu, said the opposition must unite behind a common objective to succeed in ousting the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration at the centre come next year’s general elections.
